Lindsay C Gibson’s book Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents was an enormous unexpected hit in the pandemic. Now the psychologist is back with her advice for raising happy, healthy children

Around the time of the pandemic, a self-help book with a somewhat unglamorous but functional title – Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents – took off on social media. It had been published five years earlier, but in 2020, when more people had time to reflect on life, it was rediscovered, its success fuelled by readers who recognised their own childhood in its pages and their experience with parents who had uncontrolled emotional outbursts, or were self-absorbed, unavailable or lacking empathy. In the view of its author, Lindsay C Gibson, these were parents whose own emotional developmental stage was closer to that of, say, a four- or five-year-old. Their own children had overtaken them, and were now recognising it.

Gibson’s latest book, How to Raise an Emotionally Mature Child, is a guide for those of us who don’t want our children to experience the same kind of childhood we did. Perhaps you’ve realised – the self-awareness is key – that you’re lacking enough maturity of your own, and feel clueless about what you should be doing. “If you have an emotionally immature parent, it doesn’t mean that you’re doomed,” says Gibson, via video call from her home in coastal Virginia. “However, you’ve probably learned emotionally immature attitudes and behaviours that may pop out at times. The difference is that if you have adequate emotional maturity, you’re going to notice it and it’s going to bother you.”

‘Concern’ about immigration has now morphed into policing how ethnic minorities exist in our communities

Turn away, for a moment, from Westminster and the battle to be the next prime minister – and towards the lives of the ethnic minorities and immigrants who live in England and who just saw many parts of their country turn turquoise at the May local elections. How are these people to be treated by Reform representatives when that party thinks they are lesser humans – and a threat to the social fabric of the very communities they live in?

A newly elected Reform councillor has allegedly said “Carnt [sic] believe amount of nigerians in town … should melt them all down and fill in the pot holes”. The deputy leader of Reform, Richard Tice, said that voters have heard all this “smearing and sneering” before when the comment was put to him. Another Reform candidate tweeted that Muslims “never coexist with others” and should be deported, and that Africans have IQs “among the lowest in the world”. And another stated that, “The only solution” was to “remove the Muslims from our territory” – and that Ashkenazi Jews were a “problem” who “caused the world massive misery”.

Nesrine Malik is a Guardian columnist

Some of the homes have been repossessed, while others are being sold off by debt-laden housing associations. Who buys them – and who will end up living there?

Amid the high-stakes bustle of numbered paddles shooting up and gavels banging down, an unexpected voice calls desperately from the corner of the auction room. “That’s my house,” shouts the woman, watching her home of 20 years up for sale.

“I live there. You can tell the people who are bidding I’m not coming out of my house,” she continues.

His extraordinary Auschwitz film won every award going. Now the Hungarian director is back with new drama Orphan, as well as a Jean Moulin biopic at Cannes. He talks about resurgent global prejudice – and refusing to be lectured by the film industry ‘overclass’

We’ve been talking for less than five minutes when I spot the swastika. It’s just above the head of László Nemes, one of Europe’s most acclaimed directors, as he sits in the suite of a London hotel, talking about Orphan, his intensely personal new film that dwells on – among other things – the impact of the Holocaust on the generations that followed. It’s an ancient, Hindu swastika, part of a decorative wall-hanging – but still.

I’m halfway through a question when I notice it. Nemes laughs; of course, he’d seen it immediately. “I wanted to point that out to you,” he says. “It is so funny. Before leaving this room, I will take pictures.” Mind you, he’s had worse. “When I was at the San Sebastián film festival with Son of Saul, they put me in the Mel Gibson room.”

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

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

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

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

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

Deputy PM says the public will not forgive weeks of internal debate on the EU and Labour leadership, warning it will play into Reform’s hands

Jessica Elgot is the Guardian’s deputy political editor.

Keir Starmer has been visiting Labour HQ this morning and speaking to staff, saying the party needs to offer “a bit more hope.”

I just wanted to come here to Labour party headquarters to say a big thank you to you. The election results were not the ones that we wanted, they were really tough. But you worked your socks off.

It’s not been easy circumstances in the last 10 days. But you have just got on with the job that we asked you to do.

If you look at just some of the figures that came out last week. We had growth figures that were the best in the G7. That’s because of the hard work that we’ve done in government. On the economy we’ve got ourselves into a good position, having inherited a real basket case from the last government.

The NHS figures were really good, which again vindicates what we did, which was invest in the NHS, which is what we said we would do.

And that’s on top of all the other things … The Employment Rights Act. The biggest upgrade in renters’ rights in a generation.

And then of course all the work that we are doing around child poverty, of which I am really proud. What a game changer that will be for a whole generation and will be measured for years and years to come because the children will feel the impact for the rest of their lives. They will have chances they wouldn’t otherwise have had.

The election results tell us that people are frustrated, they don’t feel that their lives have changed quickly enough.

We need to build up the urgency of what we do. We need a bit more hope in there. And we need to remember at all times what we are here to do. We were elected to government to serve the people of this country.

And I remind myself every day that in July 2024 millions of people voted for us to come into government, to get on with the job, to govern, and to bring about the change that they want.

So I am focused on the job that I was asked to do, which is to serve my country and to carry out my duties as prime minister of this country. Delivering for the very many people who voted us into office, who are saying, ‘just get on with it, get on with the job, get on with the change that I need to see in my life’. And that is what I am going to be doing.

We now have an important by-election coming up. It is Labour versus Reform. We will know very shortly who the candidate is. Whoever they are I am going to support them 100% and I want every member, everyone in our movement, to support them. A Labour candidate to beat Reform. That is the fight that we are in.

US president says there ‘won’t be anything left’ of country if it doesn’t come to an agreement

• UAE blames Iran or its proxies for drone strike fire near nuclear plant

Iran’s top security body has announced the formation of a new body to manage the strait of Hormuz, which Tehran has effectively closed to countries it deems hostile to it – and wants to charge ships to traverse.

On its official X account, the Supreme national security council shared a post for the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) saying it would provide “real‑time updates on the Hormuz Strait operations and latest developments”.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ukrainian president says Europe must ‘have a strong voice and presence’ amid search for candidate who could lead any talks with Putin

The European Commission has been asked about its response to the renewed talk about Britain’s potential future attempt to rejoin the European Union – but chose not to get involved.

The question comes as the ruling Labour Party has reopened its debate on the EU membership after a presumed leadership contender, former health minister Wes Streeting, said the country should eventually seek to regain its place in the EU.

Airline says travellers are leaving it longer to book and those buying flights later this year could face higher prices

• Business live – latest updates

Ryanair is “confident” it will not face a jet fuel shortage this summer amid fears over widespread cancellations linked to the Iran war, but warned that holidaymakers booking their flights later this year could face higher fares.

Neil Sorahan, the chief financial officer at the budget airline, said he was “increasingly confident that we will not see any supply shocks this summer”.

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

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

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

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

Singer took lead vocal on UK No 1 When You’re in Love With a Beautiful Woman, and had numerous other transatlantic hits

Dennis Locorriere, the guitarist and singer with the chart-topping soft rock band Dr Hook, has died aged 76.

A statement from his management company said he died on Saturday “after a long and courageous battle with kidney disease … Dennis faced his illness with remarkable strength, dignity, and resilience throughout, and remained deeply cherished by all who knew him”.

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

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

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

Associated Press contributed to this report

For decades, Britain seemed to be leaving Christianity behind. Then a controversial report suggested church attendance was on the rise, published just as far-right figures such as Tommy Robinson began seizing on Christianity as a symbol of national identity. So is the UK really experiencing a Christian revival and to what extent is it being driven by Christian nationalism? To find out, the Guardian visited churches across the country and uncovered a growing schism over how Christianity is being interpreted in modern Britain

While RAF Lakenheath holds its secrets, neighbours contend with plane spotters, protesters and sonic booms

The local people know there is something going on when the internet and phone signal drops dead, they say. If the heavy bombers are flying low, the teachers will pause their school assembly until the thunderous din has passed. The parish council has been briefed on the intricacies of sonic booms. Car insurance is more expensive here as the Americans “can’t drive” and sometimes find themselves on the wrong side of the road. The base became less open to its neighbours after 9/11. But everyone knows there are secrets held beyond the barbed wire, not least that this is where the nukes are stored.

RAF Lakenheath is home to the largest number of US air force (USAF) combat-ready aircraft in Europe, part of what is known as the “tri-base area” of Suffolk, a stretch of 20 sq miles (52 sq km) of land leased to the US government around which a peculiar ecosystem has developed over the eight decades of the American presence.

Civilians left increasingly exposed as a dangerous new front opens up in the country’s decades-old conflict

As night fell over southern Colombia, and a group of children began their weekly Tuesday football match, a drone appeared overhead.

The children looked up, and the drone dropped a grenade, its blast killing a 10-year-old boy and injuring 12 more civilians. The child’s death, in southern Cauca in 2024, marked the first known time a person in the country had been killed in a weaponised drone attack.

At 82, the character actor is as frank and fired-up as ever with two hit stage shows and a summer blockbuster on the way. He’s embracing being odd, he says, even if everyone doesn’t quite get it

When I ask Wallace Shawn how he cast his latest stage work, What We Did Before Our Moth Days, the actor and playwright smiles matter-of-factly: “Well, I think that’s secret. I don’t think I’ll tell you.” It’s polite, to the point and sets a clear boundary: something that I soon discover that the charming 82-year-old is entirely comfortable with.

On an overcast Wednesday, we are in a restaurant atop the hip Manhattan arthouse cinema Metrograph, watching people trickle in a few days before a retrospective of his films opens there. Spending time with Shawn feels like stepping into his own constant sense of wonderment: something midway between a knowing shrug and puzzlement over his immediate situation. When the cinema’s publicist offers him a Twix bar, he cocks his head and asks what that is, but politely accepts one. (When she returns with more options, he opts for popcorn instead.)

Rising demand for exotic pets is pushing many gibbon species to extinction, with their strong family bonds making them especially vulnerable to the brutal trade

It is a cool morning in Thailand’s hilly north, and a wildlife officer sits on the veranda of Omkoi wildlife sanctuary’s office. On her lap is a wide-eyed infant primate dressed in baby clothes. Not unlike a human baby, he kicks and waves excitedly. Most of his dark skin is covered in dense white fur, except for his face and the palms of his hands.

“We call him Chokdee,” the officer says. “It means ‘good luck’.”

Exposure to high temperatures won’t have a noticable effect – unless your sperm count is already low

Could your post-gym spa habit affect your ability to have a baby? It’s a belief that gets repeated regularly online. But Prof Colin Duncan, a fertility expert at the University of Edinburgh, says things aren’t as clearcut as people make out. Cisgender men produce sperm in the testicles. It’s from here that these male reproductive cells are released to inseminate the eggs women produce.

Duncan says that repeated exposure to higher temperatures, such as those found in saunas, do inevitably have some effect on how much sperm is made by them. “Testicles are located outside the body because they work better when they’re cooler. If you’re incubating them in a sauna then they don’t work quite as well.”

He made the notorious film Ecstatic Stigmatic. He designed punk jewellery worthy of Westwood. He played in a ‘perfect’ band with Lydia Lunch. Now a newly discovered archive is casting new light on this star of the New York demimonde

Gordon Stevenson was a mover and a shaker within late-70s New York, back when the city was, in the words of photographer Julia Gorton, “a nihilistic playground for people with trauma”. Tall, rail-thin, hair cut into a severe widow’s peak, Stevenson was an artist, jewellery designer, musician and the auteur behind one of no wave cinema’s most notorious works, Ecstatic Stigmatic.

Four decades after his death, however, he’s best remembered as a footnote in other people’s stories. That’s all about to change, however, with the discovery of a storage unit full of his lost work, including jewellery, collaborations with mail-art pioneer Ray Johnson, and even clues to the whereabouts of a surviving print of Ecstatic Stigmatic. Meanwhile, his family have recovered hundreds of letters Stevenson wrote to his parents, chronicling life in his downtown demimonde and his experiences as one of New York’s first Aids patients.

She might look like a wolf, but Nya’s temperament is so sweet that she now helps people who have a fear of trains and travel

I got Nya, a German shepherd, when she was a puppy. She has such a good temperament – she’s really calm around people.

When she was five years old, I decided to register her with Pets As Therapy, an organisation that brings therapy pets into hospitals, care homes, schools and other places to befriend people, and help reduce stress and anxiety.

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

If Zack Polanski can be both popular and radical – think price controls to manage the cost of living – then he will have found a uniting mission

The Greens are jubilant after sweeping through Labour heartlands in last week’s elections, winning Norwich, Hastings, Waltham Forest, Hackney and Lewisham, while becoming the largest party in Haringey and Lambeth too. At the same time, there are reports that Zack Polanski is “plotting” to water down the Green policy platform. That’s not quite true. As leader of an admirably democratic party, Polanski doesn’t set the policy programme, and he knows it. It’s in the hands of the members. But his comments do speak to a real debate in the Green party: how to consolidate its newfound success and extend the coalition so it can replace Labour from the left.

To put things very simply, there are two emerging positions. The maximalists, often newer members who have cut their teeth in protest politics and social movements, want to seize on the radicalism of the moment, pushing controversial policies that grab attention and move the Overton window further left. Then there are the moderates – often longstanding members and councillors, branch chairs or party staffers – who are generally supportive of the politics but worry that seeming too radical or out there will hurt the party’s chances electorally. Employing the Ming vase strategy, they want to tiptoe the Greens’ newfound popularity over the finish line.

Joe Todd is co-host of the Life of the Party podcast and writes the New Party, Old Problems Substack

Over the past five years, I’ve spoken to people struggling to get by in post-industrial northern England. They’re crying out for more radicalism, not less

Among other defeats, the recent local elections saw Labour lose heavily across the Midlands and the north of England. The results are reminiscent of the 2016 Brexit vote and, with the return of those electoral geographies, some of the old tropes have resurfaced, too.

Once again, England’s post-industrial towns are cast as the angry, reactionary counterparts to booming, progressive cities. Certainly, Reform UK is winning there now, but that is not the full picture. These places should not be chalked up as lost causes for the left.

Sacha Hilhorst is a Hallsworth Fellow at the University of Manchester and a senior research fellow at Common Wealth

La cancoillotte, a low-fat liquid cheese product, has somehow taken the country of haute cuisine by storm

Exciting news from over the Channel: a viral cheese has dropped, but good luck spelling, or saying, it. As Libération reports, la cancoillotte (even native speakers struggle with the pronunciation, apparently), a liquid cheese from Franche-Comté in the east, is taking over fitness social media, thanks to its 16g of “prot” per 100g (as the French muscle bros and girls say), low fat content and bargain price. Its secret ingredient is a skimmed milk product, metton, traditionally a byproduct of butter-making repurposed by thrifty peasants to avoid waste.

Those Franc-Comtois(es) peasants could hardly have imagined where their waste-not-want-not gloop would end up. In April, the social media personality Johan Papz said that discovering cancoillotte was “the best day of my life”, flamboyantly flinging the pale ooze over a plate of potatoes like a moister Salt Bae, then flashing the abs its impressive macronutrients allowed him to cultivate. Another cancoillotte-fluencer has made 178 TikToks on the topic and travelled more than 300 miles on a pilgrimage to Franche-Comté. Julie Morin, the president of the association for the promotion of cancoillotte, called online enthusiasm for the product “incredible”, while the supermarket Carrefour told Libération sales of the garlic variety (of course) rose 16% last month.

These unsettling and unusual places tell a vivid story about the unique way that Spain deals with its past – or fails to

Una Grande Libre reads the sign above the entrance to a bar-restaurant in Madrid’s Usera neighbourhood. This was Francisco Franco’s motto for Spain – one, great, free – and it is accompanied by a large portrait of the dictator superimposed on to the window.

The exteriors of El Cangrejo in Ciudad Real and Casa Pepe in Despeñaperros are a little bit more subtle, but not much: decorated ostentatiously in the red and yellow of the Spanish flag. The accompanying historical symbols on display, such as the yoke and arrows of the Falange and the Eagle of San Juan, remove any doubt: the year is 2026 and you have encountered one of Spain’s network of bars and restaurants that proudly glorify Franco and his dictatorship.

Energy security comes from using local, renewable resources to power, heat and cool communities, as Ukraine is doing

Donald Trump’s unjustified war on Iran and the resulting global fuel crisis is a continuing reminder that true energy security and independence will continue to elude us so long as we remain dependent on fossil fuels.

Whether it’s wars over oil and gas resource access or attacks on fossil fuel power plants and energy grids, this reliance on finite resources only worsens a country’s threat profile. News this month of Russia’s deadly attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, Russian drones swarming Ukrainian power stations, and Kyiv running out of time to prepare for another winter of attacks on its energy grid illustrates this urgency.

The US representative Lloyd Doggett serves Texas’s 37th district in the House of Representatives and is a member of the Ukraine caucus and the House sustainable energy and environment coalition. Michael Shank PhD is adjunct faculty at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs, and at George Mason University’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

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

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

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

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The challenge of how to look after an ageing population has been ducked by politicians for too long

If a new Labour leader wants to underline their determination to wrestle with Britain’s political challenges, it is hard to think of a better place to start than with the creaking social care settlement.

A new collection of essays, to be published by the Fabian Society soon, urges the government – whoever leads it – to crack on with creating a “national care service” more closely aligned to the NHS and ensure it is properly funded.

Jess Phillips’s frustration about online safety highlights the alarming reluctance to confront big tech

The £950,000 fine imposed by Ofcom on a US-based suicide forum that is implicated in over 160 UK deaths marks an intensification of the regulator’s efforts to make the internet safer. Campaigners against online harms, including relatives of people who have taken their own lives, are justifiably angry that it has taken so long to get to this point. Even now, Ofcom is giving the website’s operator the chance to address “concerns” and avoid a court order that would ban access to it.

But if enforcement remains a tortuous process, at least the principle is clear. It is illegal to encourage or assist a suicide in England and Wales (in Scotland, such actions could lead to prosecution as reckless endangerment or a range of other offences). A situation whereby behaviour is tolerated online, when it would carry criminal penalties if carried out in person, cannot be allowed.

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

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

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

Dr Lutz Oette and Anna Snowdon respond to an article by Nesrine Malik in which she calls out the primary sponsors of the calamity

Nesrine Malik’s article is timely, highlighting how evidence of the United Arab Emirates’ complicity in Sudan’s war has begun to prompt calls for action to be taken (The UAE tries hard to keep its reputation spotless. But with the war in Sudan, how can it?, 13 May). What is now needed is a concerted international response.

The UN and African fact-finding bodies have to date largely focused on the responsibility of Sudan’s warring parties for international law violations committed. It is time to complement this focus, by documenting and investigating the UAE’s involvement in the war with a view to establishing possible state and individual responsibility. This ranges from a failure to prevent both genocide in Darfur and international humanitarian law violations across the country to liability for the commission of international crimes.

Those who played live at the Wigan Casino included Edwin Starr, Junior Walker & The All-Stars, Jackie Wilson, and more, writes Jez Waterfield

Peter Bradshaw finishes his review of the film Northern Soul: Still Burning (Thumping celebration of the legendary underground club scene, 13 May) with a question: “What did the American acts themselves think of it [the Northern Soul scene of the 1970s]? Were they ever tempted (or invited) to play live at the Wigan Casino?”

Well, as someone who was thrilled to attend Wigan Casino all-nighters as a teenager, I’d say they fell in love with the scene, playing Wigan and other popular venues on the northern circuit (including Manchester’s Twisted Wheel, The Torch in Stoke-on-Trent and Cleethorpes Pier). A couple of these legends even came to settle down in the Midlands and north of England.

Building a habit early on means it is more likely to continue in later life, writes Ruth Daniels, although Jane Hall has far from fond memories of PE in her schooldays

Cath Bishop’s article captures perfectly the need for structural change and innovation to drive sustainable sport and activity for society (Too many of us were traumatised by sport at school – but it’s never too late to change, 12 May).

With multiple layers of evidence pointing to the benefits of an active and healthy nation, why do we struggle as a society to ensure that it is embedded in everyone’s day-to-day lives? Experiences in childhood shape so much: if we enjoy something or are encouraged to do it then we are more likely to continue. Preschool, school, parents, media and many other things shape what we do and what we become.

Participation rises sharply when contribution is the default position rather than requiring active enrolment, writes James Kyle

The finding that three-quarters of UK millionaires say they would be willing to pay more tax (Report, 13 May) is politically significant at a time when Labour faces growing pressure both to fund public services and to defend progressive policies against rising anti-tax populism. However, the crucial question is not what people say in surveys, but how policy converts stated willingness into actual revenue.

The Treasury’s standard response is that wealthy individuals can already make voluntary payments to HMRC. Yet the sums raised remain negligible. This is entirely predictable, because behavioural research repeatedly shows that opt-in systems produce dramatically lower participation than opt-out systems – the core principle behind so-called nudge theory. Successive UK governments have already relied heavily on the latter approach in areas ranging from pension auto-enrolment to organ donation frameworks.

• Rai lauds ‘invaluable’ advice from wife Gaurika Bishnoi

• ‘Incredible’ to have name on trophy with Woods

Aaron Rai’s life changed on the 18th green at Aronimink, but his lifestyle didn’t. Rai, 31 from Wolverhampton, became the first Englishman to win the PGA Championship since 1919, earning himself $3,690,000, and a lifetime exemption to the tournament doing it, and promptly said he was going to celebrate it all by going to Chipotle. He didn’t seem quite able to take in what he had achieved, and had no idea about what would come next, whether it was a tilt at another major, or a run at the Ryder Cup, only that it would all begin with a visit to his favourite burrito joint.

“I haven’t thought that far ahead just yet,” Rai said when he was asked how he would celebrate. “He’ll probably have Chipotle,” his wife, Gaurika Bishnoi, cut in. Presumably he’s buying.

Bafflement at Old Trafford, Chelsea’s Wembley drought goes on and Leeds give fans cause for optimism

Luke Shaw’s first goal in over three years for Manchester United was a further reminder of the left-back’s capabilities. This has been his best season at Old Trafford having featured in all 37 league games thus far, leaving his injury-prone past forgotten. Considering Shaw’s experience and quality, he should be considered for a spot at the World Cup. Thomas Tuchel does not have a vast array of riches in the position and Shaw’s consistency has been key to Michael Carrick’s turnaround at Old Trafford. “He deserves to go,” said Carrick after the win against Nottingham Forest. “His consistency, his performances, his experience, his qualities. He’s an excellent full-back.” Nico O’Reilly is the current first choice for England and he has a very different profile from Shaw, having converted from playing as a central midfielder under Pep Guardiola. Tuchel may want to take Shaw to provide variety and reliability, which would be a sensible approach. Will Unwin

Match report: Manchester United 3-2 Nottingham Forest

Match report: Newcastle 3-1 West Ham

Match report: Aston Villa 4-2 Liverpool

From removal of tunnel cover to turning off concourse TVs, title-chasing Arsenal manager has left no stone unturned

It’s being billed as the biggest Premier League game ever hosted at the Emirates Stadium. Tickets for Monday’s meeting with Burnley, who were relegated almost a month ago and returned 1,500 tickets for their trip to north London, were being sold for upwards of £650 last week as Arsenal attempt to edge closer to being crowned champions for the first time since they said goodbye to Highbury.

In an attempt to recreate the red-hot atmosphere that inspired the victory over Atlético Madrid in the Champions League semi-final, Arsenal supporters have been encouraged to arrive two hours before kick-off on Monday night to greet the team when they arrive at the stadium. “The players were in the other bus, but I could see straight away all the staff and everybody was there just looking at each other and saying: ‘Wow, we’ve taken this to a different level,’” Mikel Arteta said this week of the Atlético experience. “The engagement, the passion, the enthusiasm of our fans in their eyes, I think that was something special.”

• England international’s move subject to medical

• Stanway’s contract at Bayern expires this summer

Georgia Stanway will join Arsenal at the start of July on a free transfer from Bayern Munich, the Guardian understands. Subject to the 27-year-old passing a medical, everything has been agreed for the England midfielder to make the move when her contract expires with the Frauen Bundesliga club.

Bayern Munich confirmed in January that Stanway would leave at the end of her deal, after four successful years in which she has helped Bayern win four Bundesliga titles.

National League side secured FA Trophy in a shootout – and as their manager told his squad beforehand in the hotel ‘it’s been a hell of a journey’

The noise gave it away. The sweet sound of 22,000 ecstatic Southend supporters swimming in a sea of Wembley ecstasy left their head coach, Kevin Maher, in no doubt: soon he would raise the FA Trophy.

Maher, unable to tolerate the tension, had turned away just before Gus Scott-Morriss’s winning penalty against Wealdstone, but was instantly embraced by Mark Bentley, his first-team coach, former midfield partner and, most importantly, friend.

Updates from around the grounds on day four
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​Good morning from Edgbaston, where the players and match officials lined up before play to pay their respects to Warwickshire great MJK Smith, who sadly passed away yesterday at the age of 92. Smith captained England in 25 of his 50 Tests between 1958 and 1972, and scored just shy of 40,000 first-class runs.

A promising start, cricketers marching out everywhere except Bristol and Southport.

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

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

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

• Side on brink of drop after defeat at Newcastle

• ‘It’s going to be a very tough week ahead’

Nuno Espírito Santo said his West Ham players owe their fans “respect and dignity” after an underwhelming 3-1 defeat at Newcastle left the east London side on the brink or relegation to the Championship.

The Portuguese also admitted that the visiting supporters were “right” to direct chants of “you’re not fit to wear the shirt” at his team.

The final is the most expensive ticket on resale for this summer’s tournament. But there are surprising get-in prices elsewhere

It’s no surprise that the most expensive World Cup resale tickets are for the final. But the next priciest is a group game between two nations who have never reached that stage.

A ticket to the Colombia v Portugal group game in Miami on 27 June is the tournament’s second-most expensive seat on the resale marketplace, with a cheapest asking price of $2,254 as of 17 May, according to TicketData.com, an analysis site.

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

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

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

Commission led by Sajid Javid and Jon Cruddas asks public to share vision of community and country to help rebuild social cohesion

Sajid Javid has warned the country risks “being torn apart by our differences” as figures from across public life launch a project that asks what it means to be British.

The Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion, co-chaired by the former Conservative chancellor as well as the former Labour party policy chief Jon Cruddas, is urging the public to share their personal vision of their community and their country in the National Conversation project.

People’s party wins regional election but loses absolute majority, opening door to possibly months of negotiations

Spain’s conservative People’s party (PP) won Sunday’s Andalucían regional election, but lost its absolute majority, leaving it dependent on the support or abstention of the far-right Vox party to form a new government.

After the poll in Spain’s most populous region – which will serve as a barometer of wider electoral opinion before next year’s general election – the socialists slumped to an all-time low and Vox picked up one additional seat.

With Israel blocking imports of building materials, those rebuilding in Gaza are recycling ruins to make new homes

It is difficult to see through the dust inside the cramped, low-roofed tent on the eastern edge of Khan Younis. Ibrahim al-Aloul works alongside four others, with a piece of fabric tied over his mouth and nose as his only shield against the toxic grey powder as he sifts and grinds.

Outside, a skinny donkey waits with a cart to carry the finished product to the next tent along, where it will be mixed with gypsum, calcium and binding agents before being bagged in flour sacks and sold.

Union to urge ministers to bring in mandatory minimum staffing, as ageing population increases demand for care

Almost two-thirds of nurses believe there are too few of them working in the NHS to keep patients safe and give them proper care, a survey has revealed.

Understaffing and the increasingly complex medical needs posed by an ageing population are creating a “deadly mix” for patients, the Royal College of Nursing warned on Monday.

64% expected to cut services this year.

83% feared financial constraints will impact planned patient care and 78% worry it will affect emergency care.

57% expected to cut their clinical staffing this year to save money.

Temperatures in France and England could rise by 15C, while hot air could to give way to snow in parts of US

After a prolonged spell of cool conditions across much of Europe, a dramatic swing in temperatures is expected in the coming days as warmer air surges north into western and central parts of the continent.

A large blocking high over the North Atlantic and slow-moving low pressure across southern Scandinavia dragged Arctic air southwards last week, sending temperatures 10-15C below the seasonal average for more than a week.

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

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

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

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

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

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

After record losses last year, beekeepers report a warm winter has led to bees ‘waking up earlier’ this year

After a series of record-breaking US heatwaves, the 2026 bee swarm season in North America has started 17 days earlier than last year, pushing beekeepers to adapt to a rapidly shifting season while raising new questions about how honeybees are responding to the climate crisis.

According to a new report published by Swarmed, a tracking network of more than 10,000 beekeepers, focused on safe and ethical honeybee relocation, this year’s unusually early swarm season follows several years of record colony declines worldwide.

Charity estimates up to 1,360 children could remain separated from families for every month the suspension continues

Hundreds of children every month face being separated from their families since the UK suspended refugee family reunion last September, according to analysis by the British Red Cross.

Based on examination of Home Office data of family reunion grants previously made, the charity estimates between 550 and 1,360 children could remain separated from their families for every month that refugee family reunion suspension continues. Of these, between 180 and 430 each month are likely to be unaccompanied minors.

Justice secretary’s white paper will overhaul youth justice rules and could end lifelong criminal records for under-18s

David Lammy has promised to cut the number of children kept in jail while they await trial by a quarter as part of an overhaul of youth justice rules that could also end lifelong criminal records for under-18s.

The justice secretary is publishing a white paper on Monday that he says will reduce the number of children ending up in jail – something he admits was his greatest fear growing up in Tottenham in the 1980s.

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

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

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

Comments come after Andy Burnham says he would renationalise water and other businesses as PM

Investors in Thames Water have told the Labour government that a temporary nationalisation of the embattled company would slow its turnaround, after calls from Andy Burnham to put key utilities under public control.

As Keir Starmer’s grip on power appeared to be fading, the Greater Manchester mayor suggested at the weekend that the renationalisation of water and energy would form part of his policy agenda should he become prime minister.

Proposed IRS data sharing with immigration authorities and ICE raids have made filing risky for those who are undocumented

The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown could cause the US to potentially lose up to $479bn in lost tax revenue over the the next 10 years, with enforcement deterring undocumented workers from filing their taxes this year, according to tax experts.

Tax advisers say major changes, including proposed data sharing with immigration enforcement, have made filing taxes risky for undocumented immigrants. Tax benefits for immigrant parents have also been removed, further removing incentive to file taxes at all.

Senate parliamentarian ruled a proposal to fund $1bn in security additions for the White House failed to meet procedural rules. Key US politics stories from Sunday 17 May 2026 at a glance

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

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

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

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

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

Survey shows businesses ‘struggling to absorb latest economic shock’, while data says April vacancies down 7.7%

The worsening fallout from the Iran war is forcing businesses to halt their UK investment and hiring plans, bosses have warned, as Britain enters a renewed period of political and economic instability.

More than two months into the US-Israeli war on Iran, leading surveys of UK employers showed companies were increasingly prioritising cost management over growth as rising costs and global uncertainty weigh on confidence.

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

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

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

A decade after Theresa May spoke of radical reform, the mutual faces a bid that is testing the limits of democracy

In July 2016, in a canalside conference centre in central Birmingham, Theresa May took the stage for a speech that would formally launch her Tory leadership bid.

The home secretary of six years was seen as a safe pair of hands, including by the business community still reeling from the shock result of the Brexit referendum. What business had not banked on, though, was a social reform platform that would see May pledge to rein in corporate Britain and give workers and consumers seats on company boards.

Carmakers aim to expand into UK defence sector, exploiting spending boom by Nato countries

Jaguar Land Rover and General Motors are considering an expansion into UK defence via a £900m military contract, as carmakers seek to exploit a spending boom by Nato countries racing to rearm.

The manufacturers are among a group of automotive firms vying to make thousands of 4x4s for the armed forces to replace an ageing fleet of Land Rovers that have been out of production since 2016.

The latest in our series of writers calling attention to their most rewatched comfort films is a celebration of the star-packed 2007 fantasy

For a period of time in my tweens, our Sunday nights followed a certain ritual. Me and my two siblings would sit on the sofa, ignoring the fact that school was on the next day, and put on our battered DVD copy of Stardust.

The first time we watched it is lost to history, but its effect isn’t. Over time, it has become something of a cure-all, treating everything from a bad day at work to an overdose of adult cynicism.

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

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

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

She tells the untold version of the American Revolution in a fascinating two-parter. Plus, the Chelsea flower show kicks off. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, BBC Two
Another sparky history lesson with expert Lucy Worsley, as she tells the British perspective – or “the untold version” – of the American Revolution. Marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the two-parter starts in New York where George Washington read out “the ultimate breakup letter”, then looks at the events of King George III’s reign that led up to this moment. Hollie Richardson

The acting is fine and the imagery brooding, but this tepid sci-fi – all creepy neighbours, hazmat squads and crustacean-faced infected – is in thrall to better films

To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, getting caught in one pandemic may be regarded as misfortune; getting caught in two looks like your agent may be keen on riding the post-Covid zeitgeist. After her turn as part of Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal’s posse in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, Erin Kellyman makes another plague outing in this good-looking but ineffective post-apocalyptic thriller (originally made in 2023).

Kellyman’s bewildered survivor Anna, waking up in a shabby cottage on an isolated island, doesn’t even know she’s in the midst of a pandemic at first. Amnesiac and heavily pregnant, she has to trust grinning neighbour Helen (Maxine Peake) when she says Anna has had a bad fall and that James (Ivanno Jeremiah) – also prone to smiling a bit too much – is her husband. It’s only when a swan-shaped pedalo boat deposits a pair of crustacean-faced, infected castaways, and her seemingly lovely friends shoot and burn them, that she begins to realise this is no island paradise.

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

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

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

There’s plenty of charm in the low-budget inventiveness of this low-budget murder mystery set in a Wetherspoon’s for interstellar truckers

Its eyes and aspirations eternally bigger than its budget and reach, this British sci-fi film provides the answer to an unlikely question: what if someone remade 2011’s Source Code in a rundown outpost of Wetherspoon’s? Amid reported unrest between neighbouring planets Atopia and Cho-Hacha, mumsy anti-terror agent Alana Toro (Zoe Cunningham) receives orders from a hologrammatic James Cosmo to track down and bring in a troublesome rebel group. Her mission stalls, however, when she walks into a bar for interstellar truckers, where the film’s horizons shrink and – thanks to a time-loop device – our heroine gets several goes at interrogating the same skeleton crew of patrons and trying to resolve a convoluted and stubbornly uninvolving murder mystery.

Along the way, flickers of B-movie ingenuity and invention catch the eye. The grimy, greasy set design (courtesy of Jamie Foote) conceals some of the budgetary limitations, meaning that this is a rare modern sci-fi that inhabits a palpably physical, non-pixellated space. Costume designer Ciéranne Kennedy Bell clearly had immense fun dressing this troupe in the sort of cyberpunk finery that is a crossover between Red Dwarf and Claire’s Accessories. The score, by Christoph Allerstorfer and James Griffiths, is that of a far more expansive and assured production. Alana herself is a promising pulp creation – a leather-clad, purple-wigged Miss Marple who gets to pull out a space blaster every now and again – even if Cunningham, with her air of a school secretary who’s just uncovered a tuck shop scam, seems more than faintly miscast.

The broadcasting favourites are up to mischief in their first pod together. Plus, a cool new take on Radio 4’s hit series A History of the World in 100 Objects

The Barbican, London
Mutter’s anniversary tour opened with a programme of Beethoven, André Previn and – ever a champion of new music – the European premiere of Aftab Darvishi’s Likoo, a rhapsodic lament for women under the Iranian regime

On 23 August, 1976, a 13-year-old violinist made her debut at the Lucerne festival – with her older brother Christoph at the piano. By the time the concert finished Anne-Sophie Mutter was the toast of the festival, invited to play for no less than Herbert von Karajan. It was the start of a career that has since yielded more than 50 albums, four Grammy awards, and works by a Who’s Who of 20th-century greats: Krzysztof Penderecki; Henri Dutilleux; Witold Lutosławski; Sofia Gubaidulina; John Williams.

So now, aged 62, Mutter is celebrating 50 years on the concert platform. And she’s doing it her way. If anyone was expecting the German star to launch her anniversary tour on Saturday night with a big concerto, they will have been disappointed. An only somewhat full Barbican Hall suggested fans may have voted with their feet. Those who risked it got Mutter in activist mode, using her platform not to revisit triumphs but to champion new music and young artists.

Kings Place, London
This was a virtuosic, witty performance of a mixed programme of works mostly by Benjamin Britten and Aaron Copland, who spent the summer of 1939 together in Woodstock

An internationally acclaimed composer from “the land without music”, the reviver of British opera and co-founder of the Aldeburgh festival: Benjamin Britten is firmly ensconced in our national cultural pantheon. The time when he and his soon to be life-partner, the tenor Peter Pears, boarded an ocean liner and travelled to North America in spring 1939 as “a vacation from the general European atmosphere” – not returning until mid-1942 – has proved harder to celebrate. But in a season marking the 50th anniversary of the composer’s death, the Britten Sinfonia have grasped the nettle.

The result is a programme split mainly between works by Britten and Aaron Copland, who spent the summer of 1939 together in Woodstock. Cue tennis, swimming and mutual admiration. But Britten was also hard at work – first on his Young Apollo, a fanfare commissioned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and then on his song cycle Les Illuminations. Directing from the violin, Zoë Beyers launched a taut, witty performance of the former. Amid so much energetically engaged string playing, pianist Huw Watkins’ mercurial scales and delicate sweeps of glissando provoked audible giggles of delight from audience members behind me.

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

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

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

In this warm and tender debut, the family of Barbados-born Lucinda must try to document her decades in Britain after the Home Office threatens her with deportation

There is a particular kind of British cruelty that thrives on politeness. The 2018 Windrush scandal exposed this in full: rather than chaos or spectacle, it revealed a machinery of clinical decisions that stripped Black and brown people of their belonging with bureaucratic precision. It is now part of our national story, often spoken of in the abstract or invoked as a cautionary tale. But what can be obscured, in this telling, is the texture of the harm, the way complicated lives were reduced to paperwork.

Smallie, Eden McKenzie-Goddard’s tender debut, insists on restoring the humanity of those Windrush-generation immigrants who were erased by official language. The story begins decades before, in 1961, when 19-year-old Lucinda Brown leaves Barbados for England, in search of Clarence Braithwaite, the jazz musician who fathered her child (who stays in the care of her family) and then disappeared into the promises of Britain. On the boat crossing she meets Raldo, a magnetic Trinidadian – “the type of man women slap each other to point out” – whose easy charm hints at a freer life.

The top 100 novels of all time published in English, as voted for by authors, critics and academics worldwide. How many have you read?

Forgotten psychiatric patients are resurrected with imagination and compassion in this extraordinary book

Cork Mental Hospital, also known as Our Lady’s, was once the longest building in Ireland: a monster of 19th-century gothic, much added to before its closure in the 1990s, that stares from the north bank down to the River Lee and the city beyond. In recent years, a lot of the complex has been turned, predictably, into apartments. A developer’s website now invites you to “Live comfortably, live conveniently, live with us”.

This, surely, is a spectral sort of invitation: hard for “us” not to conjure, amid bright mockup interiors, the fretful shades of the unwell – and the unwilling. When Doireann Ní Ghríofa – celebrated poet and author of the nonfiction A Ghost in the Throat – began exploring the derelict site several years ago, she recognised it straight away as a place she might herself, but for historical fortune, have ended up. Said the Dead is an intimately researched but also wildly imaginative study of lives (mostly female) lived and often concluded during the hospital’s first 70 years or so.

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

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

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

The open world driving sim has roared through locations from Colorado to Australia, its authentic feel resting on exhaustive research. But, as the team explain, this was the toughest challenge yet

Since the arrival of the original Forza Horizon in 2012, a game that revolutionised open world driving sims by setting players loose in a virtual Colorado, British developer Playground Games has promised authenticity with its settings. For each instalment, design teams are sent out on location to take thousands of photos, hours of video, even detailed captures of the sky, before construction of a virtual copy begins. It’s a huge undertaking. But it seems that for much of the past decade, one country remained slightly out of reach – an intimidating prospect. “Japan has been on our shortlist for several games now,” says design director, Torben Ellert. “But we just didn’t feel like we were ready to take on the challenge of building it.”

It’s not just about the sheer variety of the country’s landscape. There’s something else going on. Most video game players hold an image of what it is like to explore Japan. It may be inspired by the fictitious rural town of Inaba in Persona 4, or the busy docks of Yokosuka in Shenmue, or perhaps the neon-drenched Kabukichō district of Tokyo, which forms a regular backdrop in the Yakuza series. For decades, gamers around the world have been bombarded with images of the country that are often highly stylised and fragmented, but nonetheless potent and persuasive. As art director Don Arceta puts it, “with Japan there’s such an expectation [of] what gamers want - it’s a certain version of Japan that they picture.”

Why are Nintendo releasing a straight-up remake of the space-flight shooter – with many of its original limitations – rather than a fresh new take?

The Nintendo 64 was not my first video game console, but it was my formative one. Getting to grips with 3D movement in Super Mario 64 with that weird three-pronged controller is one of my most visceral childhood memories; the long, long wait for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was the background noise to a huge chunk of my youth. But back in the 1990s (in the UK at least), it felt as if nobody had an N64. When everybody had a PlayStation instead, I felt I was the only kid in my whole city who cared more about Banjo-Kazooie than Crash Bandicoot.

If even Zelda seemed comparatively niche in Europe in the 90s, Lylat Wars (known elsewhere as Star Fox 64) was a real deep cut. It’s a 1997 space-flight shooter starring Fox McCloud and his squad of animal pilots laser-blasting across different planets in nimble crafts called Arwings. I played this game to absolute death in 1998, when I got it for my birthday alongside the fabled Rumble Pak, which made your controller vibrate and shudder whenever something cool was happening on screen (fun fact: Lylat Wars was the first console game to feature controller rumble). But I really hadn’t thought about it much since. Then, last week, Nintendo announced a Switch 2 remake.

Previously prohibited use of websites such as Omoggle that connect a streamer to a stranger’s video feed now allowed

Last week, at 4am, 19-year-old Sammy Amz was scrolling through X when something caught his eye: a popular Twitch streamer was competing in a 1v1 “mog-off” with a stranger, and losing.

The next day he opened the Omoggle gaming website and began to play. Quickly he matched with another user – green dots appeared on their faces onscreen, as the website began to compare their measurements: canthal tilt, palpebral fissure ratio, nose-to-face width ratio and so on.

PS5, Xbox, PC, Switch 2; Annapurna Interactive
The nostalgic antics of a trio of tenacious teens make for silly yet undeniably enjoyable gameplay, framed by a playlist of bona fide bangers

The older we get, the more we tend to romanticise our teenage years. As bills pile up, we yearn for the simple days of drinking cider in parks. We often tend to forget the bad parts: the frustrating lack of autonomy, the unrequited crushes and the doofuses you’re forced to tolerate in the playground. But after four hours spent hanging out with the pretentious teens in Mixtape, I felt pretty relieved to be in my 30s.

Set in a nondescript town in northern California, Mixtape follows the exploits of tenacious trio Rockford, Slater and Cassandra as they head to a legendary party on their last day of high school. With Rockford about to leave her friends to move to the big city, she wants to immortalise the gang’s time together in musical form. Every song on a carefully curated mixtape triggers a totally tubular flashback to one of their shared memories.

Southbank Centre, London
Between a sci-fi concert for eggs and an interview with a bee, the scarecrow broadcasters in Philippe Quesne’s oddball performance piece make the case for art as salvation and for farms as the lifeblood of humanity

Bump into one of these scarecrows at night and you’d be forgiven for running a mile. But stick around to listen to this hay-laden gang of crop-protector castaways, who no longer have crops to protect nor birds to scare thanks to the climate crisis, and you’ll see they have only good intentions.

The sensorily ambitious Farm Fatale joins five scarecrows with faces of melted plastic and voices of children swallowed by machines in the artificial studio of their pirate radio station. It is set in the near future, when the air is hard to breathe and birdsong is recorded. The only people getting by are the industrial farmers capitalising on the ruin of others. When the scarecrows interview a bee, with a microphone charmingly taped to a pitchfork, the little creature is described as one of the last in Europe.

Exhibition explores how artists mainly known for their paintings helped revive a skill that had fallen out of fashion

They may be best known for their vibrant oil paintings but an exhibition opening in the English West Country is focusing instead on the subtle printmaking skills of artists such as Édouard Manet, Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin.

More than 50 prints created mainly by impressionists, post-impressionists and cubists are going on display at the Holburne Museum in Bath.

Shakespeare’s Globe, London
Forgoing Brecht’s usual distanciation, Anna Jordan’s new translation and Michelle Terry’s lovable performance bring out the humanity of a woman doing what’s necessary to keep herself and her family alive

This production of Bertolt Brecht’s masterpiece seems to break the first rule of Brecht’s epic theatre, which requires emotional distance. It conjures Brecht’s upside down world, in which war denotes order and profit, while underlining all the losses that Mother Courage faces in spite of her relentless entrepreneurialism and attempts at profiteering – selling anything from burgers to ammunition and sex. But it is human, moving and funny. The distance closes and the production becomes devastating in its most savage moments, when Mother Courage loses her children, one by one.

Translator Anna Jordan justifies these moments by interpreting Brecht’s rule of verfremdungseffekt as making the drama “strange” rather than distanced. And in director Elle While’s powerful production, the emotional drama is tightly controlled, flaring up momentarily. In between flare ups, the narrator (Max Runham) pulls us away from the intimacies of this family to draw the bigger picture, summarising the gyrations of war and Courage’s travails over the years.

Hampstead theatre, London
A first love is rekindled on stage and off in Sarah Ruhl’s metatheatrical romance and farcical send-up of hammy old musicals

It doesn’t take long for the protagonists of Sarah Ruhl’s 2011-set romantic comedy – two actors who have been cast in a 1930s melodrama called The Last Kiss – to realise they’ve signed up for a theatrical flop in the making. The director is hopeless, all wafting hands and evasive “just trust your instincts”; the young supporting cast are as wooden as the boards they’re tentatively treading; and the bombastic script feels ludicrous to the pair’s naturalistically trained ears.

There is also a whopper of an art-imitating-life situation afoot: the pair, elusively named He and She, are portraying but also happen to be first loves, reuniting to crackling chemistry despite She and her character each being married with a grownup daughter.

Galleries such as National Museum Cardiff pull in children with their play areas and pencils – but stick around and you’ll notice kids critiquing Turner paintings too

Neil Osborne and his three-year-old daughter Daisy are peering at a small, shimmering painting by JMW Turner of foaming waves crashing against a cliff. It’s their second visit to the National Museum Cardiff (NMC). Daisy loves the dinosaurs in the prehistoric galleries downstairs, which Neil believes are more kid-friendly; the upstairs art galleries are quieter, with fewer children charging about. “She actually started whispering when we got up here,” he says, “but she likes seeing the paintings and saying what they look like.” He asks her what she makes of the Turner, and she replies: “A fish.”

For us, today is a nursery day, so I’m without my cub reporter. Instead, I’m here solo in Cardiff to figure out whether getting under-fives into galleries is more about entertainment or education, and to gauge the feelings of fellow parents. I can’t be the only one who thinks my almost-two-year-old might be capable of learning something from looking at art, can I?

Actor otherwise has ‘no comment’ on Girls creator’s claims about his on-set behaviour as he speaks at Cannes film festival

For weeks, Adam Driver has avoided commenting on allegations made about his on-set behaviour by Lena Dunham in her hit new memoir, Famesick.

But at a press conference for Paper Tiger at the Cannes film festival on Sunday, the actor briefly broke his silence when asked by the Guardian about Dunham’s account. “I have no comment on any of that – I’m saving it all for my book,” he responded, provoking laughter in the room.

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

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

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

Actor says Ensemble 84 in Horden, employing local talent, is how a professional repertory company should be

It’s a chilly spring evening in what was once a Catholic church in a left-behind County Durham pit village, and Ian McKellen admits he is feeling emotional.

“This is the only company of actors in the United Kingdom and it’s in … Horden?” he says. “I’m feeling very emotional. This fulfils all my romantic dreams I’ve had ever since I discovered the joys of theatre-going and acting.”

When Sousan Samadani saw a video about soil degradation, she suddenly knew she would commit everything she had to the cause. Soon she was travelling thousands of miles to raise awareness, skydiving, hitchhiking and cycling

Sousan Samadani was watching videos on YouTube one day when she came across a post about how the world’s soil was degrading so rapidly that it was in danger of extinction.

The video – posted by the Save Soil movement – “was like a shock for me”, Samadani says. “I thought: ‘How is it possible that the soil that gives us food is dying?’”

With state-of-the-art fitness and spa facilities onsite and everything from hiking to kayaking the beautiful Bay of Kotor, it’s a perfect base for an active break

I was lying on a bed with no trousers on. A young man helped me into some crotch-high boots and zipped them up. He turned the lights down low, put on some music, pressed a button and left the room. Argh! The boots started to slowly inflate from the toes up, like a giant blood-pressure cuff. As they clenched around my upper thighs, I started to panic. What if they just got tighter and tighter until my legs exploded? As I was about to shout for help, the pressure suddenly released, leaving my legs feeling deliciously light. I took a deep breath and submitted to another 19 minutes of this sweet torture.

I was at Siro Boka Place in Montenegro, having compression boot therapy, which is supposed to boost circulation and reduce swelling. “It’s especially effective on women over 35,” my youthful assistant had told me, helpfully. The hotel, which opened last year, is proud of its “state-of-the-art wellness facilities”. In most hotels that means a poky gym. At Siro the facilities are so good the Montenegrin Olympic team is training here ahead of Los Angeles 2028.

Fed up with frizzy and dehydrated locks? Dyson’s latest travel model allows effortless styling on the go – but at a cost

• The best hair dryers – tested

With the summer holidays fast approaching, the usual anxieties might be taking hold: pickpockets and touts, lost passport, severe sunburn, holiday tummy, and – perhaps most pressingly – the horrors of the hotel hair dryer. That last one is not to be underestimated: an outdated dryer with one scorching heat setting is a fast track to frizzy, dehydrated, unfabulous hair – not something you want immortalised in your holiday photos.

Worry not, though: Dyson promises to fix that particular woe. The British engineering brand has shrunk its Supersonic into a smaller, lighter, travel-friendly dryer offering the same powerful airflow and heat-control technology as its full-size sibling. So does this admittedly very stylish compact dryer really justify its premium price?

Dunk, nibble or wolf them down: this classic biscuit is at its best when it’s just sugar, butter and flour, so be wary of those that stray from the rules

• The best extra-chocolatey biscuits

At its best and simplest, shortbread is made using a classic 1:2:3 ratio – one part sugar, two parts butter and three parts flour, by weight. Perhaps unsurprisingly, few supermarket shortbreads stick to that golden rule and include other ingredients such as cornflour and raising agents; they’re nothing to worry about – but some cut the butter (and costs) by using rapeseed oil, margarine or worse.

Unlike most manufactured products, however, the price of shortbread doesn’t always reflect the level of processing, and some of the cheapest are also the least processed. Look out for “all-butter” on the label, to make sure the shortbread doesn’t include oil and has that classic, buttery taste. And don’t be fooled by fancy packaging.

Whether it’s sandals comfy enough for walking, linen trousers or timeless sunnies, the secret to great summer style is all about keeping things simple

Don’t overthink it. That’s the key to summer style. The best looks are the ones you reach for when you aren’t thinking about clothes, but about the sunny weather, the long evenings, the good times.

You’ll already have your summer anchors, the pieces you come back to every year. The sundress that always works. Denim shorts that only get better with age. A breezy linen shirt you can wear open over swimwear or tucked into just about anything. These are your personal treasures, the pieces that never let you down. But it wouldn’t be summer without a bit of personality thrown in. Suddenly there’s room for pieces that might have felt a bit “extra” a few months ago. Stripes, florals, a pop of red – they all work when the sun’s out.

There’s a perfect perch for every camper. Here are our favourites, from ultralight models to inflatable pods

• The best tents for camping: 10 expert picks for every outdoor adventure

Ready to carry on camping this summer? I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that a good collapsible camping chair can change your life. If you’ve never used one before, you’ll be astonished at how comfy a folding chair is, letting you sit off the cold ground when you’re cooking, eating or just chilling out around the fire, and making every evening at camp a social occasion.

There’s a folding camping chair out there to suit everyone, including wild campers who only carry the essentials, glampers and campervan fans who like a bit of luxury. I’ve tested 15 of the best folding camping chairs, from tiny portable stools that collapse to the size of a baguette to cushioned monster chairs that wouldn’t look out of place in your sitting room, at prices to suit all budgets and starting from just £15.

Best camping chair overall:
Montbell Base Camp chair

Best budget camping chair:
Mountain Warehouse folding chair

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

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

Light enough for spring lunch, hearty enough to satisfy as dinner on a chilly night, and as good a starter as it is a main

I cannot preface this recipe better than Skye McAlpine, who writes that, “as the name suggests, this risotto is a celebration of spring and all the glorious, verdant produce the season brings with it”. Verdant, certainly, but also pleasingly dense – this is a dish that champions the abundance of this time of year, while also acknowledging that it can still be bloody chilly once the sun goes down, both here in the UK and in north-east Italy, where risotto originates. It’s also a dish that’s versatile enough to incorporate whatever looks good in your local area over the coming weeks, as well as one that can be served in smaller portions as primi piatti or in more generous ones as a main course.

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

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

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

A lighter risotto made with whizzed cauliflower as well as rice, but with a reassuringly rich cheese sauce

In series eight of Peep Show, Mark (David Mitchell) is working as a salesman in a bathroom shop when a customer asks him for a “modern but traditional” bathroom. Aghast, he tells the customer that these opposing styles can’t be married when his boss, Super Hans, swoops in to say they can: “Fancy taps but a rainforest shower head?” I was reminded of this silliness because here I’ve tried to create a risotto of opposing styles: lighter than a traditional one, because I’m using some blitzed cauliflower, while maintaining that richness you get from a cauliflower cheese. I think it works, but I’ll let you be the judge.

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

• Read more in the kindness of strangers series

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

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

For Evan Lewis and Dat Tien Lewis, a cycling odyssey was a test of their relationship. A quiet whisky session revealed how far they’d come

• Find more stories from the moment I knew series

I met Dat in San Francisco in 2015. I had left a tourism consulting role in China and moved to the US to start my own Mongolian vodka product. Dat was a specialised nurse. He loved being a nurse.

They say opposites attract and I think that rings true for us. He had this way of calming a room. Dat would arrive at a party and somehow the volume in the room would come down a little bit. He did the same with me. It was a very busy time trying to build my business but he was always there – very supportive and curious about what I was doing. We moved quite quickly into the relationship and spent a lot of time together.

They were surprised to agree on some topics. But could the scientist and the lawyer see eye to eye on the future of the monarchy?

• Want to meet someone from across the divide? Click here to find out how

Keith, 48, Leeds

Occupation University lecturer in medical microbiology

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

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

Mid-range Android stands out with huge screen, slick software and dot-matrix display, but falls just short of greatness

Nothing’s latest quirky smartphone is a huge aluminium Android with three cameras and a big LED matrix screen on the back that challenges the notion mid-range phones can’t be just a bit more fun.

The Phone 4a Pro is a bit of a departure from UK-based Nothing’s previous glass-clad transparent designs. It still has a touch of those elements but only in the camera island at the top, with the rest of the body now solid aluminium – a rare sight in the world of Android phones.

We cut out one leg of our journey, but a clause allows airlines to cancel a whole journey if a passenger misses just one leg

To celebrate my 60th birthday, we used an inheritance to book flights from Glasgow to Mexico City via Heathrow, where our son was to join us.

We worried that the transfer time of 90 minutes at Heathrow would be tight, given that there had been storms that week, so in the end, my husband, daughter and I instead took a train from Glasgow the night before.

Body says, on average, British women approaching retirement have half private pension savings of men – £81,000 versus £156,000

A shake-up of pensions in Britain must involve measures to close the gap in retirement savings between men and women, the revived Pensions Commission is to tell ministers.

According to the government-backed body, women approaching retirement have on average half the private pension savings of men, with a median pension wealth of £81,000 versus £156,000.

Some cheap fakes contain toxic chemicals that make pets seriously unwell – and leave you with a big bill

You want to save money whenever you can so when you see the usual brand of flea treatment for your cat listed at half the normal price, you click “buy”.

It arrives and you apply it to your pet, but they fall ill and you have to rush to the vet for treatment.

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

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

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

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

• This week’s question: You’re supposed to be quiet in the cinema. So why are the snacks so loud?

I was recently beset by a plague of clothes moths. After hours of research, I discovered the miracle that is the parasitic wasp, or Trichogramma evanescens – near-microscopic beasts that you can order online (in sachets of 2,000 wasps!), the life’s calling of which is to destroy clothes moth eggs.

It made me wonder: is there anything else in our daily lives that is so beneficial to us, but which few of us have heard of – or realise is there? John Forward, Brixton

Researchers say risk comes from ‘other factors, including genetic predisposition to mental health conditions’

Taking antidepressants during pregnancy does not increase the risk of children going on to develop autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to an analysis of more than half a million pregnancies.

The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Hong Kong and published in the Lancet Psychiatry, analysed data from 37 existing studies that included 600,000 pregnant women who had taken antidepressants, and 25 million women who had no antidepressant use during their pregnancies.

Rather than bribery, or hiding carrots under ketchup, the key may be to expose foetuses to healthy flavours

It is an age-old battle with small children that most parents will recognise: please, please, eat your vegetables.

Some will read them books with titles such as The Boy Who Loved Broccoli. Others have been known to smother veg in tomato ketchup, or mix avocado and fruit with Greek yoghurt and call it icecream. Or resort to plain bribery.

The style on the Croisette is off to a strong start

Joan Collins, Catherine Deneuve, Isabella Rossellini and Jane Fonda among those representing wider age diversity on red carpet

The Cannes red carpet is, without question, a home of glamour. But in 2026 that glamour has a different spin. The women gaining the most headlines for style are, for once, over 70.

Joan Collins, 92, walked the red carpet this week in a white sculptural strapless gown by Stéphane Rolland. Jane Fonda, 88, wore a floor-length sequined Gucci dress. Isabella Rossellini, 73, has been seen wearing a striking patterned two-piece, while Catherine Deneuve, 82, was chic in forest-green satin and hoop earrings.

From Nike Mind, with its pre-game benefits, to recovery shoes from Hoka, bulbous sporty footwear is moving into fashionable circles. Will we see it beyond the jogging track this summer?

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When the much-hyped Nike Mind shoes were released in January, I bought a pair. I was grabbed by the idea that the orange nodules on the sole could, supposedly, focus the mind. The futuristic look of the shoe also appeals. If walking on knobbly things took a bit of getting used to, it was worth it – if only for that irresistible fashion smugness of having something rare. In the last week, I have been stopped in the street and asked where I got the shoes. It turns out they are now out of stock and have sold for over £300 on resale site Goat.

The Mind is part of a wider trend in “exercise slides”, a pre-game shoe designed to ground you ahead of your chosen activity. Nike claim that the 22 nodules on the sole stimulate the mechanoreceptors on your feet, engaging the sensory area of your brain, meaning focus is heightened. Meanwhile, recovery slides made by brands such as Hoka and Oofos use cushioned soles and a shape that cradles the foot to helpfight foot fatigue after a lot of exercise. The Mind are worn by footballers including Erling Haaland and Reece James, runner Keely Hodgkinson and basketball players Victor Wembanyama and A’ja Wilson, while ballerina Francesca Hayward namechecks Hoka’s slides as part of her daily routine.

Designer suggests decision to stage show in Los Angeles is part of strategy to deepen label’s cinema presence

Like Christian Dior, the founder of the house he now leads, fashion designer Jonathan Anderson’s ambition is to be not just a Parisian couturier but a Hollywood power player. “We think of Dior as this romantic character, but he was also a very savvy businessman,” said Anderson before a blockbuster catwalk show in Los Angeles. Stage Fright, the Hitchcock caper-noir for which Dior dressed Marlene Dietrich, was the show’s origin story. “There is all this amazing correspondence between Dior, Dietrich and Hitchcock, which shows how he navigated the money that it cost to make that film. I think we underestimate how much negotiation Dior did with studio executives. He was very smart in that way.”

Anderson, 41, who was born in Northern Ireland but since being appointed to Dior splits his time between London and Paris, has his own Hollywood side hustle as the costume designer for Luca Guadagnino’s films, and is set on reinvigorating Dior’s relationship with the film industry.

From a stylish retreat in Norfolk to a remote hideaway on a Scottish island, these boltholes will make for a truly memorable stay

Tourism experts are predicting a bumper year for “staycations” with more of us choosing to holiday in the UK due to continuing uncertainty around jet fuel prices and possible flight cancellations. Holidaymakers are spoilt for choice with more than 350,000 UK self-catering listings on booking platforms, from rustic barn conversions to seaside villas with all mod cons for large family gatherings.

We’ve done some of the leg work and whittled down a selection of cottages which all offer something special, whether it’s a stunning location, a breathtaking view or a level of comfort and style that wouldn’t be out of place in a boutique hotel.

From Hadrian’s Wall to the locations of Happy Valley and Hot Fuzz, readers share their top discoveries

• Tell us about your favourite UK coast walk – the best tip wins a £200 holiday voucher

“So this is where Officer Nick Angel [Simon Pegg] chased that swan.” As a fan of Hot Fuzz, I was excited to explore the cathedral city of Wells in Somerset, where much of the film was shot. This charming, compact and walkable city is awash with medieval architecture and magnificent buildings, such as the gothic cathedral, with one of the oldest working clocks in the UK (late 14th century) and the Bishop’s Palace and Gardens. Within easy reach of the Mendip Hills, Cheddar Gorge and the Wookey Hole Caves, Wells makes for a low-key alternative to tourist-soaked Bath.
Alison

There are few places where history can be felt more powerfully than these pathways, walked by explorer, author and TV presenter Nicholas Crane

How often do you look down and wonder who created the path your feet are following? Or ask the cause of its curves and dips? Formed over thousands of years, paths form an “internet of feet” – a web of bridleways and hollow ways, drove roads and ridgeways, coffin tracks, pilgrimage trails and city pavements. Whether you’re hiking a National Trail or pottering along a National Trust footpath, there’s a good chance you’re following ancestral steps.

It’s thoughts like these that led me on a journey to track the evolution of British paths for my book, The Path More Travelled. Eleven thousand years ago ice age hunter-gatherers arrived from Europe’s heartlands, moving through the wilderness along broad “routeways”, that later widened to tracks when horses and then wheels were adopted in the bronze age. For more than 2,000 years, traffic moved no faster than the speed of a horse, until the internal combustion engine drove pedestrians off the road just over a century ago.

Improve your mountain skills by day and party by night at the Arc’teryx Alpine Academy in Chamonix

After a day spent hiking across the Col d’Entrèves glacier, a sugar hit is required. I descend on the cable car and join the queue at the ice-cream counter. Above me, surrounded by jagged peaks, looms the huge white figure of Mont Blanc, serene and pure against a brilliant blue sky. Although it’s late afternoon, people are still heading up the mountain, and there are two clear groups. On one side are the tourists, who are about to be lifted into unfamiliar frozen realms at 3,375 metres (11,072ft), hoping to grab a picture and return. Mixed among them are the weathered faces of mountain experts: hikers confidently heading for a high-altitude hut, or climbers with coils of rope.

How many of those tourists, I wonder, are wishing they could be mountaineers, secretly regretting the twists of fate that kept them away from that path? But all is not lost. The aspiring adventurer, no matter what age or background, can begin the journey to competence in the mountains. The annual mountain festival I am attending aims to facilitate that by offering the chance to gain hands-on experience with experts.

Journalist Simone Stolzoff in a new book explores why modern life makes not knowing harder – and how to learn to live with it

Simone Stolzoff describes himself as “naturally an uncertain person” inclined to rumination and self-doubt. This tendency benefits him in his work as a journalist, but can otherwise be a double-edged sword.

While working for a magazine in New York, Stolzoff was approached about a job at a design firm in San Francisco. Now, he laughs at how tortured he felt “having to decide between two attractive career paths”.

A foreign face is often thought to add prestige to a product or business – what’s behind this unregulated economy?

Piers had been in China for all of two days in 2009 when he was used as a “white monkey” for the first time. He had travelled to a village in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, to attend a friend’s wedding and had stopped in the village to try a special crab dish at a small restaurant. Weeks later, a Chinese guest who had been at the wedding told him the restaurant had had an uptick in business because the locals had heard that a laowai, a foreigner, had been seen dining there, so people had assumed this restaurant must be good. Piers realised the boss had deliberately seated him in a way to attract attention: “I knew we were sitting outside in a premium spot, but I didn’t pick up on what was going on.”

When foreigners in China are used this way, they are called a baihouzi, a white monkey. They’re hired to help Chinese businesses appear more desirable, the foreigner association conveying prestige and a sense that your product is universally regarded. The industry is unregulated in China, operating in a legal grey area. White monkey positions are advertised on job boards and can fall into different categories, from acting and modelling for Chinese films and products to pretending to be the foreign CEO of a Chinese company to lend it credibility. They might be seat warmers or go-go dancers in Chinese nightclubs to draw in customers, or English teachers in language centres to make Chinese parents feel their children are being taught by legitimate native English speakers (even if a Chinese person is actually a better qualified teacher). These businesses believe that having the “foreign look” will give them an edge over other Chinese companies offering the same service. The phenomenon of recruiting foreigners for this performative purpose can be traced to the concept of mianzi, having “face” in Chinese society, which denotes bestowing and receiving respect for each other.

While there are still days the Thames is so dirty even dogs avoid it, steps are being taken to restore public waterways

Some people think we are odd for swimming in the Thames. “Isn’t it cold?” they ask with a shiver, like they are the ones who just took the plunge. Er, yes, that’s the whole point. Cold water ignites the central nervous system and reboots the mind.

“Isn’t it dirty?” they ask. Yes, sometimes, particularly when it’s rained. Then we don’t get in the Thames, we get in a rage instead, taking contamination measurements and signing petitions challenging the behaviour of the water company that spews sewage into the river.

The Rivals actor on his very skinny ankles, swearing like a sailor, and his enduring love for Marlon Brando

Born in Essex, Alex Hassell, 45, trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. He co-founded an experimental theatre group and was noticed by the RSC where he went on to star in Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, Henry V and Death of a Salesman. On TV, he appeared in His Dark Materials and Rivals. He reprises the role of Rupert Campbell-Black in season 2 on Disney+. He is married to actor Emma King and lives in London.

What is your greatest fear?
Loneliness.

It is hardly a surprise that outbreaks can occur and experts say many of the factors involved are not easy to change

It was a voyage that promised such stuff as dreams are made of, yet within weeks the Atlantic expedition of the MV Hondius had become a nightmare, with three passengers dead from hantavirus and more showing symptoms.

Meanwhile, an outbreak of norovirus is under investigation on another cruise ship, while flu, E coli and varicella – the virus that causes chickenpox – have also caused problems in such settings. Perhaps most memorably, in 2020 the Diamond Princess became a breeding ground for Covid, with passengers and crew quarantined for two weeks off the coast of Japan and more than 700 of the 3,711 people onboard eventually testing positive.

Despite the ban on disposables, waste professionals say the mountain of discarded devices is a £1bn-a-year issue

It is 2pm and Ana, 47, has just started the afternoon shift at the Suez recycling plant near Birmingham city centre, standing beneath a sign reading “Non-ferrous sorting station” with a bucket of vapes in front of her. Sorting and dismantling them is part of her job as a site operative.

Recycling them is not simple. Each bucket holds between 40 and 50 devices, and over the course of a shift, she gets through about half a bucket. Using a hammer, she has to smash each vape open, pry out the batteries and separate each component into a different container.

The Paralympic swimmer on being a teenage champion, seeking her birth mother, and the joy of retirement

Born in Walsall in 1994, Ellie Simmonds is a retired Paralympic swimmer and TV presenter. She moved to Swansea when she was 11 to train with the GB squad and at 13 was the youngest member of the British team at the Beijing 2008 Paralympics, winning two gold medals. She won two further golds at London 2012, breaking two world records, and a fifth gold at Rio 2016. Since retiring in 2021, she has presented for BBC Sport, and her documentaries include A World Without Dwarfism? and Finding My Secret Family. Along with Stephen Fry and Mo Farah, she takes part in Celebration Day on 25 May, to honour those who are no longer with us.

This is me in my grandma’s garden in Walsall. I have happy memories of being there – we would bake cakes or play outside all day. It’s a typical image of me aged four – energetic, non-stop and vibrant. Mum says I was never one to sit inside and watch TV, despite her efforts to occasionally get me to chill out on the sofa. Screen time wasn’t for me.

Find out how we compiled our list of the 100 best novels published in English – and nominate your favourites

• See the list here

This week, we reveal our list of the 100 greatest novels published in English, as voted for by authors and critics around the world. We polled 172 authors, critics and academics for their top 10 novels of all time, published in English, and asked them to rank their choices in order of preference. We scored the titles according to how often they were voted for, and then added a weighting based on individual rankings to produce the overall list of 100 greatest books.

What would be at the top of your list? Which authors do you think should be there? What are your favourite novels of all time?

Tim Allen, Joan Cusack and Greta Lee join Hanks to answer your enquiries about the forthcoming animation and its previous instalments

Is there a more eagerly anticipated movie this year than Toy Story 5? For many people (with and without children), you can keep your Odysseys and Minotaurs and Place in Hells, because the return of Woody, Buzz and friends is what cinema is really all about. The series so far has made $3.3bn, and last year’s teaser trailer had 142m views in 24 hours – of which only 140m were my son pressing refresh.

The new film, which is released worldwide on 19 June, sees Jessie the Cowgirl (voiced by Joan Cusack) leading the gang in eight-year-old Bonnie’s room, with Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) her second-in-command, after the departure of Woody (Tom Hanks) at the end of Toy Story 4 to help abandoned toys find their owners.

As more childminders are quitting the profession amid concerns over costs, we’d like to hear why and from parents who’ve been affected

The number of childminders in England has roughly halved over the past decade, with many citing rising costs, low pay and increasing paperwork as reasons for leaving the profession. Childcare organisations have also warned that upcoming tax changes could push more childminders out of the sector.

Campaigners say the decline is making it harder for families to find flexible and affordable childcare, particularly in areas already struggling with shortages.

We’d like to hear how you’re adapting your expenditure as the cost of living rises amid the conflict in the Middle East

Rising prices and economic uncertainty linked to the conflict in the Middle East are putting pressure on household budgets across the world.

The International Monetary Fund has warned the conflict is pushing up the cost of energy and food, increasing borrowing costs and weighing on economic growth. Surveys suggest millions of households are already making changes to cope – cutting back, dipping into savings or taking on debt.

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Russian drone attacks on Kyiv, Israeli strikes in Lebanon, Trump in Beijing and a mural of Lamine Yamal – the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists