Nvidia, OpenAI and Microsoft announce investments as part of multibillion-dollar package alongside Trump visit

Donald Trump’s arrival in the UK on Tuesday night was accompanied by a multibillion-dollar transatlantic tech agreement.

The announcement features some of the biggest names from Silicon Valley: the chipmaker Nvidia; the ChatGPT developer, OpenAI; and Microsoft. Big numbers were involved, with Microsoft hailing its $30bn (£22bn) investment as a major commitment to the UK – and adding, in an apparent swipe at its rivals, that it was not making “empty tech promises”.

Anderson updates Thomas Pynchon for the era of Ice roundups, pitting shaggy revolutionary Leonardo DiCaprio against cartoonish forces of reaction

One of the great creative bromances has flowered again: Paul Thomas Anderson and Thomas Pynchon. Having adapted Pynchon’s Inherent Vice for the screen in 2015, Anderson has now taken a freer rein with his 1990 novel Vineland, creating a bizarre action thriller driven by pulpy comic-book energy and transformed political indignation, keeping his pedal at all times welded to the metal.

It’s a riff on the now recognisable Anderson-Pynchonian idea of counterculture and counter-revolution, absorbing the paranoid style of American politics into a screwball farcical resistance, with a jolting, jangling, nerve-shredding score by Jonny Greenwood. It’s partly a freaky-Freudian diagnosis of father-daughter dysfunction – juxtaposed with the separation of migrant children and parents at the US-Mexico border – and a very serious, relevant response to the US’s secretive ruling class and its insidiously normalised Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) roundups: the toxic new Vichyite Trump enthusiasm.

The choice for governments around the world is clear: engage, or fall beneath the US president’s wheel. For now, Britain must do the former

Has any visiting leader ever seen so little of Britain or the British as Donald Trump is doing this week? The absurdly unrepresentative version of the country offered up to the US president on his second state visit on Wednesday was a Windsor parody, a Potemkin version of this country, glistening with protocol and polish, amid a lavish reenactment of the British monarchy’s invented traditions. Just about the only thing that was authentic was the rain.

But here’s the unalterable and underlying thing. None of that really matters. What matters is that Trump is the most powerful leader in the world. Despite all the Trumpian shocks, the US and Britain remain allies. Business can and should be done between them. So the opportunity for face-time with Trump, in circumstances designed to soften him up with flattery and engage him over this country’s own priorities, is to be seized. Not to do this would be perverse.

Martin Kettle is a Guardian columnist

Donald Trump is back on UK soil for his ‘unprecedented’ second state visit. Will the US president’s trip help to distract from Keir Starmer’s challenges at home? Or could it leave the prime minister even more exposed? Kiran Stacey asks the columnist and Politics Weekly America host, Jonathan Freedland

• Send your thoughts and questions to politicsweeklyuk@theguardian.com

She had a zest for life that propelled her to the heights of stage and screen – but behind all this lay a shocking story of violence, grooming and abuse. From her bed, flanked by pills and cigarettes, Ireland’s grande dame looks back

Brenda Fricker is sitting up in a bed plumped with pillows, wearing a sapphire blue blouse and a head of grey-golden ringlets. One bedside table has her medication, 25 pills a day. Another has a cup of water, an ashtray and her cigarettes. Above and on either side of her are shelves jammed with an eclectic hoard of books: Salman Rushdie, Edna O’Brien, Brian Aldiss, Alex Ferguson. Meanwhile, gazing out from framed black and white photographs on the walls, are writers, producers and actors from another era, plus a young, luminous Fricker herself.

The current version of Fricker is 80 and not so well, happy to be interviewed but only from the bed of her Dublin home – not exactly a common setup with stars, but then she is no ordinary star. “I’m out of breath just talking,” she says. “I’ve never known tiredness ever in my life. Weary. Will I ever get up again?” She will, but the question is not entirely rhetorical. “I’m having a dreadful death,” she says. “I’m just dying, every day in pain.” This is said in a matter of fact tone, only to be undercut by a rueful prediction: “I’ll probably live to be 100.”

An American football fan called in sick so he could attend a game – and was rumbled after being caught on camera, his face projected up on the stadium’s giant screens

Name: Getting Coldplayed.

Age: The original incident happened on 16 July this year.

Prime minister seeks to make best of difficult state visit by US president with package of commitments by US firms

Keir Starmer has sought to navigate a politically treacherous state visit by Donald Trump with an announcement of £150bn of US investment in the UK, as the president was kept safely within the confines of Windsor Castle.

As thousands of protesters voiced their anger in London at a Stop Trump Coalition protest, the US president was escorted by the king and queen through a first day that ended in a state banquet but kept him out of reach of his critics.

Home Office says it will review modern slavery laws to save PM’s ‘one in, one out’ returns deal with France

Shabana Mahmood has accused asylum seekers of making “vexatious, last-minute claims” to avoid removal to France as the Home Office said it would review modern slavery laws to save Keir Starmer’s returns deal.

After an 11th-hour injunction that scuppered Labour’s “one in, one out” scheme, the home secretary said she would stop claimants “suddenly deciding that they are a modern slave on the eve of their removal”, adding that it made a “mockery of our laws and this country’s generosity”.

Almost 20,000 family doctors who could work for health service are ‘lost’ to it despite increasing demand for care

One in three GPs in England do not work in the NHS, with increasing numbers seeking to move abroad or becoming a private contractor, deepening patients’ difficulties in getting appointments.

The proportion of family doctors who, although qualified, do not provide care through the NHS has risen from 27% in 2015 to 34% last year, according to a study published in the BMJ.

Two army divisions work their way towards centre of Gaza City as further Israeli airstrikes destroy buildings

Israeli troops pressed ahead with a ground offensive into Gaza City on Wednesday, making further efforts to force more people to flee their homes and travel to overcrowded and unsafe areas in the south of the devastated territory.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Wednesday they had carried out 150 air and artillery strikes ahead of the ground operation that began early on Tuesday morning.

Swedish researchers find low daily dose can halve risk in post-surgery patients with specific gene mutations

A daily dose of aspirin can substantially reduce the risk of some colorectal cancers returning after surgery, according to a major trial into the protective effects of the everyday painkiller.

Swedish researchers found that people who took a low daily dose of aspirin after having their tumour removed were half as likely to have their cancer return over the next three years than patients who took a placebo.

Version of company’s Gemini 2.5 AI model solved complex real-world problem that stumped human programmers

Google DeepMind claims it has made a “historic” artificial intelligence breakthrough akin to the Deep Blue computer defeating Garry Kasparov at chess in 1997 and an AI beating a human Go champion in 2016.

A version of the company’s Gemini 2.5 AI model solved a complex real-world problem that stumped human computer programmers to become the first AI model to win a gold medal at an international programming competition held earlier this month in Azerbaijan.

Ex-president says US in ‘dangerous moment’, after White House response to killings of Kirk and Melissa Hortman

Barack Obama addressed the recent killing of Charlie Kirk and told a crowd in Pennsylvania on Tuesday the country was “at an inflection point”, but that political violence “is not new” and “has happened at certain periods” in US history.

Obama added that despite history, political violence was “anathema to what it means to be a democratic country”.

This article was amended on 17 September 2025. A previous version misspelled the name of Melissa Hortman.

James Desborough, 39, charged with murder of Steven Kempster, 65, who was found dead in his cell early Monday morning

A 39-year-old man has been charged with murder after the death of a fellow inmate at a prison in Devon, police have said.

James Desborough has been charged with the murder of 65-year-old Steven Kempster who died after an incident at HMP Exeter on Monday.

It should have been a lot easier than this for Liverpool but the 92nd‑minute roar to celebrate Virgil van Dijk’s winner against Atlético Madrid made the hardship worthwhile. This is what everyone expects of Liverpool this season; the captain’s header was only their third latest decisive goal in five straight victories.

Arne Slot’s side have won every Premier League game so far with goals scored after the 80th minute. Liverpool looked as if they wanted to do things differently in the Champions League and were two goals ahead within six minutes thanks to Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah. If they thought they had done the business before anyone had broken a sweat, they were very much mistaken. Atlético’s goals came from an unlikely source in the full-back-cum-midfielder Marcos Llorente, who now has four Champions League goals at Anfield to his name.

Thousands of dodos could return within a decade according to Colossal Biosciences, a ‘de-extinction’ company – but experts warn of ‘moral hazard’

Since its demise in the 17th century, the dodo has long been synonymous with extinction. But thousands of dodos could soon again populate Mauritius, the species’ former home, according to a “de-extinction” company that has announced a major breakthrough in its quest to resurrect the flightless bird.

Colossal Biosciences said on Wednesday it has succeeded in growing pigeon primordial germ cells, precursor cells to sperm and eggs, for the first time. This is a “pivotal step” in bringing back the dodo, which was a type of pigeon, for the first time in more than 300 years, according to Colossal.

Can a pillow spray or magnesium bath really improve your sleep? Our exhausted reviewer put 13 popular insomnia remedies to the test

• The best mattresses, tested

When I told my GP it often takes me three hours or more to fall asleep, she pulled the kind of face you never want to see on a doctor. She scribbled in her notes, and then said the dreaded phrase: “Have you tried sleep hygiene?”

Like most insomniacs, I’ve sleep-hygiened the heck out of my life. I go to bed at the same time every day in a TV-free bedroom with my phone far from reach and, when necessary, my husband in the spare room. Then I lie there, worrying about my failure to be sleep-hygienic enough.

There’s a voyeuristic feel from the start to this documentary, which deals highly in emotive assertions. It’s the worst time for manipulative, inflammatory television like this

It is 18 years since three-year-old Madeleine McCann disappeared without trace from the apartment block in Praia da Luz, Portugal, where her family were holidaying. The suffering of her parents, Kate and Gerry, then and since is unimaginable. It is not clear whether the new documentary Madeleine McCann: Searching for the Prime Suspect was made with their blessing or not. But here it is – an hour-long film led by criminologist Dr Graham Hill, who has been involved in the case since the beginning, about the possible connections between convicted sex offender Christian Brückner and the child’s disappearance. It attempts to evaluate the likelihood that he took and, as the German police investigating him firmly believe, though he denies any involvement with Madeleine, killed her.

“There are millions of men with a sexual interest in children. But only a very rarefied group of men who will abduct, sexually assault and then murder that child,” says Hill. It only gets bleaker from there. In 2007, he was a senior detective with Surrey police and arrived in Portugal three days after Madeleine went missing, as part of the UK’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre’s response to the unfolding situation. At their first meeting, Gerry McCann asked him how likely it was that Madeleine was alive. According to statistics, Hill told him, abducted children are usually dead within three to six hours of being taken.

Architect known for the exposed structures of his buildings and the geodesic domes of the Eden Project

Of all the so-called “high tech” architects who began their careers in the London of the 1960s, Nicholas Grimshaw, who has died aged 85, was perhaps the most interested in skill. He never built a swaggering, colourful masterpiece like Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers’s Pompidou Centre. He did not shape the international architectural language of global modernism in the way that Norman Foster has done. But Grimshaw did have the ability to temper his excitement for the potential of shiny, machine-made precision with a passion for skilful craftsmanship at a highly detailed level.

He put the two together to build the remarkable international terminal at Waterloo Station, London, in 1993. Its skeletal, serpentine roof demonstrates Grimshaw’s fascination for the exposed structures of gothic cathedrals and the Victorian daring of Joseph Paxton and Brunel that he always loved. Structurally, Waterloo’s roof was the product of the engineering brilliance of Grimshaw’s long-term collaborator Tony Hunt. But it was Grimshaw and his team who lovingly oversaw the fabrication of every component and left them almost unnervingly exposed, like the giant bones of the dinosaur fossils in the Natural History Museum. Grimshaw himself said that his architecture “glorifies construction, and the beauty of the way things go together”.

When Jade Ang Jackman met Ayesha Hussain it was to make a film about the latter’s training as a stunt performer. With that in the bag along with Sag award nominations, they are going after bigger ambitions together

Ayesha Hussain says her mum was relieved when she became a professional stuntwoman because there were a lot more safety precautions on film sets than at the nightclubs where she had been fire-breathing and throwing knives since her early 20s. Now a twice Sag-award nominated stunt performer, with credits on Doctor Who, Gladiator II and Deadpool and Wolverine, 35-year-old Hussain has her heart set on becoming “the female Keanu Reeves slash Jason Statham”.

As part of Hussain’s aim to tackle the lack of representation of south Asian women in the action arena, she joined with Malaysian-British director Jade Ang Jackman to co-found the film collective Babes With Blades. In January, they took over the Rio cinema in London’s Dalston during the London short film festival to showcase a series of action shorts; these included FKA Twigs’ swordsmanship in Sad Day, and Nida Manzoor’s teen action-comedy 7.2. Babes With Blades has also started a print magazine; and taught classes to children from low income households the basics of boxing.

PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch 2; Gearbox Software/2K Games
Familiar and predictable, but also well-honed and significantly less juvenile, the fourth Borderlands game is a blast

Once a games franchise hits its fourth outing, it is certainly mature – yet maturity is not a word generally associated with Borderlands, the colourful and performatively edgy looter-shooter from Texas. This series is characterised by a pervasive and polarising streak of distinctly adolescent humour. But in Borderlands 4, developer Gearbox has addressed that issue: it features plenty of returning characters in its storyline, but this time around they are more world-weary and less annoyingly manic. Borderlands has finally matured, to an extent. And not before time.

Borderlands 4 still flings jokes at you thick and fast, and they are still hit-or-miss, but at least its general humour is a bit more sophisticated than before. It retains the distinctive cel-shaded graphical style and gun and ordnance-heavy gameplay that people have always loved. Indeed, it throws even more guns at you than any of its predecessors, and with a little work at filtering out the best ones, you will find plenty of absolute gems with which to take on hordes of straightforward enemies and more interesting bosses. A decent storyline emerges after the formulaic first few hours, eventually sending you off on some unexpected, fun and sometimes gratifyingly surreal tangents.

Some in Whitehall were aggressive, some openly racist – but more still felt this far-right gathering was the only place they could be heard

• On the ground with Tommy Robinson’s new supporters – podcast

Determined to get a good spot on Whitehall, the woman from Liverpool had woken her nieces at 3am to travel to London. Her dedication paid off. By the time the march reached her on Saturday afternoon, she was sitting on a wall outside Downing Street, the little girls in camping chairs at her feet, engrossed in their iPads.

She had unfurled two banners. One said “Keir Starmer is a wanker” and the other read: “We’re not far right, we are England’s mothers and we will not stay silent. Stop the rape of our children, mothers across Britain are taking a stand.”

Helen Pidd is a presenter of Today in Focus, the Guardian’s award-winning daily podcast

The UN commission of inquiry’s report makes it almost impossible for Israel – and its allies – to maintain the narrative that criticism of it is part of an antisemitic plot

The conclusion of a UN commission of inquiry that Israel has committed genocide in the war in Gaza, and that its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and other Israeli leaders are responsible for inciting that genocide, changes little in legal terms. The international court of justice (ICJ) in The Hague has yet to issue its final ruling in the genocide case that South Africa brought against Israel last year.

Politically, however, this latest report (officially a “conference room paper”, intended to aid discussion of the themes) may prove to be one of the final nails in the coffin of the shameless but still-continuing narrative from Netanyahu and his allies that any talk of Israeli crimes is part of an antisemitic plot – or, to use Netanyahu’s favourite phrase, “a blood libel”.

Steve Crawshaw is the author of Prosecuting the Powerful: War Crimes and the Battle for Justice. He is a former chief foreign correspondent at the Independent and former UK director at Human Rights Watch

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I hope tonight’s gig will have the same galvanising effect as the 1988 Nelson Mandela concert – and give people courage to speak out about Gaza

In the summer of 1988 the music festival producer Tony Hollingsworth organised a concert at Wembley Stadium in London to celebrate the 70th birthday of Nelson Mandela. He offered the BBC the rights to broadcast it live, but the corporation was nervous. Mandela had been in jail since 1962 and, to the extent that he was a well-known figure, he had been branded a “terrorist”. Hollingsworth met BBC executive Alan Yentob, who was wavering. “Alan,” Tony said, “you’ve got to bite the bullet.” Eventually Yentob agreed, replying: “I’ll give you five hours. If the bill improves, I’ll increase the time.”

Conservative MPs were soon organising a parliamentary motion, deploring the BBC’s editorial decision. Opponents of Mandela’s African National Congress (ANC) were right to be worried about the concert. The event was broadcast to a global audience of 600 million people, it made Mandela a household name around the world and, in all probability, hastened his release. Oliver Tambo, then president of the ANC, told Hollingsworth the concert was “the greatest single event we have undertaken in support of the struggle.”

Brian Eno is a musician, artist, composer and producer

A research paper says people are more likely to believe you if you use long words when asking for forgiveness. I prefer to keep it simple

A bloke in a service station once said something really horrible to me. But he swiftly followed it up with one of the most sincere apologies I’ve ever been on the end of. This was at Hopwood Park services on the M42, years ago. I’d just pulled up at the pump. Clocking me, he knocked on the passenger window, and when I opened it he stuck his head in and said something vile. It could have been classed as banter, I suppose, but it was still vile. My two young children were in the back, all wide-eyed in bafflement. Upset more than angry, I got out, filled up and went to pay, only to find him waiting by the car when I returned. He put his hand on my shoulder and said, “I’m sorry mate. I didn’t know you had your kids in the car. I apologise for that.” There was something about the last four words which made the difference, somehow adding just the right amount of emphasis.

I wasn’t particularly pleased to have such a memory stirred this week when I read about a research paper, published by the British Psychological Society, on how the length of the words you use when you make an apology are important in conveying your sincerity. Apologies always fascinate me because, as far as I can see, without contrition on one side and forgiveness on the other, we’re all doomed.

As the US president comes to the UK, let’s give credit where it’s due: he wasn’t lying when he said smart people don’t like him

Channel 4 will be marking Donald Trump’s visit to the UK with what it describes as “the longest uninterrupted reel of untruths, falsehoods and distortions ever broadcast on television”. It will play more than 100 of Trump’s lies or misleading statements in a segment called Trump v The Truth. All his greatest hits, from false claims about the price of eggs to disgusting lies about the US spending millions on condoms for Hamas, packaged together.

Obviously we’ve got to be fair and balanced here, though, haven’t we? Gotta show both sides. So I think it’s only right that Channel 4 also broadcast a 10-second segment covering all of the truthful and astute things the president has said. It’s not just lies, lies, lies: occasionally the man can be surprisingly wise. Only this week, for example, a video circulated online of Trump telling attendees of a gala at one of his golf clubs: “Smart people don’t like me, you know?” He added: “And they don’t like what we talk about.” No lies detected there.

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From publicly shunning British Palestinians, to supplying parts for fighter jets, Labour looks increasingly out of step with international opinion

On Tuesday, a UN commission of inquiry concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Its conclusion is unsurprising, with few states in history having been so brazen about their intentions. To take just two examples: in May, the Israeli finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, said that “Gaza will be entirely destroyed”; a week later, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasted that Israel is “destroying more and more houses [in Gaza, and Palestinians accordingly] have nowhere to return”.

At the beginning of this month, Labour’s deputy prime minister and former foreign secretary, David Lammy, wrote a letter to the chair of the international development committee, Sarah Champion, declaring that “the government has carefully considered the risk of genocide”, and has not concluded that Israel is acting with genocidal intent. How can two bodies come to such different endpoints? The British government has not come to a conclusion on genocide, because if it was to, it would have to face up to its complicity.

Take heed from European history: this could be the pretext for the repression of the US president’s political opponents

If 2025 was already shaping up to be the worst year of the century for the post-1945 rules-based world order, the past week has been its most destructive week yet. Israel deepened its disregard for international conventions by sending 10 fighter jets to Qatar, bombing a Hamas delegation participating in ceasefire talks in Doha. The last meaningful forum for diplomatic negotiation may now have gone up in smoke.

At least 19 Russian drones violated Poland’s airspace. For the first time in its history, Nato airpower was engaged against enemy targets inside a Nato country. Whether the incursion was a technical mishap or deliberate probing by Moscow, as western experts believe, this was “the closest we have been to open conflict since the second world war,” Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, said.

David Van Reybrouck is philosopher laureate for the Netherlands and Flanders. His books include Revolusi: Indonesia and the Birth of the Modern World, and Congo: The Epic History of a People

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The prime minister and the chancellor are running out of time to convince their own MPs that they have a plan to turn things around

At the start of this month, Sir Keir Starmer initiated “phase two” of his government, with a view to turning its fortunes around. Then the deputy prime minister resigned over unpaid taxes. On the eve of a state visit by the US president, the ambassador to Washington was sacked over his friendship with a convicted paedophile, and this week a senior adviser to the prime minister resigned over offensive text messages.

Those are just the personnel problems. The new phase is supposed to focus on policy delivery, but that is hard to achieve with a sluggish economy, sticky inflation and shrinking fiscal headroom.

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Symbols of Christian nationalism were prominent at last Saturday’s ‘unite the kingdom’ march. Their deployment had little to do with religious faith

England’s established church has now been leaderless for going on 10 months, following Justin Welby’s resignation as archbishop of Canterbury. The Crown Nominations Commission is finally expected to vote on a successor in the coming weeks. Whoever that turns out to be will face familiar and thorny problems, from disagreement over safeguarding structures to the Anglican church’s seemingly unending arguments over sexuality.

After last weekend’s “unite the kingdom” march in London, a new challenge should be added to the list. Christian nationalism is already a force in the United States, and has played a defining role in European culture wars in countries such as Poland and Hungary. At last Saturday’s rally the striking proliferation of wooden crosses and flags bearing Christian slogans suggest an ominous and rising influence on the British far right. From the speakers’ platform in Whitehall, crowds were led in chants of “Christ is King” and participated in public prayer recitals, while being urged to defend “God, faith, family, homeland”.

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Last Saturday’s Tommy Robinson march should focus our minds on the dangerous urgency of the situation, writes John McDonnell MP. Plus letters from Redbridge councillor Shanelle Johnson and other readers

Peter Kyle, the business and trade secretary, has said that he was not disturbed by the Tommy Robinson march on Saturday (Trump has fanned the flames of divisive politics around the world, says Sadiq Khan, 16 September). Well I certainly was. The levels of threatening hate and violence should be a wake-up call, not just for government ministers but for all of us. Stand Up to Racism has done its best to mobilise people to tackle this threat, but it’s clear that we have to find a new way forward to reinforce this work. I am urging people in all civil society organisations to start talking about the situation and in each sector to start talking to each other.

I believe there is a fairly widespread understanding of the causes of the views and activities that the far right are exploiting. After Saturday, perhaps there is now a greater understanding of the urgency of the situation. Leading bodies and individuals in each sector of our society should take the initiative in convening urgent discussions of the role they can play in bringing our community together.

Phil Spence responds to Larry Elliott’s article about budget deficits, which lead to bond markets having a big say in how state finances should be run

I read the article by Larry Elliott with interest and thought I could suggest one small act of rebellion that is easily in the chancellor’s hands and could raise substantial sums of money (Let France be a warning, Rachel Reeves: stand up to the bond market vigilantes, or they’ll come for Britain next, 11 September).

At the moment, interest on the vast majority of government borrowing is paid to banks, pension funds and other lenders, a significant proportion of which are based overseas. Interest paid on those borrowings varies, but can exceed 5%.

Sporting images online fail to represent ethnic-minority women, making it much harder to encourage girls to be active, writes Kate Peers

Your report highlights the life-changing impact of sport for girls (Girls who play after-school sport in UK 50% more likely to later get top jobs, study finds 11 September). But not all girls have equal opportunities, and representation plays a key role: two-thirds of young people say seeing diverse athletes helps them believe sport is for everyone. Yet our study of more than 4,000 online images of sport settings found that of 8,559 women pictured, just 117 were Black or south Asian. Entire communities are missing from view.

If girls don’t see themselves reflected, they are more likely to miss out. And belonging isn’t just about extracurricular sport – it’s about everyday, real ways of moving: kicking a ball in the park, family bike rides or dancing with friends. Every way of moving counts, and it can help girls feel happier, healthier and better prepared for the future.
Kate Peers
Head of campaigns – strategic lead, This Girl Can and Sport England

Frank Coffield offers an alternative way forward. Plus a letter from Chris Dunne

Ofsted is incapable of reforming itself. It has rejected the advice calling for radical change (Ofsted to press ahead with new inspection regime despite opposition, 9 September). The new toolkit runs to 80 pages and lists 314 standards over seven areas that institutions will be judged on. It’s like deciding to repaint the Titanic after it’s hit the iceberg.

Anger is mounting about the opportunity being lost to create a humane and effective system of inspection. If the government accepts Ofsted’s gargantuan framework, the coming months will be consumed by conflict with the professionals.

The Allianz Arena will always hold cherished memories for Chelsea but when they pick through the wreckage of their first night back in the Champions League there will be plenty of moments that they would rather not have to think about again.

Back at the ground where they became European champions for the first time, there was the brief prospect of the team in blue pulling off another unlikely heist in Bavaria. Yet while there was defiance after Bayern Munich went 2-0 up inside 27 minutes, Cole Palmer halving the deficit with typical nonchalance, the problems at the other end were too great for Chelsea to overcome.

• Silver medal for Briton in Tokyo as injury thwarts Kerr

• Just 0.02sec separates first from second in 1500m final

When Jake Wightman sat on the bus to the 1500m heats at the World Athletics Championships on Sunday, he told himself that if he failed to make it through he was done. He was 31. His body was breaking down so often that he felt he had post‑traumatic stress disorder. And he feared his best days were behind him. Yet, just three days later, what had seemed like a final hurrah became a glorious resurrection.

What a fighter. What an athlete. What a 1500m final. Most expected this to be a shootout between Britain’s defending champion, Josh Kerr, and the young Dutch star Niels Laros. Instead the script was flipped on its head and ripped into pieces. Twice.

Ange Postecoglou, hands rooted in pockets, was still shaking his head in disbelief as he walked on to the pitch at the final whistle with What a Beautiful Day, an unofficial anthem in these parts, blaring over the speakers.

Swansea had just completed an incomprehensible comeback to advance to the Carabao Cup fourth round at Nottingham Forest’s expense, the hosts scoring twice in the final four minutes of second-half stoppage time.

Faustino Asprilla will be in attendance as Eddie Howe aims to prove his side are Champions League contenders

It is only two years since Eddie Howe attended his first Champions League match but now Newcastle’s manager is on a mission to disrupt Europe’s elite.

As Barcelona arrived on Tyneside on Wednesday Hansi Flick’s La Liga champions certainly displayed no sign of complacency. Indeed Flick warned of the “intensity” his players must be braced for at St James’ Park on Thursday night.

• First T20: England, 197-6, beat Ireland, 196-3, by four wkts

• Salt has rollicking opening stand with Buttler and hits 89

Jacob Bethell’s big day began awkwardly and ended with England dominant. After Ireland put up 196, some serious work was required as the 21-year-old became his country’s youngest men’s captain.

Enter Phil Salt, ready to make headlines once again. The opener followed his 141 not out against South Africa last Friday with 89 off 46 balls as England secured victory in the first of three Twenty20 internationals with 14 balls to spare.

• World champion from 2022 is first American man to join

• Kerley provisionally banned by Athletics Integrity Unit

The Olympic 100m silver and bronze medallist Fred Kerley will compete in the inaugural Enhanced Games, the event’s organisers revealed on Wednesday, weeks after the Athletics Integrity Unit handed the American a provisional suspension for whereabouts failures.

The 2022 100m world champion is the first track athlete and American man to join the event that permits athletes to use performance-enhancing drugs that are banned in official competition.

• Fears over financial sustainability of 14-club competition

• ‘Sky don’t want it and we should be wary of alienating them’

Super League’s proposed expansion to 14 teams is at risk of an 11th-hour challenge from clubs amid fears it could jeopardise the future of rugby league as a professional sport.

Hull KR and Hull FC voted against expansion at Headingley in July, but other clubs are now understood to have expressed doubts about the Rugby Football League’s plans and want to “press the pause button” until 2027.

• Chief executive praises performance in ‘challenging year’

• £36.6m exceptional items include paying off Erik ten Hag

Manchester United generated record revenues of £666.5m in the financial year to June 2025, but the club still reported a loss of £33m. The revenues rose 0.7%, up £4.7m from £661.8m in 2024, despite the side not competing in the Champions League.

The £33m loss comes after £36.6m was paid out in exceptional items as part of the club’s “transformation plan”. This included the sacking of Erik ten Hag and the manager’s staff plus payments due to any of the 150-200 employees who lost their job in the latest round of redundancies. Losses were down from the previous year’s £113.2m.

• British No 1 beats Jaqueline Cristian 6-3, 6-4 amid delays

• Captain Keothavong called BJK absence disappointing

Emma Raducanu overcame the frustration of lengthy weather-related delays to beat Jaqueline Cristian in the opening round of the Korea Open.

The contest had been scheduled for Tuesday but was postponed because of rain, and more wet weather then caused another substantial delay on Wednesday. But Raducanu and Cristian were finally able to take to the court and it was the British No 1 who came out on top 6-3, 6-4 after a tussle lasting two hours and two minutes.

Central bank moves to set rates at range between 4 and 4.25% but decision unlikely to satisfy Donald Trump

The US Federal Reserve cut interest rates on Wednesday, its first rate cut since December, as the central bank moved to stabilize a wobbling labor market even as Donald Trump’s tariffs continue to push up prices.

Rates are now at a range of 4% to 4.25% – the lowest since November 2022. But the decision is unlikely to satisfy Trump, who has lambasted the Fed for acting “too late” and called for a far bigger cut.

Video from ‘unite the kingdom’ rally captured man saying ‘someone needs to shoot Keir Starmer’

A man allegedly captured on video at the far-right rally in London on Saturday threatening to kill Keir Starmer has been arrested by police.

An investigation was launched on Sunday in connection with the video, which was filmed at the event organised by the far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson.

Analysis reveals sum equal to 24.2% of average bill taken as pre-tax profits by the major energy industries last year, rather than being reinvested

• UK public has paid £200bn to shareholders of key industries since privatisation – study

A quarter of the average UK energy bill was funding corporate profits last year, according to analysis that reveals the hidden cost of privatising some of the UK’s key industries.

The study – part of a wider Who Owns Britain project by the Common Wealth thinktank – found that a sum equal to 24.2% of the average energy bill went to the pre-tax profits of the major electricity generators, networks and household suppliers in 2024.

Met chief Mark Rowley says many questions remain and detectives are liaising with German and Portuguese police

Mark Rowley has said the British police investigation into Madeleine McCann will explore extraditing the German national Christian Brückner to the UK to stand trial over the three-year-old’s disappearance.

Brückner was released from a German prison on Wednesday after serving a seven-year jail term for the rape of an elderly woman in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2005, two years before Madeleine disappeared while on holiday with her family in the same town.

Gardaí believe body is that of Daniel Aruebose, whose 2022 disappearance was not noticed by authorities until last month

Irish police investigating the fate of a boy who disappeared four years ago but was only registered by authorities as missing last month have found the remains of a child on Dublin wasteland.

Gardaí named the missing boy as Daniel Aruebose, who is thought to have vanished in 2022 aged three, after they discovered the remains on Wednesday in the Donabate area of north Dublin.

Since our 2024 climate pledge, there has been a global pushback against green progress. This update reflects the urgent and growing challenges facing our planet – and how the Guardian is more focused than ever on exposing the causes of the climate crisis

• In the past three weeks, more than 50,000 Guardian readers have supported our annual environment support campaign. If you believe in the power of independent journalism, please consider joining them today

The Guardian has long been at the forefront of agenda-setting climate journalism, and in a news cycle dominated by autocrats and war, we refuse to let the health of the planet slip out of sight.

2024 was the hottest year on record, driving the annual global temperature above the internationally agreed 1.5C target for the first time

Winter temperatures at the north pole reached more than 20C above the 1991-2020 average in early 2025, crossing the threshold for ice to melt

The planet’s remaining carbon budget to meet the international target of 1.5C has just two years left at the current rate of emissions

Humans are driving biodiversity loss among all species across the planet, according to the largest syntheses of the human impacts on biodiversity ever conducted worldwide

Tipping points – in the Amazon, Antarctic, coral reefs and more – could cause fundamental parts of the Earth’s system to change dramatically, irreversibly and with devastating effects. We asked the experts about the latest science – and how it makes them feel

Published our annual company emissions data, explaining what drives our emissions and where they have risen and fallen

Created a digital course, as part of an initiative by the Sustainable Journalism Partnership, sharing examples from experts across the Guardian of how to embed sustainability into journalism and media commercial operations

Contributed our time and knowledge to working groups in the advertising industry that are working on better ways to measure the emissions impact of advertising

With a ‘one-sided’ deal handing vast profits to the world’s top oil firms, many Guyanese ask when the energy bonanza will benefit them

On 18 July, the International Chamber of Commerce approved the attempt by the US energy multinational Chevron to replace Hess Oil as a stakeholder in one of the world’s largest offshore oilfields, Guyana’s Stabroek, as part of its $55bn (£41bn) acquisition of the smaller company.

Yet, as Chevron executives celebrated joining Exxon and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) as in producing Guyana’s daily oil output of 650,000 barrels, the response from the Guyanese government, opposition leaders and environmentalists was muted.

Julia Chuñil is one of 146 land defenders who were killed or went missing last year, a third of them from Indigenous communities

One day last November, Julia Chuñil called for her dog, Cholito, and they set off into the woods around her home to search for lost livestock. The animals returned but Chuñil, who was 72 at the time, and Cholito did not.

More than 100 people joined her family in a search lasting weeks in the steep, wet and densely overgrown terrain of Chile’s ancient Valdivian forest. After a month, they even kept an eye on vultures for any grim signs. But they found no trace of Chuñil.

Researchers from Imperial College London say 16,500 deaths caused by hot weather brought on by greenhouse gases

Human-made global heating caused two in every three heat deaths in Europe during this year’s scorching summer, an early analysis of mortality in 854 big cities has found.

Epidemiologists and climate scientists attributed 16,500 out of 24,400 heat deaths from June to August to the extra hot weather brought on by greenhouse gases.

Meta’s former president of global affairs says agreement will leave UK more reliant on US tech firms

A multibillion-dollar transatlantic tech agreement announced to coincide with Donald Trump’s state visit represents “sloppy seconds from Silicon Valley”, Nick Clegg, Meta’s former president of global affairs, has said.

The former deputy prime minister said the deals, heralded with great fanfare by the government as it tries to foster growth in the UK, were “mutton dressed as lamb” and would make the country ever more reliant on US tech firms.

Third option for juries – blamed for country’s lower conviction rates for rape and sexual assault – abolished

The Scottish verdict of “not proven” – a global legal anomaly thought to be a key factor in the country’s significantly lower convictions rate for rape and sexual assault – has been abolished.

MSPs agreed to scrap the unique Scottish verdict as they voted through a series of major changes that Angela Constance, the justice secretary, said “put victims and witnesses at the heart of a modern and fair justice system”.

Police call on public for information as campaigners demand government address increased threat and ‘anti-Sikh hate’

Police investigating the rape of a British-born Sikh woman in a racially aggravated attack in the West Midlands have made a fresh appeal for public help as they bailed an arrested man.

The woman, in her 20s, reported being attacked by two white men while she was on her way to work in Oldbury on the morning of Tuesday 9 September.

‘Sometimes, less really is more,’ says chef as Michelin-starred restaurant offers Mindful Experience option

When gazing at the bill after a Michelin-starred meal, the average diner’s first thought is not usually: “I wish I’d got less food for that.”

But Heston Blumenthal has come up with a new menu catering to just that sentiment, tailored to reflect a growing demand for smaller portions, driven by weight-loss drugs.

Yulia Navalnaya says tests by two laboratories on samples smuggled out of Russia show her husband was killed by poison

Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, said that two foreign laboratories had confirmed her husband was poisoned, after tests on biological samples secretly smuggled out of Russia.

Navalny, 47, died suddenly on 16 February 2024, while being held in a jail about 40 miles (64km) north of the Arctic Circle, where he had been sentenced to decades in prison to be served in a “special regime”.

Museum says specimens taken are worth €600,000 based on price of gold but have ‘immeasurable heritage value’

Historic gold samples with a street value of €600,000 but priceless to scientists and researchers have been stolen from the French national natural history museum in the latest of a series of museum robberies in France.

“This has happened in a critical context for cultural establishments in France, particularly museums,” the Paris museum said. “Several public collections have been the victims of robberies in the past months.”

EU’s top diplomat concerned after India joins Russian military exercises ‘that are an existential threat to us’

The EU has called for closer ties with India while admitting there was no “mutual understanding” with Narendra Modi’s government over Russia’s war on Ukraine.

The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, and lead negotiator on trade, Maroš Šefčovič, outlined an EU-India strategy on Wednesday as part of Europe’s drive to build and strengthen alliances in a world shaken by Donald Trump’s challenges to the postwar order.

Eoin Hayes TD apologised for ‘huge mistake’ of dressing up as Barack Obama at 2009 Halloween party

A member of Ireland’s parliament who was pictured in blackface at a 2009 Halloween party will stay on as a member of the Social Democrats, the party leader has said, citing his “unreserved” apology and the fact that the incident took place 16 years ago.

Eoin Hayes, a deputy (TD) for Dublin Bay South, came under fire this week after media published pictures of him dressed up as the then US president, Barack Obama, at a party. At the time, Hayes was the president of the students’ union at University College Cork.

He marched against the Vietnam war, supported the Black Panthers, has protested over animal rights, ended up in prison after a climate sit-in – and starred in Babe, LA Confidential and Succession. He explains how he became the ultimate activist-actor

Amid the hustle of midtown Manhattan on Wednesday 11 May 2022, James Cromwell walked into Starbucks, glued his hand to a counter and complained about the surcharges on vegan milks. “When will you stop raking in huge profits while customers, animals and the environment suffer?” Cromwell boomed as fellow activists streamed the protest online.

But the insouciant patrons of Starbucks paid little heed. Perhaps they didn’t realise they were in the company of the tallest person ever nominated for an acting Oscar, deliverer of one of the best speeches in Succession, and the only actor to utter the words “star trek” in a Star Trek production. Police arrived to shut down the store.

The artist and curator of photography talks about her relationship to the work of Black pioneers of photography and the influence of her 2000 book

When Dr Deborah Willis was an undergrad student at the Philadelphia College of Art, she asked the question that informed her work for years to follow: “Where are all the Black photographers?”

From photos by Gordon Parks in Time magazine to Black image-makers capturing daily life in Ebony and Jet magazines – she knew that Black photographers, like her father, were making their impact on the world. Growing up, her father was an amateur photographer, and her father’s cousin owned a photo studio, and seeing them photograph people as a child created a desire in her to become an image-maker.

Inspirational teacher Stan Deen’s whole town contributed to the making of new film Brave the Dark, starring Jared Harris and directed by his brother, Damian. They also had some surprising help from Jonathan Aitken …

You know how it is with films about inspirational teachers: the teachers in question are always cool. Whether they’re sexy, like Michelle Pfeiffer in Dangerous Minds and Sidney Poitier in To Sir, With Love, or as defiantly unorthodox as Paul Giamatti in The Holdovers and Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society, they’re larger-than-life in a way that marks them out as Hollywood characters.

The teacher in Brave the Dark is cut from a different cloth. Directed by Damian Harris, and starring his brother Jared Harris, the film tells the true story of Nate (Nicholas Hamilton), a self-destructive teenager who keeps getting into trouble in small-town Pennsylvania in the mid-1980s. Harris plays Stan Deen, the English teacher at Garden Spot high school, who cares enough to help. So far, so conventional. The sweet-natured, quietly radical twist is that Stan is far from cool. He dresses drably. He makes bad jokes. He sings Broadway show tunes to himself. And the closest he gets to delivering a rousing speech is saying “This too shall pass” so often that it gets on Nate’s nerves.

Pointless and witless, this atrociously acted ripoff of The Hills Have Eyes should be cast back into the water

There are horror movies that walk the viewer through their deepest fears, others that use the genre to explore broader social issues and anxieties, and others that are just about thrill rides and LOLs. And then there is silly, sadistic trash like this: a micro-budget ripoff of cannibal-killer franchise The Hills Have Eyes, its lousy sequels and suchlike. It even features an actor from the original 1977 Hills’ cast: Susan Lanier here plays Martha, a blowsy barmaid with a taste for human flesh. But Hills at least attempted to craft some sort of backstory for its mayhem; Martha and her skeezy friends’ tastes are just a given, as if encountering cannibals is just one of the hazards of the boating life, like sharks or equipment failure.

The lambs to this slaughter are a quintet of mostly stupid young people in their 20s, who get together for partying purposes on the yacht of rich boy Chad (Zachary Roosa). Passengers include Chad’s permanently bikini-clad girlfriend Dana (Meghan Carrasquillo), stag buddy Franklin (Jamal R Averett), and lesbian couple Brandy (Amy Byrd) and Jess (Caitlin Rose). Yards of cocaine are snorted, gallons of booze consumed and makeouts embarked on as teasers for the film’s real idea of fun: putting the young’uns at the mercy of the tattooed boatyard body-eaters, who bring them ashore when the yacht runs out of gas at sea.

Teen romance and paranoid surveillance collide to dysfunctional effect in Neo Sora’s beguiling debut future set in an oppressive near-future

Neo Sora is a Japanese film-maker who directed Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus, a documentary about his father, the renowned composer. Now he has made his feature debut with this complex, beguiling and often brilliant movie, co-produced by Anthony Chen; it manages to be part futurist satire, part coming-of-age dramedy, part high school dystopia. It combines the spirit of John Hughes’s The Breakfast Club with Lindsay Anderson’s If.… and there might even be a trace memory of Paul Schrader’s Mishima, only without the seppuku.

In a high school in Kobe in the future, students are oppressed by the reactionary xenophobia of their elders; periodic earthquake warnings, and actual earthquakes themselves, create a widespread air of suppressed panic which the authorities believe justifies a perpetual clampdown. The prime minister has taken to claiming that undesirable elements are taking advantage of the earthquakes to indulge in lawlessness. In the school, there is an almost unconcealed racist disdain for students who are not fully ethnic Japanese as well as those who have unorthodox or rebellious views.

The second season of this wildly irreverent spinoff of R-rated superhero satire The Boys is packed with swearing, violence – and an astonishing number of penises

Two years after we last joined its troubled teens in their battle against the forces of corporate tyranny, superhero drama Gen V is back for a second series of powerfully bawdy chaos. Release the penis-shaped balloons! Uncork the Château les Norks! But for pity’s sake conduct your celebrations quietly: Godolkin University’s clipboard-clutching new dean is in no mood for frivolity.

“Let’s be real,” he drawls during his inaugural campus address. “The previous human administration was full of shit. We can’t trust humankind. And that is why, as your new dean, I will be preparing you for this brave new world,” he continues, as the assembled superheroes-in-training – or “supes”, as they’re called – variously gulp, whoop and clench their bum cheeks.

The electroacoustic pioneer scored dozens of pictures – and communist propaganda. Too successful to be persecuted by the politburo but largely forgotten when he died, his music is being revived by a new archival series

Zdeněk Liška became one of the eastern bloc’s pioneers of electroacoustic music by accident. After breaking through making music for ads and animations, the revolutionary film-makers of the 1960s Czechoslovak new wave asked him to soundtrack their movies, which he took as his greatest inspirations. With the help of radio engineering enthusiasts at Czechoslovakia’s film powerhouse, Barrandov Studios, he could imitate the whoosh of a spaceship or birds chirping. He composed underwater electroacoustic symphonies and music to be played on typewriters. Despite his innovations, he famously proclaimed: “I only write music under the pictures.”

Liška was as productive as he was innovative: from the late 1950s to the late 1970s, he would score eight feature films a year, as well as numerous shorts and TV series. He could go camp or avant garde, channel Disney-like beauty and loved a waltz. His peers recall him composing on the night train or sketching the next cue while the orchestra was still recording the last one. Czechs from across the generations can whistle some of his melodies, such as the carnival-style theme from crime series The Sinful People of Prague.

The all-girl trio gave punk a playful spin and drew admirers in Paul Weller and Captain Sensible – but, singer Debsey Wykes recalls, faced confusion for being out of step with era’s noise and anger

At 19 years old, Debsey Wykes stood in front of a sold-out crowd at London’s Hammersmith Odeon, her knees “literally knocking with fear”, as she puts it. It was the end of 1980 and Dolly Mixture were supporting the Jam for a second time, having piqued the interest of Paul Weller. Despite the shaky start, the teen trio made it through the set to appreciative applause. “Everyone is your friend when you support the Jam,” Wykes recalls in her new memoir, Teenage Daydream: We Are the Girls Who Play in a Band.

Dolly Mixture paired girl-group harmonies and pop sensibilities with scuffed-up combat boots and charity shop dresses. Their intricate arrangements remained playfully punk, displaying a songwriting craft well beyond their years. Although beloved by the Undertones and John Peel, as well as becoming the first group to release a single on Weller’s label, Respond, the band never found the success of many of their peers. “I think people were confused,” says Wykes. “One: we were girls, and girls often didn’t play in bands. And if you’re not dressed in jeans and leather, you must be crap and cute. There was no subtlety allowed.”

The late frontman refused to adhere to the lyrical conventions of the genre, surveying suffering in a peerless wailing screech that will echo across the history of heavy music

Tomas Lindberg was not the voice of death metal – he was so much better than that. During his 35-year career fronting Swedish band At the Gates, he never toed the line, never grunted about loving violence and hating Christianity because the genre dictated that you do so. Rather, he ripped up the rulebook with both his messaging and his delivery, setting a new standard for distinctiveness in extreme music.

Lindberg – who has passed away aged 52 after being diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma, a rare oral cancer – was fascinated with suffering. Yet, unlike his peers, he was seldom concerned with the suffering caused by a chainsaw or organised religion. It was the suffering inside of us, rooted in our own expectations, trauma and follies. “Twenty-two years of pain and I can feel it closing in,” goes the bridge of 1995’s semi-autobiographical fan-favourite track Cold. “The will to rise above, tearing my insides out.” And Lindberg delivered each line not with a typical, guttural rumble, but with a wailing screech that made all that anguish feel even more real.

Witty, foul-mouthed, camp and punky, it was the 00s answer to slick superclubs and the rock patriarchy. As its rough, raw sound returns, the scene’s eyeliner-ed heroes, from Peaches to Jonny Slut, relive its excesses

Jonny Melton knew that his club night Nag Nag Nag had reached some kind of tipping point when he peered out of the DJ booth and spotted Cilla Black on the dancefloor. “I think that’s the only time I got really excited,” he laughs. “I was playing the Tobi Neumann remix of Khia’s My Neck, My Back, too – ‘my neck, my back, lick my pussy and my crack’ – and there was Cilla, grooving on down. You know, it’s not Bobby Gillespie or Gwen Stefani, it’s fucking Cilla Black. I’ve got no idea how she ended up there, but I’ve heard since that she was apparently a bit of a party animal.”

It seems fair to say that a visit from Our Cilla was not what Melton expected when he started Nag Nag Nag in London in 2002. A former member of 80s goth band Specimen who DJed under the name Jonny Slut, he’d been inspired by a fresh wave of electronic music synchronously appearing in different locations around the world. Germany had feminist collective Chicks on Speed and DJ Hell with his groundbreaking label International DeeJay Gigolos. France produced Miss Kittin and The Hacker, Vitalic and Electrosexual. Britain spawned icy electro-pop quartet Ladytron and noisy, sex-obsessed trio Add N To (X). Canada spawned Tiga and Merrill Nisker, who abandoned the alt-rock sound of her debut album Fancypants Hoodlum and, with the aid of a Roland MC-505 “groovebox”, reinvented herself as Peaches. New York had performance art inspired duo Fischerspooner and a collection of artists centred around DJ and producer Larry Tee, who gave the sound a name: electroclash.

What if Descartes had melted his brain on acid? Find out in this mind-expanding exploration of thought and consciousness

This book is a trip. Among other things, it copiously details all the drugs that the US-born professor of history and philosophy of science at the Université Paris Cité has ingested. They include psilocybin, LSD, cannabis; quetiapine and Xanax (for anxiety); venlafaxine, Prozac, Lexapro and tricyclics (antidepressants); caffeine (“I have drunk coffee every single day without fail since September 13, 1990”); and, at least for him, the always disappointing alcohol.

The really trippy thing, though, is not so much Justin Smith-Ruiu’s descriptions of his drug experiences, but the fact that they’re written by a tough-minded analytic philosopher, one as familiar with AJ Ayer’s Foundations of Empirical Knowledge as Aldous Huxley’s mescaline-inspired The Doors of Perception. Moreover, they’re presented with the aim of melting the minds of his philosophical peers and the rest of us by suggesting that psychedelics dissolve our selves and make us part of cosmic consciousness, thereby rendering us free in the way the 17th-century Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza defined it (paraphrased by Smith-Ruiu as “an agreeable acquiescence in the way one’s own body is moving in the necessary order of things”).

This deeply comforting tale of record collecting, magical creatures and a lovingly knitted cardigan rambles across England

Ursula K Le Guin had her Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction; I have my comfy cardigan theory. What Le Guin proposed is that human culture, novels included, didn’t begin with technologies of harm, such as flints and spears, but with items of collection and care, such as the wicker basket or, nowadays, the carrier bag. And so, if we make them that way, novels can be gatherings rather than battles.

Tom Cox’s third novel fashions an escape from the dangerous outside world into something soft, comforting and unfashionable. It might once have been a Neanderthal’s armpit, but now it’s more likely to be a cosy cardigan. Or a deeply comforting story.

A century from now, a literature scholar pieces together a picture of our times in a novel that quietly compels us to consider the moral consequences of global catastrophe

The sheer Englishness of Ian McEwan’s fiction may not be fully visible to his English readers. But it is clearly, and amusingly, visible to at least this Irish reader. It isn’t just McEwan’s elegiac, indeed patriotic, attentiveness to English landscapes – to the wildflowers and hedgerows and crags, to the “infinite shingle” of Chesil Beach, to the Chilterns turkey oak in the first paragraph of Enduring Love. Nor is it merely the ferocious home counties middle-classness of his later novels, in which every significant character is at the very least a neurosurgeon or a high court judge, everyone is conversant with Proust, Bach and Wordsworth, and members of the lower orders tend to appear as worrying upstarts from a world in which nobody plonks out the Goldberg Variations on the family baby grand. No, McEwan’s Englishness has most to do with his scrupulously rational, but occasionally and endearingly purblind, liberal morality: England’s most admirable, and most irritating, gift to politics and art.

These thoughts were provoked by a brief passage in McEwan’s future-set new novel that describes the “Inundation” of Britain after a Russian warhead goes off accidentally in the middle of the Atlantic, causing a tsunami that, combined with rising sea levels, wipes out everything but a Europe-wide archipelago of mountain peaks. In these entertainingly nihilistic pages, the fate of that other major chunk of the British Isles is not mentioned. Presumably Ireland, with its dearth of high peaks, fared badly as Europe drowned. But from McEwan’s future history, you’d never know it. I began to think of What We Can Know as another of McEwan’s deeply English stories. It has, I thought, the familiar partialities of vision. Has Brexit, endlessly backstopped by those pesky six counties, taught English liberals nothing?

The TV star and his co-author make a compelling argument for properly addressing the legacies of slavery

When slavery was abolished in the British empire in 1833, it was thought only reasonable that slave-owners should be recompensed for the loss of their property: the British government had to borrow the equivalent of £17bn at current values to do this and that loan was not completely paid off until 2015. Meanwhile, the slaves themselves never received a penny in compensation.

There have always been dedicated Black campaigners for reparations, but it is only recently that their demands have gained momentum. Furthermore, it is impossible to talk about reparations without talking about race and migration – and these are issues at the top of the political agenda internationally. All this makes Lenny Henry and Marcus Ryder’s new book both timely and vital.

From famous Street Fighter lines to quips from 90s classics, these are the quotes we hear again and again – and even incorporate into our own lives

Some snippets of video game dialogue, like classic movie quotes, are immediately recognisable to a swathe of fans. From Street Fighter’s “hadouken!” to Call of Duty’s “remember, no Russian” to BioShock’s “would you kindly?”, there are phrases so creepy, clever or cool they have slipped imperceptibly into the gaming lexicon, ensuring that whenever they’re memed on social media, almost everyone gets the reference.

But there are also odd little phrases, sometimes from obscure games, that stick with us for seemingly no reason. I recall most of the vocal barks from the second world war strategy game Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines, even though I haven’t played it for 20 years. Why is it that I’ll lose my headphones, wallet and phone on a daily basis, but I have absolute recall when it comes to the utterances of burly soldier Samuel Brooklyn? Why am I doomed to “Finally, some action”, “Consider it done, boss” and the immortal “okey dokey” echoing through my head? What is wrong with me?

After a lacklustre response to the 2025 edition, the game has gone all out to engage players and respond to user feedback

In an open office space somewhere inside the vast Electronic Arts campus in Vancouver, dozens of people are gathered around multiple monitors playing EA Sports FC 26. Around them, as well as rows of football shirts from leagues all over the world, are PCs and monitors with staff watching feeds of the matches. The people playing are from EA’s Design Council, a group of pro players, influencers and fans who regularly come in to play new builds, ask questions and make suggestions. These councils have been running for years, but for this third addition to the EA Sports FC series, the successor to EA’s Fifa games, their input is apparently being treated more seriously than ever.

The message to journalists, invited here to get a sneak look at the game, is that a lacklustre response to EA Sports FC 25 has meant that addressing user feedback is the main focus. EA has set up a new Player Feedback Portal, as well as a dedicated Discord channel, for fans to put forward their concerns. The developer has also introduced AI-powered social listening tools to monitor EA Sports FC chatter across various platforms including X, Instagram and YouTube.

In this week’s newsletter: the long-awaited release from the three-person Team Cherry studio has crashed gaming storefronts and put indie developers back in the spotlight

Just one game has been dominating the gaming conversation over the past week: Hollow Knight Silksong, an eerie, atmospheric action game from a small developer in Australia called Team Cherry. It was finally released last Thursday after many years in development, and everybody is loving it. Hollow Knight was so popular that it crashed multiple gaming storefronts. With continual game cancellations, expensive failures and layoffs at bigger studios, this is the kind of indie triumph the industry loves to celebrate at the moment. But Silksong hasn’t come out of nowhere, and its success would not be easily reproducible for any other game, indie or not.

If you’re wondering what this game actually is, then imagine a dark, mostly underground labyrinth of bug nests and abandoned caverns that gradually yields its secrets to a determined player. The art style and sound are minimalist and creepy (though not scary) in a Tim Burton kind of way, the enemy bugs are fierce and hard to defeat, your player character is another bug with a small, sharp needle-like blade. It blends elements of Metroid, Dark Souls and older challenging platform games, and the unique aesthetic and perfect precision of the controls are what make it stand out from a swarm of similar games. I rinsed the first Hollow Knight and I’m captivated by Silksong. I’ve spent 15 hours on it in three days, and it has made my thumbs hurt.

PC, PS5, Xbox, Switch 2; Bloober Team
An intriguing setup sees an unnamed protagonist time-travel to discover the origins of a devastating outbreak, but a stingy inventory and one-sided battles lead to frustration

Bloober Team, the Polish developer behind 2021’s hugely underrated psycho-thriller The Medium and last year’s excellent Silent Hill 2 remake, clearly understands that there is an established, almost comforting rhythm to survival horror games. It’s baffling, then, to see this latest game excel in so many areas while failing spectacularly on several of the genre’s most basic tenets.

You play an unnamed traveller, the latest of many, sent to gather information about a devastating outbreak that transformed the citizens of a town called New Dawn into the sort of misshapen monsters that have become the staple of sci-fi-adjacent survival horror: contorted of limb, long of fang, and ample of slobber. As you explore the stark, often beautifully devastated aftermath of the outbreak, you search for places where you can travel back through time to when all hell was breaking loose, extracting persons of interest who may shed light on the disaster. A slow-burn story is revealed through the usual assortment of voice notes, missives and grim environmental clues (often, as is de rigueur, daubed in blood on walls).

Royal & Derngate, Northampton
Hugh Whitemore’s 1986 play about the criminalised mathematician is revised, with a new epilogue by Neil Bartlett, to reflect his 2013 pardoning

When premiered in 1986, giving Derek Jacobi a key career role, Hugh Whitemore’s Breaking the Code was instrumental in spreading knowledge of the precocious brilliance of mathematician Alan Turing, whose brutal treatment by a homophobic and ungrateful state contributed to his suicide in 1954 aged 41.

Though drawing on Andrew Hodges’ 1983 biography, Alan Turing: The Enigma, Whitemore was ahead of several later plays and movies, including Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game (2014). So, for a long time, Whitemore and Jacobi’s portrayal of Turing formed his public image, which was inevitably tragic, given that he remained a convicted criminal for loving men and his theories had not yet been fully realised.

Royal Academy, London
Kidnappings, enslavement, cops and squad cars, golfers, picnics, croquet-players, interstellar travellers … the US artist’s largest ever European show takes in an extraordinary range of experience in a breathtaking show

Biting, funny, astonishing, difficult, surprising, erudite and hugely ambitious, Kerry James Marshall’s The Histories is the largest show of the black American’s work ever held in Europe. Its effects are cumulative. The Histories charts the 69-year-old painter’s intellectual as well as practical development, his themes, his switches of media and of focus and attention. Everything is here for a reason.

How engaging Marshall’s art is, from the first. He takes us from the bar to the bedroom, to the Middle Passage, from the studio to the academy, from the beauty parlour to the dancehall. He paints scenes of kidnappings and of enslavement in Africa and of a black cop sitting on the hood of his squad car – I love the jagged stylised flare of the streetlights in the background. Marshall knows that everything is contended and complex and that there are no innocent images. Pustules of paint, like litter between the blocks, decorate the spaces between the housing projects, like flowers blooming in a riot. On an idyllic day in the park, black folks picnic, practise a golf swing, play croquet, water-ski on the lake and listen to the Temptations, the lyrics floating up like ticker tape from radios on a sunny afternoon. It is an absurd, impossible image. The humour in Marshall’s art is not to be underestimated. In a series devoted to the Middle Passage a Baptist flounders. There are water slides and swimming pools, ocean liners and toy boats and a woman about to dive from a board. The water is filled with drowned maps of Africa and carefully rendered fish, and there’s an exhortation to plunge.

York Theatre Royal
Propulsive show with a sometimes cliched script takes inspiration from the choir formed by local women while their husbands were in Afghanistan

In writer-director Debbie Isitt’s new musical, the women of the title are surrounded by cardboard boxes. As Katie Lias’s set design makes clear, these are precarious lives, regularly packed up and moved from one military base to the next. The promise of the Military Wives Choirs – originated up the road from York Theatre Royal at Catterick Garrison and the subject of a BBC documentary and subsequent film from which this show takes inspiration – is that they offer connection in a rootless existence.

While based on the true story and hitting some of the same plot beats as Peter Cattaneo’s 2019 film, Isitt’s version has its own cast of fictional characters. The show quickly introduces us to a disparate group of women who are brought together when upbeat outsider Olive arrives to form a singing group for the wives while their partners are on a tour of duty in Afghanistan. Though it sacrifices the emotional heft of the movie’s central partnership, this take on the material adopts a fittingly ensemble approach, illustrating the power of community at the story’s heart.

At York Theatre Royal until 27 September

Minerva theatre, Chichester
Justin Audibert’s lucid production is classically considered, with a fine cast making full unsettling use of the intimate space

By the time Laurence Olivier became Chichester Festival theatre’s first artistic director in 1962, he was already a revered Hamlet on stage and screen. But Chichester has never produced its own version of “the Danish play” until now. No pressure then for director Justin Audibert, who took over in 2023.

In a year of briskly delivered Hamlets set at sea (by Rupert Goold) or soundtracked by Radiohead (co-directors Steven Hoggett and Christine Jones), Audibert delivers not a high concept but a lucid and unhurried tragedy. In soliloquy after soliloquy, Giles Terera takes you deep into the prince’s torment, the intimacy of the Minerva accentuating the precision of his expressions. The lights come slightly up when he reaches “To be or not to be”, Terera’s eyes slowly closing on “perchance to dream” only to be rudely wakened before that line’s conclusion.

RSC touring troupe stage King Lear in a school hall on St Mary’s before continuing to the Isle of Wight

“Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow!” King Lear, Act III, Scene 2

A fierce wind and strong swell had turned the Atlantic into a rollercoaster and when the troupe made landfall on the Isles of Scilly, several members felt rather wobbly and looked a little green around the gills.

People remember the human side of the ‘dazzling’ film star, who was kind and wise and lived a dignified life

• Robert Redford, giant of American cinema, dies aged 89

I met Bob in 1984 after he finished Out of Africa through a mutual friend in Malibu, and subsequently began to work for him and became friends. At that time he was establishing Sundance and distancing himself from Hollywood. He was a dolphin among sharks. He was the most kind and wise person one could ever know in this life.
Lex, Joshua Tree, CA

‘When I stopped to let him out, he was looking down. I didn’t know what he was doing. Turned out he was writing a poem about me. I still have it’

I drove a cab in New York for three decades. Riding around, I would meet poets, drag queens and other people who were inspiring. It made me feel good. I started taking their portraits, sometimes with me in the picture. I had several cameras and would often have my strobe hooked on to my visor with a rubber band.

This particular evening, in 1990, I had been informed by a friend that there was a book event going on so I went to take a look. It was jam-packed inside. I spotted Allen Ginsberg, so I went over and talked to him a little. He was pretty intense, kind of stressed, so I had to lay back a little but I asked him if he could write an introduction to my book In My Taxi. But he had too much going on.

With his Sundance film festival and institute, Robert Redford used his considerable power to bring generations of talented film-makers to a bigger audience

Robert Redford, who died at the age of 89 on Tuesday, will rightly be remembered as one of Hollywood’s finest leading men, a true-blue movie star and assured actor who was, to quote my mother and surely many others, “very, very handsome”. His many iconic performances – in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President’s Men, The Way We Were, The Sting and more – certainly left an indelible mark on American movies. But he should perhaps be remembered more for his work behind the camera, as the country’s greatest benefactor of independent cinema.

Through his Sundance film festival and non-profit institute, Redford lent his considerable star power and funds to American independent film, and created what is still its most secure and enduring pillar of support. He provided maverick, cutting-edge film-making with a freewheeling marketplace and crucial buzz, helping to launch the careers of a true who’s who of critically acclaimed directors across generations. With Sundance, Redford played the role of mentor, patron, champion of the small and scrappy, benevolent godfather of independent cinema. It’s through Sundance, rather than his films, that Redford became, as the Black List founder Franklin Leonard put it on X, “arguably the film industry’s most consequential American over the last fifty years”.

We’ve assembled some of the freshest voices in food to bring you their finest tips and shoppable picks, from dreamy dinners and alfresco feasts, to the simple joy of a punnet of strawberries

True Turkish hospitality means providing more food and drink than your guests could ever consume. Here’s a great way to do it … with a little help from the 2024 Young MasterChef judge, best known as Big Has

I spent a lot of my childhood sitting in the passenger seat of my dad Kamil’s Volvo, on the barbecue run, listening to Turkish radio. We would usually get the same things: chicken breasts for mum, boneless thighs for the rest of us, and some sort of lamb on the bone for dad. He would purposely butcher it poorly, leaving bits of meat on the bone to grill slowly and pick at as he cooked for the rest – a “trick” he had learned from his dad. My love for barbecues, cooking over live fire, and entertaining, definitely stems from him.

Barbecues would always start with an impromptu announcement at the table after Sunday morning family breakfast. Mum would begrudgingly agree, knowing the mess my dad can produce in about 20 minutes. It didn’t take much persuading in my house to get the mangal [Turkish barbecue] lit. We didn’t need perfect blue skies. A dry day and enough sunlight to see us through to the evening would be enough to seal the deal, although dad has been known to barbecue under a tree in a bin bag if the weather didn’t cooperate.

Superhost and influencer Saff Michaelis loves nothing more than throwing a party. And if there’s one thing she’s learned, it’s to let shops she trusts do some of the heavy lifting

There is something so deliciously informal about summer hosting. Gone are the elaborate table lays, multiple courses and floral arrangements of the colder months. In exchange, we simply dust off the garden furniture, open a pack of olives and hope for the best. Picnics in the park segue straight into rosé-fuelled suppers – usually under the dappled shade of a tree your partner has been aspiring to prune since the sun first appeared.

Through these little moments with family and friends, it becomes apparent that hosting is more than a hobby; it’s a love language. Independently of what’s served at the table, hosting is a way of providing meaningful in-person interactions in an age when much of our lives feel digitised and somewhat mundane.

‘Special moments demand a suitably special menu’

From fizz destined to make a girls’ night sparkle to a watermelon needed for an alfresco summer salad, we asked three shoppers to share the meaning behind their latest online order

The meaning behind the choices we make can get lost in the rhythm of routine, particularly when it comes to the groceries we order week in, week out. But there’s a whole lot more than dinner in our shopping baskets, as these shoppers reveal. Even the most prosaic items can conjure a memory, speak to a value, or make good on an intention. It’s life, delivered by Ocado …

Reena Mistry. Photographs: Helena Dolby

The latest craze for the kidult market is small stuffed toys you attach to your clothes. But can you look cool – or even just socially acceptable – while wearing them?

There was a time when adults who owned collections of stuffed toys were relatively uncommon, weird even. All that has changed recently: the rise in popularity of toys such as Squishmallows and Jellycat Amuseables has been linked to the growing “kidult” market (adults buying toys for themselves) which accounted for almost 30% of toy sales last year. On the whole, cuddly toys are something people keep at home, on their beds or on display shelves. But that’s changing too – plush toy keyrings such as Labubus are now everywhere. And some “Disney adults” (self-professed grown up Disney fans who might, for example, go to the theme parks without taking children with them) have gone one step further: attaching toys not just to their bags, but to themselves.

“Shoulder pals” (variously known as “shoulder plushies”, “shoulder toys” and “shoulder sitters”) are small toys made in the likeness of Disney characters. They have magnetic bases and come with a flat metal plate designed to be placed under your shirt, so the toy perches on your shoulder. Since the first one, baby Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy, was brought out in 2018, these toys have become a common accessory at the Disney theme parks. There are multiple Reddit threads and TikTok videos about how to track down the latest ones (some are sold at the Disney store, but others are only available at specific locations within the parks). There will apparently be 45 official Disney shoulder pals on offer by the end of next year, with characters ranging from Peter Pan’s Tinker Bell to Anxiety from Inside Out 2. That’s not to mention the many, many knockoffs available online, as well as those sold by Primark, or the DIY pals that some creative TikTok users have been making.

This is a powerful month for fashion, and an ideal time to try a waistcoat, wider trousers, a shorter skirt or a splash of saturated colour

‘Every day is all there is”, as Joan Didion put it, rather elegantly. The words are so smoothly balanced you can turn them over in your mind like a pebble, and the phrase popped into my head the other day when I was thinking about why September is such a powerful month for fashion. September, the saying goes, is January for fashion people. This is sunrise for new trends, high noon for shopping, peak season for glossy magazines packed with breathless style instruction. It is the point in the calendar when an update of what you wear suddenly feels urgent.

This seems, on the surface, like odd timing. After all, once you get to be an adult, nothing much happens in September. It’s not much of a season for parties, or for family holidays. Just the muscle memory of school days makes this the moment to lock back into the routine, the nine-to-five, the tea-bath-bed. But that’s the point. September is all about the everyday.

Tired of toxic tampons and plastic pads? We tested eco-friendly alternatives

• The best period pants, tried and tested for comfort, style and absorbency

There are countless things we can cut out of our lives to help reduce over-consumption, but period products are not one of them. The 3bn disposable menstrual products used in the UK every year generate an estimated 200,000 tonnes of menstrual waste. And sanitary pads, the most commonly used period product globally, are up to 90% plastic.

It gets worse. Studies have detected toxic pesticides and 16 types of metals in tampons. Not by choice, millions of us could be putting our health at risk by placing hidden toxic ingredients on one of the most sensitive parts of our bodies. In light of this, the Women’s Environmental Network is calling for a UK parliamentary bill covering menstrual health, dignity and sustainability.

Nostalgic tech; autumn garden hacks; and what to wear when it rains

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When I was 18, I bought a heavily reduced MiniDisc player. This wasn’t even what you could charitably call “fashionably late”, given the format was already on its last legs, but I loved it, and because nobody else was interested, blank discs were dirt cheap. I have a vague recollection of grabbing packs at Poundland, allowing me to create a glorious self-curated library of cheap music, five years before the birth of Spotify.

I’m reminded of this because this week I’ve published a piece on the Filter about the portable audio technology that killed them: MP3 players. Or digital audio players, to give them their more accurate name, given MP3 playback is just one of many supported file formats.

The best beauty Advent calendars in 2025, tested (yes, we know it’s early!)

The finishing touch: great buys for under £100 to lift your living space, chosen by interiors experts

‘It’s better than plastic and cheaper’: 20 sustainable swaps that worked (and saved you money)

How to get your garden ready for autumn: 17 expert tips you can do now – and what to skip

‘The crunch? Spot on’: the best supermarket gherkins, tasted and rated

What to take to university – and what to leave behind, according to students

How to decorate your university room: 16 easy, affordable ways to make it feel like home

Dry herbs, sow green manure, catch the rain: garden professionals share the simple jobs that will make all the difference come next spring

• The best garden tools to make light work of autumn jobs

The nights are drawing in, TV programming is kicking back into gear and there are ominous warnings about “party season”. However, that doesn’t mean we should ascribe to horticultural tradition and “put our gardens to bed”.

There’s still plenty you can do in the garden to make the most of those crisp, bright autumnal afternoons and relish the offerings of the season to come. Whether squeezing some more joy out of the garden before it dies back for another winter or doing jobs your future spring self will thank you for, these are the things that define the season.

From statement pieces to functional furnishings, 16 experts select accessories that will light up your home without costing a fortune

• The best bedding brands interiors experts use at home, from luxury linen to cool cotton

The best thing about a beautifully decorated room is often not the most expensive. Though interior designers can work with generous budgets, the savvy ones also know how to spot great design in unlikely places (hello, B&Q).

If you don’t have the budget for a full renovation, but still want to add a little design nous to your home, some help is at hand. We asked a range of experts in the interiors world for the pieces they’ve got their eye on – all of them less than £100.

Field-to-fork farmers on the Scottish island are restoring abandoned crofts and serving home-grown produce and freshly caught seafood in their homesteads

‘Edible means it won’t kill you – it doesn’t mean it tastes good. This, however, does taste good,” says chef Carla Lamont as she snips off a piece of orpine, a native sedum, in her herb garden. It’s crisp and juicy like a granny smith but tastes more like cucumber. “It’s said to ward off strange people and lightning strikes; but I like strange people.”

We’re on a three-hectare (seven-acre) coastal croft on the Hebridean island of Mull. Armed with scissors, Carla is giving me a kitchen garden tour and culinary masterclass – she was a quarter-finalist in Masterchef: The Professionals a few years back. Sweet cicely can be swapped for star anise, she tells me. Lemon verbena she uses in scallop ceviche.

The freezer is one of the best tools for saving waste. Here it makes an unexpected but inspired burrata topper

While most Instagram food trends prioritise spectacle over substance, the viral frozen tomato idea that I’m employing today delivers genuine culinary value, and solves a common kitchen problem into the bargain. I’m a bit late to the party, admittedly, but it’s a versatile waste-saving technique.

Its origin clearly derives from either Hawaiian shaved ice or granita, that classic Italian frozen dessert made by stirring and scraping or grating a sorbet-like base into shavings, and the approach essentially applies granita principles to fresh produce, while at the same time cutting out all of the hassle: simply pop any surplus or past-its-best fruit or vegetables in the freezer until they’re rock solid, then grate!

A rich and savoury meat main served over steamed rice, and a crunchy and satisfying side or snack

Our restaurant Bao turns 10 this year, and today’s two dishes capture what’s driven us from the start: heritage and innovation. As the season shifts towards autumn, we crave deeper, more grounding flavours, and lu rou fan is just that: rich, savoury and nostalgic. The daikon tots, meanwhile, are a happy kitchen accident from even before we even had a restaurant – they’re crunchy on the outside, soft within and oddly satisfying. Both dishes reflect what we have always been about: balancing the familiar and the unexpected. Honest, humble and a little indulgent, and perfect for that in-between time as summer fades.

Give cakes and cookies a fruity boost, lend breakfast a sweet lift – and save the rest to jar up as Christmas gifts

I have a lot of jam made with all kinds of berries – are there any bakes that would use some of it up?
Anne-Lies, Gouda, the Netherlands
“Jam is at the heart of many great British puddings and cakes, so there are never too many jars in my house!” says Emily Cuddeford, co-founder of Edinburgh’s Twelve Triangles bakery. Her first thought, though, would be to tip a jar of the sweet stuff into a buttered ceramic baking dish and top it with sponge: “Make a classic, equal-parts mix scaled to your dish by creaming, say, 180g butter and 180g sugar, slowly beating in an egg and a dash of vanilla or lemon zest, and finishing with 180g self-raising flour.” Spoon that on top of the jam and bake at 190C (170C fan)/375F/gas 5 until the sponge “bounces back” and a skewer comes out clean. Serve warm with cream or custard, and job’s a good ’un.

You’ll also want jam to fill or top cakes. “Obvious things are a Victoria sponge, but that doesn’t use much jam,” says the Guardian’s own Benjamina Ebuehi, so she’d be more inclined to spoon buttercream over the top of a coconut cake, for example, make a dip in the middle with the back of a spoon and pop some jam in there: “That’s a nice way to decorate a cake and it also uses up a decent amount of jam.” It wouldn’t hurt, either, to use berry jams to finish a classic school dinner traybake sponge: “Once it’s out of the oven, top with jam then scatter with desiccated coconut.” Otherwise, Ebuehi says, joy can be found in a nostalgic jam tart or Italian crostata (look out for Ebuehi’s blackberry version next week).

Got a culinary dilemma? Email feast@theguardian.com

My husband and I still have sex – but something’s missing. Is stress the culprit?

I’m a woman in my 50s and have been with my husband for decades. We have always had a wonderful sex life and I used to be able to climax vaginally very easily, often without clitoral stimulation. During an eventful time for the family a couple of years ago, my libido and ability to climax disappeared, though they did eventually return. A few months ago, I had a health crisis, which has slightly impaired my coordination on one side. Although I have recovered very well, I am again experiencing a loss of libido and sexual sensation.

We continue to have sex regularly and I enjoy the intimacy. I can climax with clitoral stimulation but it takes a long time and can be almost physically painful. I really miss vaginal orgasms and the release they brought. Although I am of perimenopausal age, I have no obvious symptoms and a hormone test came back normal.

Pamela Stephenson Connolly is a US-based psychotherapist who specialises in treating sexual disorders.

If you would like advice from Pamela on sexual matters, send us a brief description of your concerns to private.lives@theguardian.com (please don’t send attachments). Each week, Pamela chooses one problem to answer, which will be published online. She regrets that she cannot enter into personal correspondence. Submissions are subject to our terms and conditions.

As I reached my late-40s, I’d become anxious and risk-averse. A solo trip made me realise who I was again – and taught me to embrace the thrill of trying something new

I used to pride myself on being a gung-ho kind of person, embracing change and thrills in life, whether that was travelling alone to South America or doing standup comedy. But, as my 40s progressed, I found myself becoming more cautious. I started to choose the safer option, such as booking a package holiday instead of a DIY adventure, or hesitating before sending a work email, worried it didn’t sound “right”.

I felt anxiety, low mood and brain fog – all symptoms of perimenopause – creeping in. I was in what I would call a menopausal funk: weighed down by my feelings and my slightly aching body. I began experiencing this two years ago. I’m 47 now. Taking HRT (hormone replacement therapy) helped, but I felt as if I had reached a point in my life where I had to accept that I was just going to be a bit less “me” and not so brave.

After Jessica and I received expert counselling from the hit show Couples Therapy, I became public enemy number one. Here’s what didn’t make it to the screen

“You are the reason women hate men,” a woman commented on one of my Instagram posts. “You don’t deserve Jessica, you schmuck,” another said in a direct message on Facebook. “I hope you’ve gotten the help you need and set your poor wife free,” wrote a third.

I am a novelist who relishes connecting with his audience. That disposition has suffered. The reason: three months ago, the US network Showtime aired the latest season of the documentary series Couples Therapy, on which my wife Jessica and I appeared as one of the pairs.

It was a nice suit but it hadn’t exactly been tailored to fit me properly. Thanks to her, I walked into class with confidence

• Read more in the Kindness of strangers series

I started law school in 1976. Gough Whitlam had abolished university fees, which meant a lot of older women who previously wouldn’t have been able to afford to study were arriving at uni for the first time.

I was 17 and nursing an otherness of my own. One day in class, our lecturer asked everyone who had attended a private high school to raise their hand. The sea of arms that shot up revealed that, in a class of 30 people, I was the only one who’d come from a state school. The lecturer didn’t do this cruelly – he was making a point about lawyers being privileged people, and how that affects the legal system. But I nonetheless felt very confronted by the different world my peers came from.

From telling the insurers to accepting you may need to get the experts in, tips on dealing with the deceased’s property

When someone close to you dies, be it a relative or a friend, practical considerations may be far from your mind. But you could quickly find that you have the responsibility of looking after, then clearing out, their home.

An inflation-busting rise in payments is likely to reignite debate about the system introduced in 2011

• UK state pension likely to rise by 4.7% under triple lock

• UK pay growth stays high, but Britons are feeling the pinch

• Business live – latest updates

The full new state pension looks likely to increase by almost £11 to £241 a week from next April – equating to £12,534 a year – as a result of the triple lock, the latest wage growth figures suggest.

The inflation-busting 4.7% or £560-a-year rise will need to be confirmed by the government. It is likely to reignite debate about the affordability of the triple lock, and poses questions about the standard tax-free personal allowance, which stands at £12,570.

A reader discovered her name did not exist in the system after attempting to register a much-needed card online

I applied for a Lloyds Bank credit card, which duly arrived with my name on it. When I attempted to register it online, I discovered that my name did not exist in the system.

Bank staff could only locate a profile associated with my twin sister, who has never had a Lloyds account. She has since been emailed about my card.

Those trying to report a death can face bureaucracy, costly delays and other shocking mistakes

Ella Stevens* had steeled herself for the painful task of informing a string of companies that her mother had died.

She notified her mother’s insurer, Direct Line. It responded by sending a letter to her late mother thanking her for letting it know of the change. When Stevens complained, Direct Line dispatched its apology and a goodwill cheque to her mother.

The JadeYoga Harmony helped me unlock a new form of fitness, and stuck with me for the long haul

• Have a buy it for life product recommendation – or disagree with our review? Email thefilter.us@theguardian.com

• Sign up for the Filter US newsletter, your weekly guide to buying fewer, better things.

The original yogis didn’t have rubber mats, or foam ones, for that matter. They had bare ground, grass mats and animal skins, if they were lucky. So when my wife suggested I spend $90 on a natural rubber yoga mat like the one she had, I balked. Is that really necessary?

It turns out the answer was yes. Ten years later, I’m still using the JadeYoga Harmony mat I sprang for, and I’m no longer a skeptic, I’m an evangelist. Natural rubber provides enough cushion for comfort, enough grip to safely push my limits, and the durability of a truck tire.

After years of miscarriages, I had abandoned the prospect of giving birth. Then, as we prepared to conceive using a surrogate, the impossible happened

The first time I miscarried, I blamed myself. After getting pregnant early on in our relationship, at 34, I had a flash of doubt that my partner Alex and I weren’t ready to be parents. Then, a few weeks later, the pregnancy was over.

My second early loss, just a few months later, hit me harder. We went to a fertility specialist, and the tests on both of us came back clear, but then I couldn’t get pregnant at all.

The idea that your vagina should smell as fresh as a daisy or look like a doll’s is an insult to your humanity and a hazard to your health

Hi Ugly,

I have been noticing a barrage of ads for “vaginal wellness” products: suppositories, balms and serums, and even a “vagi facial” at a local spa. What’s up with this? I was always taught that my vagina was self-cleaning and beautiful. Suddenly I am not so sure, and even find myself wondering if my labia are “normal” or in fact gross. Is this really happening?

Why is this column called ‘Ask Ugly’?

How should I be styling my pubic hair?

How do I deal with imperfection?

My father had plastic surgery. Now he wants me and my mother to get work done

I want to ignore beauty culture. But I’ll never get anywhere if I don’t look a certain way

The fertility rate in England and Wales has fallen for the third year in a row – a trend mirrored across the world, with two-thirds of the global population now living in countries with below-replacement-level fertility. In the second episode of a two-part series, Madeleine Finlay speaks to Dean Spears, assistant professor of economics at the University of Texas at Austin, and Dr Jennifer Sciubba, chief executive of the Population Reference Bureau, to ask whether declining birth rates are really something to worry about – and how societies can adapt to a future with fewer children.

• Watch the new Guardian documentary Between Moon Tides

Listen to episode one: are we on a path to depopulation?

Support the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod

Preteens are parroting influencer speak and demanding anti-ageing products as the pressure to fit in intensifies

Jessica, 25, was working a shift at Sephora when a little girl who looked about 10 ran up to one of her colleagues, crying. “Her skin was burning,” Jessica said, “it was tomato red. She had been running around, putting every acid you can think of on the palm of her hand, then all over her face. One of our estheticians had to tend to her skin. Her parents were nowhere to be seen.”

Former Sephora employee KM, 25, has her war stories too. Like the day a woman was caught shoplifting and told the security guard “she was trying to steal because her kid was getting bullied because she didn’t have a Dior lip gloss. [The mom] couldn’t afford it but her daughter told her she is going to get made fun of at school.”

Creative director Stuart Vevers appeals to gen z audience with ‘down-to-earth pieces’ for New York fashion week

New York fashion week is proving a particularly perplexing time for brands as they continue to grapple with a global slowdown, leading many to question what luxury even means today.

For some consumers, it is always going to be about a gleaming five-figure handbag. For others, it is a limited-edition Labubu. While a certain cohort considers a plain cashmere jumper to be the peak of high status, logomania endures for others. Vintage shopping is now used to denote quality but equally buying nothing has become a powerful signifier.

Created by photographer Jamie Morgan and stylist Ray Petri, the Buffalo look – tough, but also cinematic – was worn by Naomi Campbell, Neneh Cherry and Kate Moss. Morgan explains what it means, then and now

Fashion’s historic references come and go. Currently, they might include Harrison Ford in shorts in the 1970s and 90s Oasis. But there are also some that are canon – such as Buffalo, the look masterminded by stylist Ray Petri and photographer Jamie Morgan in the mid-80s.

Shaped largely through fashion shoots for the Face magazine, the duo created a look that reflected the culture and creativity of London at the time, but gave it the classy and cinematic feel of a Marlon Brando portrait or a shot by Henri Cartier-Bresson. This beautifully lit black-and-white photography of street-cast models and people – including a then-unknown Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Neneh Cherry and Nick Kamen, who later went on to star in Levi’s famous 1985 launderette advert – went on to shape both fashion photography and fashion.

The high street brand moves beyond fast fashion with a brutalist collection, while Paltrow loses the gimmicks

The headline act on day four of New York fashion week had all the hallmarks of a typical designer catwalk, including a pulsating soundtrack and a front row peppered with Hollywood stars. However, there was a twist. Instead of a luxury brand staging the show on Sunday, it was the high street label Cos.

The Swedish label, founded in 2007 by the H&M group, welcomed guests including the British actors Jodie Turner-Smith and Naomi Watts as well as the singer Lauryn Hill to a former 1890s rope factory in Brooklyn.

A new wellbeing hotel on the tiny outpost of Styrsö in the Gothenburg archipelago is a perfect base for a relaxing, restorative break

If you came to stay on the tiny island of Styrsö (steer-shuh) in the Gothenburg archipelago in the late 19th or early 20th century, there was a good chance it was because you had tuberculosis. The island had already begun to appeal to city folk who came here for fresh air, sea baths and peace, but the sanatoriums set up by the renowned Dr Peter Silfverskiöld gained such a positive reputation that the isle became known as a health resort. Those glory days have long since faded but Kusthotellet, a new hotel dedicated to wellbeing, aims to tap back into the restorative vibe.

The conditions that first drew health-seekers to the island still pertain. It’s tucked away and protected from winds, but the lack of high ground nearby means the sun shines on its southern coast from dawn to dusk, and there’s no pollution. “This island is such a peaceful place – you can really relax and recharge your batteries,” Malin Lilton, manager of Kusthotellet, told my companion and me. “As soon as you get on the ferry your pulse rate goes down and you start breathing in the good air.”

Perfect for a weekend getaway, the Petworth Way takes in historic estates, welcoming inns and spectacular views

There are many ways to make an entrance, but lurching into a pub full of smartly dressed diners while windswept, muddy and more than a little frayed wouldn’t be my first choice. At 7.30pm on a sunny Sunday evening, the Welldiggers Arms – a country pub just outside Petworth in West Sussex – is full of people tucking into hearty roasts, the glass-walled restaurant overlooking glorious downland scenery, the sun all but disappeared behind the hills. For my husband, Mark, and I, it’s more than a stop for supper; the pub marks the halfway point on our two-day walking adventure along a brand new trail, the 25-mile Petworth Way.

Twenty-five miles may not sound like much (I have keen walker friends who would do it in a day) but, for us, it’s the perfect length, with plenty of pubs along the way. The first leg, from Haslemere to Petworth, covers countryside we’re both entirely unfamiliar with; the second, Petworth to Arundel runs through landscapes I’ve known since childhood. Happily, the start and finish points can be reached by rail – meaning we can leave the car at home and set off with nothing but small rucksacks, water bottles and detailed printed instructions.

The sun is still shining but the crowds have gone … It’s the perfect time to head south, to gorgeous spots in Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Morocco and Corsica

The summer has left the water deliciously warm. We paddle into sea caves as stunning as cathedrals

Neil Gilson is undertaking a huge mental and physical task to raise awareness of a neuropsychiatric condition that affected his son Jack

The physical effort as he battles currents, coldness and wind is massive, but the mental challenge of ploughing on alone for hours on end is even more testing.

Neil Gilson, a father of three from Devon, is about to set off on the next leg of his attempt to become the first person to swim the 10 largest lakes in Switzerland, a total of about 230 miles.

I should have been devastated when I came third in a public speaking competition. But the joy that came out of nowhere has shaped the rest of my life

“I am a teenager, living in an age with war, corruption, discrimination, racism, sexism. But no one seems angry about it. People see the slight advances towards equal society as having solved our issues entirely and it just isn’t enough.”

It’s March 2015, and I’ve done it: I’ve solved inequality. Standing in the basement room of Modern Art Oxford for my regional heat of the Articulation prize public speaking competition, I truly believe that I may have just introduced this room full of parents and teachers to the concept of feminism. I’m very pleased with myself.

The cuddly chatbot Grem is designed to ‘learn’ your child’s personality, while every conversation they have is recorded, then transcribed by a third party. It wasn’t long before I wanted this experiment to be over ...

‘I’m going to throw that thing into a river!” my wife says as she comes down the stairs looking frazzled after putting our four-year-old daughter to bed.

To be clear, “that thing” is not our daughter, Emma*. It’s Grem, an AI-powered stuffed alien toy that the musician Claire Boucher, better known as Grimes, helped develop with toy company Curio. Designed for kids aged three and over and built with OpenAI’s technology, the toy is supposed to “learn” your child’s personality and have fun, educational conversations with them. It’s advertised as a healthier alternative to screen time and is part of a growing market of AI-powered toys.

It doesn’t have to be miserable. We asked experts how best to start training your new (or old) best friend

My family has never been closer to the brink of collapse than when we got a puppy. We spent hours reading articles and watching videos about puppy training, and were constantly arguing about the right way to potty train him or get him to stop barking.

Every new piece of information seemed to contradict what we’d already learned – never scold him! Scold him! – but one thing was certain: make one wrong move and you will ruin your dog and your life forever.

How to start meditating

How to start weightlifting

How to start budgeting

How to start running

Don’t panic! This plant has a natural seasonal rhythm, so resist the urge to overwater when it’s bare

What’s the problem?
My Euphorbia ritchiei sprouted a leaf, but it was accidentally knocked off and now it’s bare. Will it grow back?

Diagnosis
Please don’t panic, this east African succulent is unusual in that it grows fleshy leaves along its ridged stems during its growing season, then often sheds them in winter. In its native Kenya, rainfall is seasonal. The plant responds by producing foliage in the wet season, then dropping its leaves in the dry season to conserve water and energy. The green stems continue to photosynthesise so the plant can survive leafless for long periods.

Find a course at one of the top universities in the country. Our league tables rank them all subject by subject, as well as by student satisfaction, staff numbers, spending and career prospects

Students may have had a reputation for boozy behaviour, but there are ways to make friends for those who prefer to keep things straight edge

For as long as anyone can remember, drinking has been a key part of the student experience – but this is changing. An increasing number of young people are turning away from drinking, with a 2024 poll by Student Beans finding that half of first-year students did not plan to drink during their freshers’ week.

If you’re considering a teetotal uni experience, or want to limit your drinking, here are four places to look for sober fun.

Money is almost always tight as a student, but fitting work around your studies requires a little forethought and planning if you want to avoid a negative impact on those grades

If you’re planning to go to university, you may also be thinking about getting a job while studying. But it can be difficult to know where to look, especially if you’re moving to an unfamiliar city.

The most important thing is to find a job that’s flexible enough to fit alongside your studies. With the third term increasingly quiet or even empty you might consider filling it with temporary work – but remember your main goal is to get a degree that opens the door to the career you want. Many universities, including Edinburgh, Birmingham and Brunel, recommend working no more than an average of 15 hours a week during term time so that your studies aren’t compromised.

Sea levels are rising in New England at some of the fastest rates in the world. On a quiet ribbon of saltmarsh in Rhode Island, septuagenarian Deirdre isn’t prepared to accept the loss of her beloved saltmarsh sparrow - the species is facing extinction before 2050 due to elevated high tides inundating nests and drowning fledgling birds. Leading a team of citizen scientists, Deirdre unravels the secret to finding delicate nests amid thick marsh grass, while they design and deploy a low-cost ‘ark’ to try to raise the sparrow nests to safety.

Manufacturers say new rules on passing on assets threaten investment and future survival of businesses

Unassuming wooden crates filled with brake pads and metal springs are piled high in the loading bay of the Broadbent factory close to Huddersfield city centre. Shipping them out to Nigeria and Ghana remains the day job for Simon Broadbent, but the manufacturer’s owner has a growing issue nagging at him – the fate of his 160-year-old business in the face of Labour’s tax overhaul.

Broadbent has emerged as a reluctant challenger to plans by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to strip family firms of the ability to pass on their businesses tax free from next April. Campaigners, including the manufacturers association Make UK, say the tax overhaul threatens the backbone of the British industrial sector.

The big Beijing military parade included new weaponry that analysts say could potentially threaten the US Pacific territory

Like most people living in Guam, Jacqueline Guzman is used to hearing about the threat from China. The US territory of about 170,000 people lies in the Pacific Ocean and despite growing geopolitical tensions in the region, the cost of living rather than military aggression is front of mind for many residents.

Guzman says she is worried “about paying bills” and has trust in the US government to protect her.

This week the first migrants could be flown out of Britain under the ‘one in, one out’ deportation scheme. They talk about their fears and incomprehension

“We can’t eat. We can’t sleep. We have been locked up in this place for more than a month. Some people expect to be forced on to a plane to France today. Nobody wants to go. For us, this is a disaster.”

The man speaking, Fessahaye, is an asylum seeker from Eritrea who fled indefinite military conscription in his home country, and walked through the Sahara before being tortured and enslaved in Libya. He eventually crossed the Mediterranean and reached Europe. From France he travelled to the UK in a small boat.

If you’re an art teacher and you’d like to speak to us about your experience, we’d like to hear from you

We are hoping to facilitate conversations between people of different generations talking about certain topics. We would love to speak to a gen Z and baby boomer art teacher. If you’re an art teacher from these generations and you’d like to speak to us about your experience, we’d like to hear from you.

What has it been like working as an art teacher? What do you like about your job? What challenges have there been in your work?

We would like to hear from visitors to the V&A East Storehouse about their highlights from the exhibition

The V&A has launched a new exhibition space, the V&A East Storehouse in East London, where visitors can choose from over 250,000 objects and have one delivered to a room for a private viewing.

A recent addition to the collection is the David Bowie Centre, containing the singer’s archive.

The Guardian’s Saturday magazine is looking to speak to young voters. If you are aged 18-29 we would like to get your view on pressing political issues

The Guardian’s Saturday magazine is looking to speak to young voters. If you are aged 18-29 we would like to get your view on the pressing political issues of the day. We are particularly interested in speaking to people who plan to vote for the Conservative party or the Reform party in the next election.

The idea is to ask your opinion on subjects like feminism, immigration policy and the welfare state. Interviews can be anonymous, if you would prefer to speak to us without revealing your identity.

We would like to hear from people about their culinary disasters and what they think went wrong

From an overambitious birthday cake to an adventurous would-be feast that ended up in the dustbin, we would like to hear about the worst meal you’ve ever cooked.

We will feature a selection in an article of humorous (and non-lethal) anecdotes of culinary disaster for G2.

Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you through the top stories and what they mean

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Each week we’ll send you an exclusive newsletter from our star food writers. We’ll also send you the latest recipes from Yotam Ottolenghi, Nigel Slater, Meera Sodha and all our star cooks, stand-out food features and seasonal eating inspiration, plus restaurant reviews from Grace Dent and Jay Rayner.

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From Billie Eilish to Billie Piper, Succession to Spiderman and everything in between, subscribe and get exclusive arts journalism direct to your inbox. Gwilym Mumford provides an irreverent look at the goings on in pop culture every Friday, pointing you in the direction of the hot new releases and the best journalism from around the world.

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