I’m not sure any other first world nation would have this problem. Keir Starmer’s promise of growth, growth, growth appears to have shrivelled We are in the TL;DR days of Keir Starmer’s government. The latest Mandelson files stimulate nothing so much as an old and now immortally memed response to an online screed: “I ain’t reading all that. I’m happy for u tho. Or sorry that happened.” In any case, to save you the bother, I can report that there are only two hideously iconic moments in the latest files. The first, obviously, is Pat McFadden’s already viral verdict on Labour’s endlessly self-preserving and vision-free backbenchers – and perhaps those much closer to the heart of government: “Every meeting I have is: ‘Who can we tax in order to pay benefits to others?’” Yowch. New Liam Byrne note just dropped. But the second is a much, much bigger problem than even that. The second might be the deadliest, most emblematic thing in the entire files dump. It is no more than 10 words but when I read it yesterday afternoon, I slumped back in my chair struck by the absolute state-of-the-nation of it. I thought: that’s it. That is literally the whole of where we are as a country, and the whole scale of the task of how on earth we get out of it. It is both staggeringly shocking and wholly predictable. I’m not doing a trigger warning or anything, but I will say it comes in the section of emails about Trump wanting to be gifted one replica ministerial red box during the state visit last year. Anyway, here goes: “the manufacturer gave a lead time of 8-10 weeks”. Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Wetter weather expected to bring surge of slugs out of hiding, just as strawberries experience bumper early crop Entomologists in England are expecting a surge in slugs coming out of hiding to munch the nation’s strawberry plants after weeks of sun followed by wetter weather has caused a bumper crop. The Royal Horticultural Society is bracing for a surge in inquiries from its 625,000 members, who write in with their garden gripes. Workers at the RHS have also noticed a spate of slugs in the charity’s gardens, including Wisley in Surrey. Slugs love a young, vulnerable seedling, so transplant sturdy plantlets grown in pots. These can then be given some protection with cloches. The leaf-munching creatures are excellent for compost heaps as they get rid of dead and decaying matter, helping turn your waste into lovely compost. So why not go out with a torch on a mild evening while the weather is damp, and hand pick slugs into a container? These can then be placed either into a compost heap, where they can feast on all your garden waste, or near less vulnerable plants. Some gardeners do strategic planting, making sure to put plants slugs find delicious near their favourite plants so these are eaten instead. Why not dig a pond to encourage frogs, which will do slug elimination for you without the guilt of setting down poison pellets or drowning them in beer. It’s better for the ecosystem, too. Encourage birds with a bird feeder – especially during spring when the young can be fed with a juicy snail. Raking over soil and removing fallen leaves during winter can allow birds to eat slug eggs that have been exposed. Continue reading...

Just days away from the opener, the tournament has yet to feel fully real for fans and even some players Sign up for the World Behind The Cup newsletter Organizationally speaking, the 2026 World Cup began on 13 June 2018, when then-Fifa general secretary Fatma Samoura sternly instructed the delegates to cast their vote in a cavernous conference hall in Moscow. Yet mere days away from the tournament’s kickoff in Mexico City, it doesn’t really feel like the thing is here yet. At least, not in the US. And not in New York, the host city for the final. Continue reading...

Three studies add to evidence that jabs could be part of cancer-fighting toolkit to cut risk of developing or dying from disease Weight-loss drugs can cut the risk of developing or dying from cancer by 30%, doctors have said. Millions of people already use the drugs to treat obesity. Now a series of studies presented at the world’s largest oncology conference suggest the drugs could play a role in preventing and treating cancer. Continue reading...

Whether you’re grilling meat or veg, our panel agrees that the best accompaniments involve a balance of acid, fat, salt, aromatics and sweeteners What are the best marinades and sauces for a barbecue? Josie, by email “Good, well-farmed meat needs none of that nonsense,” insists Richard Turner, co-founder of butcher Turner & George in London. “I want to taste the meat and, if necessary, it should be tenderised by your chosen cooking technique.” For Josie, though, he’ll go with the flow. First things first, all good marinades have a few things in common: “You need a tenderiser, so citrus juice, vinegar, yoghurt, buttermilk, wine or enzymes [pineapple, papaya],” he says. “These acids work by breaking down the surface collagen and protein in the meat, which tenderises the exterior and lets other flavours penetrate more deeply, while enzymes break down connective tissue.” You’ll then want fat – olive oil, coconut milk, yoghurt – and seasoning – sea salt, fish sauce, soy sauce, miso. “Salt penetrates deep into the meat, breaking down muscle fibres and drawing in liquids, so increasing both moisture and flavour.” You’ve then got garlic, ginger, shallots, herbs, chilli and sweeteners (honey, maple syrup, treacle) to play with. Got a culinary dilemma? Email feast@theguardian.com Continue reading...

Cuts in international support threaten the work of the women and men bringing hope to the world’s most vulnerable people Jean-Pierre Lacroix is UN under-secretary general for peace operations At a time when conflicts spill across borders, Am-Dafock – a town built on marshy ground in the far north of Central African Republic – offers a powerful example of why UN peacekeeping matters, even if such successes rarely make international news. In response to the growing impact of the war in neighbouring Sudan in 2024, the UN peacekeeping mission – known as Minusca – established a temporary base at the border town near Birao to protect displaced and refugee communities and create stability for the delivery of life-saving aid. Continue reading...

Officials say law will improve migration management by allowing more deportations of undocumented people EU politicians have promised to increase deportations of undocumented migrants, under a new law that critics say mimics elements of the Trump administration’s brutal immigration crackdown. Finalising a key element of an overhauled EU asylum and migration system, politicians have agreed a regulation that will enable national authorities to raid people’s homes to enforce deportation orders. Continue reading...

Some unexpected teams lead the way as the group stage of the T20 Blast approaches its halfway point By the 99.94 Cricket Blog This article is from The 99.94 Cricket Blog Continue reading...

Scotland great, 75, mistakenly posted on social media ‘Treatment is going well’ says former player and manager Sir Kenny Dalglish has revealed he is receiving treatment for cancer. The Liverpool legend, who is 75, confirmed the diagnosis on Tuesday having mistakenly posted about his treatment earlier in the day. Liverpool have said: “The support, best wishes and love of everyone at Liverpool FC are, and will be, with Sir Kenny and his family.” Dalglish wrote: “As my inadvertent social media post has indicated, I am currently undergoing treatment for cancer. Unlike my mobile phone use, the treatment is going well. Ideally, this would have remained private because that’s the way it should be, but my useless technology skills have forced my hand. Continue reading...

Series two of Rivals has brought big, bouncy locks into vogue. From Slash to Grace Jones to Bono’s mullet, here are other looks to copy if you dare … *** One thing that has come raging back in vogue upon the release of Rivals, season two, is Jilly Cooper’s hair. That’s no surprise – Rivals has revived a lot of things we thought we’d seen the back of: smoking; dinner parties with an aperitif segment; braces (the trouser variant); a haughty expression. Give it a couple of episodes and we’ll have made our peace with naked tennis in time for Wimbledon. Continue reading...

A breadcrumb trail of secret messages spanning two years, dozens of puzzles and the Guardian’s leader column led solvers to a very special prize … Last time, we shared some old milestone puzzles in anticipation of Guardian cryptic No 30,000. That crossword has since been published: and here, in the order it happened (that is, how solvers experienced it but in reverse), is its tale. 29581 WELLDONE 29587 BRAVO 29599 HERE 29611 INCONCLUSION 29629 ISOURF 29633 INALCH 29641 ALLENG 29663 EAREYOU 29669 KEEPINGUPGREAT 29671 THEREWI 29683 LLBEAWON 29717 DERF 29723 ULPRIZ 29741 EBUTFIR 29753 STYOUM 29759 USTENT 29761 ERARAC 29789 ENOTAN 29803 ACTUALATHLETIC 29819 RACEOFC 29833 OURSETH 29837 ATWOULD 29851 BEWEIRD 29863 NOTTHAT 29867 ITSACER 29873 EBRALRA 29879 CEINTHE 29881 FORMOFA 29917 CROSSWORDPUZZLE 29921 ITSAGEN 29927 IUSPUBL 29947 ISHEDAT 29959 NOONBST 29983 TOMORROW 29989 GODSPEED LAST THIRTY-FIVE PRIMES Leader I tailored badly [ definition: leader ] [ wordplay: anagram (‘badly’) of ITAILORED ] Continue reading...

In 1971, Bianca Jagger entranced the fashion world with the skirt suit she wore to marry Mick Jagger. Now, in a nod to that style, Lipa is ushering in a new era of nonconformity Fifty five years after Bianca Jagger shocked onlookers when she wore a Yves Saint Laurent skirt-suit to marry Mick Jagger, her alternative wedding look has become a firm favourite among a new generation of brides. On Sunday, pop star Dua Lipa became the latest celebrity to endorse the trend when she married actor Callum Turner during an intimate ceremony in London. Photos of the couple on the steps of Old Marylebone town hall showed them grinning under a flurry of confetti, Turner in a navy suit, Lipa in an ivory skirt suit ripped straight from the pages of the Jagger stylebook complete with a wide-brimmed hat. Continue reading...

Opera makers have always engaged with the latest inventions while also preserving historic crafts. I believe it’s possible to look both forwards and backwards in this fast-evolving landscape The disquiet and distrust surrounding artificial intelligence among artists and creatives remain real and consequential, and the language used by leading arts commentators is often apocalyptic: AI will decimate the arts, it is evil, it is the devil. Like many emerging technologies, AI has been driven by the corporations at the forefront of its creation. Introduced to the public at a rapid rate and continuously evolving, machine learning has become closely entwined with fear, antipathy and foreboding. At the same time, its powers and possibilities are expanding exponentially, becoming embedded in almost every aspect of human activity. The upcoming RBO/SHIFT festival at the Royal Opera House aims to interrogate all sides of this fast-evolving landscape to enable artists, performers, creatives and audiences to think deeply and widely about where we are now, and where we may be tomorrow. Machine learning represents a seismic shift, both in society and in the arts, and we need storytellers, artists, teachers and thinkers in this space to help determine the direction of that shift and help us navigate this unfamiliar territory. Continue reading...

Constant validation and flattery from AI chatbots poses a serious risk to society and our shared grasp of reality Do you ever get the feeling that the people running the world are delulu? That the 1% are living in a completely different universe from the rest of us? You’re not the only one. Even some tech elites are starting to worry about their peers’ grasp on reality. “CEOs are uniquely prone to AI psychosis,” Aaron Levie, a co-founder of the enterprise cloud company Box, declared on X last month. His reasoning for this? “They’re sufficiently distant from the last mile of work that still has to happen to generate most value with AI. So when they play with AI, they see the happy path results, often not considering the next 10 or 20 things that have to happen to get sustainable results from agents.” In other words: CEOs are so high up the food chain that they don’t understand the human labour that goes into turning an error-riddled AI creation into something that functions properly in a business context. They are desperate to replace their annoying and expensive human labour with compliant AI models, but grossly overestimate what the technology can do. Meanwhile, the industry is rushing out overhyped AI solutions without properly stress-testing them. Continue reading...

She’s famous for sculptures that seem both solid and liquid. Now she has created a show amidst the ‘downfall of America’ inspired by a phrase from a comedy routine that came to obsess her A few weeks ago, Roni Horn, 70, was removed from her flight, just before takeoff from the US to Germany. A male steward was so irritated when he asked her to adjust her seat – and she politely refused to move it any further, since it was already as upright as she could get it – that he had the flight stopped and Horn was escorted off, where she gave a report to stunned police. “I was in business class, just for context,” she says. The artist and writer went back home, to the island on Maine where she lives, and cancelled the first part of her European trip. That was two weeks ago. Then she flew directly to London, in time for her first solo exhibition here in a decade – Seizure of Hope at Hauser and Wirth. Continue reading...

Qayyum Balogun chased and attacked after gig ended in Grafton Street area following clash between rival groups, police say A brawl in the heart of Dublin’s tourism district led to a nightclub promoter being chased and stabbed to death. It happened at about 3am on Monday after a gig ended in the Grafton Street area of the city centre that is popular with tourists. Continue reading...

For 25 years, the Knicks have given just enough hope to keep me from walking away. Four wins from watching an NBA title with my father, I know why I stayed The New York Knicks are four wins from hallelujah. I’ve been waiting for this since 2002. I was baptized in blown leads. Never, not once, considered leaving. This type of immolation requires explanation. The Knicks have not won an NBA championship since 1973. Maybe I’m bad luck, or maybe losing is what shaped me. Continue reading...

With procedures like filler and Botox becoming commonplace, audiences are lamenting the smoothed-out, uncanny faces now rampant in major pictures A few years ago, New York dermatologist Dr David A Colbert received an unexpected call from a Hollywood director. The director was shooting a film starring a high-profile actor who had plumped his face with so much filler it wouldn’t move. The director proceeded to berate Colbert, whose practice has treated famous faces such as Sienna Miller, Naomi Watts and Robin Wright, for stilting his star’s ability to emote. “He was kind of rude,” Colbert said. “He was like, ‘Hey, can you stop doing what you’re doing [to his face]?’” Continue reading...

Iconic blue shirt was worn in 5-2 win over Sweden Sotheby’s auction takes place in New York in July Pelé’s iconic blue No 10 shirt from the 1958 World Cup final is expected to become one of the most expensive football artefacts ever sold after being put up for auction. The Brazilian was 17 when he scored two goals in the 5-2 win over Sweden to secure the Seleção’s first World Cup and write his name into football lore. Continue reading...

Madeleine Thien, Sufiyaan Salam and Guardian readers discuss the titles they have read over the last month. Join the conversation in the comments Lately I have loved Dorothy Tse’s City Like Water, translated from Chinese by Natascha Bruce. It is an unclassifiable, sharp, ingenious, passionate novel in which the city that is dissolving is also one’s only home. I have been telling everyone to read Karen Hao’s Empire of AI so that we can understand the cost of the tools we’ve been told that we need. I re-read Hsiao-Hung Pai’s Scattered Sand: The Story of China’s Rural Migrants because it has stayed with me for more than a decade now. And I am reading Hannah Lillith Assadi’s moving novel, Paradiso 17, written in the weeks before and the year after her father, who was born in Palestine, passed away. Finally, Michael Ondaatje’s selected poems, The Distance of a Shout. This is a life’s work and a book to hold close. Continue reading...

Our cartoonist on the Champions League final, some joy in Europe for English teams and Arne Slot’s sacking Buy a cartoon | David’s favourite works of 2025 And his latest book, Chaos in the Box: get it now Continue reading...

Other races also taking place in state as well as primaries in New Jersey, South Dakota, New Mexico, Iowa and Montana Sign up to the Breaking News US email Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. Californians go to the polls today in the first round of voting for a new governor, with a tight three-way race for two run-off spots. Democrats in the US Senate vowed to force Republicans to vote on a $1.8bn “Maga slush fund” established as part of a resolution of Donald Trump’s long-shot lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. The US president has described the secretive and loosely controlled “anti-weaponization fund” as a means of paying the victims of politicized prosecutions. Tina Peters, the former clerk convicted of participating in a scheme to chase election conspiracy theories promulgated by Donald Trump, was released from prison on Monday after the president successfully pressured Colorado’s Democratic governor into commuting her sentence. On Monday afternoon, over an hour south of Newark, a few dozen protesters outside the New Jersey state legislature in Trenton condemned Democratic governor Mikie Sherrill’s decision to send in the state police to Delaney Hall, the Newark immigration detention center that has seen more than a week of chaotic and often violent clashes. Transgender troops can remain in the US military, but the armed services can continue to block their enlistment, an appeals court ruled on Monday in a split decision with potentially significant consequences for the Trump administration’s anti-diversity agenda. Continue reading...

The face looking back at me in the mirror is familiar – because it is my father’s. The worst part? It’s all my own fault On a day as hot as hell last week, the only thing I had left to take off without causing offence was my fringe. So I went into a barber and asked him to do me this simple favour, and he said, “Not really – barbers are for men,” and I said that was a risk I was prepared to take, and he said, “Men’s hair and women’s hair are completely different,” and I said, “That cannot be true – it doesn’t make biological sense,” and he said, “It is true,” and I said it was the least true thing I had ever heard and he said, “Fine,” and it took about a tenth as long as my regular haircut and cost about 17 times less. I’ve had a fringe this short before, for reasons of fashion, and I remember that era well because every time I saw my late mother, she started whistling ballads from the medieval times. Her repertoire was amazing. They say you’ll miss them when they’re gone, and I do not miss this. Continue reading...

Gillian Mosely’s film argues that Israelis are asked to accept a ‘forever war’ in part motivated by Netanyahu’s desire to defer investigation into corruption allegations Gillian Mosely has produced a follow-up film to her earlier documentary The Tinderbox, about the Israel/Palestine conflict and about how, as a Jewish person, she came to sympathise with the Palestinians. This film returns to the same subject, reiterating her argument that, since the grotesque antisemitic pogrom of 7 October, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has normalised a cruel, callous and paranoid political culture within an administration that needs far-right elements to stay in power and defer indefinitely any legal pursuit of Netanyahu’s own alleged corruption and cronyism, and that the civilian deaths in Gaza are an international scandal. Further, she says that all Israeli citizens, hawks and doves, are being asked to accept a “forever war” as a mark of patriotic loyalty; an eternal state of bloodshed. It is a perfectly admissible point, complicated by the fact that Israel does indeed have neighbours that deny its right to exist at all; fundamental, existential statehood enmities not faced by Putin, Xi, Trump and other strongmen with whom Netanyahu is often bracketed. Mosely at a later stage in the film damages her own argument, in my view, with a glib and naive statement to the effect that all this “fuels antisemitism”; an equation that comes close to inviting Jews all over the world to blame themselves for anti-Jewish bigotry. (Somehow it is not permissible in the same way to shrug and say that Hamas “fuels Islamophobia” or that Xi “fuels anti-Chinese racism”.) But, as before, Mosely has relevant things to say about a horrendous situation which Netanyahu’s ban on foreign journalists in Gaza is designed to mask. Continue reading...

A grassroots project has turned deforested beaches into thriving ecosystems by planting 100,000 native trees Pointing to a photograph of dry brown long grass hugging the shoreline, Gerardo Bolaños stands in front of a green oasis of seedlings and trees potted in black plastic bags. “This is what Playa Guiones looked like when we started in 2011,” says the executive director of Costas Verdes, a Costa Rican nonprofit. As howler monkeys growl in the background, Bolaños points to the picture next to it – an image of the same patch of land but with scores of flourishing, lush green trees. Today, he says, this is how the beach looks. Continue reading...