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

Circuit’s future is uncertain after Saudi withdrawal Two-time major champion also criticizes PGA Tour Bryson DeChambeau insists he would focus on his YouTube channel should LIV Golf not survive. The future of the Saudi-backed breakaway remains in doubt after the country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced plans to withdraw financing at the end of the year, having spent more than $5.4bn on the venture since 2022. Continue reading...

The restaurant drama dropped a special episode yesterday, without any warning. And it shows brief flashes of the magic that once made it so brilliant A couple of years ago, a surprise episode of The Bear would have been one of the highlights of the year. The stressful, tightly compressed comedy-drama about a restaurant in Chicago hit television like a juggernaut when it launched. It felt like nothing else and it was all anyone could talk about. How things have changed. Two disappointing seasons have taken all of the wind out of The Bear, so when it was announced that a special episode had dropped (before what is expected to be the final season this summer), you would have been justified to feel trepidatious. Continue reading...

Fan groups have called prices a ‘monumental betrayal’ Fifa collects 30% cut on resale markets Fifa president Gianni Infantino has defended World Cup ticket prices, insisting that football’s global governing body was obliged to take advantage of US laws that allow tickets to be resold for thousands of dollars above face value. Fifa has faced searing criticism over the cost of World Cup tickets, with fan organization Football Supporters Europe (FSE) calling the pricing structure “extortionate” and a “monumental betrayal”. FSE filed a lawsuit with the European Commission in March targeting Fifa over “excessive ticket prices” for the tournament. Continue reading...

Chichester Festival theatre David Haig shines as writer and star of this dramatisation about the fraught friendship of two entertainment giants and their debate over what is real or simply illusion The admirable actor David Haig has a sprightly sideline as a writer of historical bio-dramas. My Boy Jack (1997), about Rudyard Kipling’s mourning for a son killed in the first world war, and Pressure (2014), concerning the Scottish meteorologist charged with finding Gen Eisenhower’s weather window for D-day, is followed by Magic, dramatising the fraught friendship of two giants of entertainment between the wars: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini. It overlaps with My Boy Jack in that, like the author of The Jungle Book, the creator of Sherlock Holmes is grieving for a war victim son. The hope of a reunion brings the writer to the spiritualist movement but creates tension with Houdini, the illusionist convinced that seances are as much a theatrical pretence as his own escapes from straitjackets and water tanks. Happy to have the Scot as a fan, the Hungarian-American is alarmed to discover that the writer believes him to be blessed with supernatural powers. Continue reading...

The key lesson from Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s style is to keep the messaging simple Carolyn Bessette Kennedy has been an insider style icon for ever, but this year she has flipped from under-the-radar reference to global phenomenon. Ryan Murphy’s Love Story, a glossy dramatisation of her doomed romance with JFK Jr, gave us nine delicious hours of lingering closeups of her white tank tops and jeans, her simple black dresses, perfect black oval sunglasses and tortoiseshell headbands. If you didn’t know you wanted to dress like CBK before you started watching, you did by the end. Carole Radziwill, who was friends with Carolyn, has pointed out that copying CBK’s style is pretty much the least CBK thing you could do. Her friend, she told the Deuxmoi podcast, “pulled her hair back in a headband because she didn’t want to wash it every day. She did what felt natural to her and she dressed in things that made her feel comfortable and most like herself. Mostly jeans and button-downs and T-shirts. The takeaway is not to mimic her style, but to do and wear what feels most authentic to you. Be yourself. She was very much herself.” Continue reading...

Pontiff responds after US president accuses him of ‘endangering a lot of Catholics’ with stance on Iran war Middle East crisis – live updates Pope Leo has said he has never supported nuclear weapons and that those who criticise him need to speak the truth, in response Donald Trump’s latest tirade accusing him of “endangering a lot of Catholics” with his stance on the Iran war. Speaking to journalists on Tuesday night after leaving the papal retreat in Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, the first US-born pontiff said: “The mission of the church is to preach the gospel, to preach peace.” Continue reading...

Editor-in-chief of Wall Street Journal says those with deep pockets launching legal challenges as a PR strategy Powerful figures are increasingly suing media outlets before they have even published a story, the editor of the Wall Street Journal has said. Emma Tucker, whose title is being sued by Donald Trump over its reporting of his relationship with the late child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, said the act of reporting itself was now under threat from the use of “lawfare”. Continue reading...

Councillors announce plan to withdraw from government-funded programmes in run-up to May elections The Reform-led Lancashire county council will withdraw from the government’s refugee resettlement scheme, one of its cabinet members has said. Councillor Joshua Roberts announced plans for Lancashire to leave the scheme, which would make it the first local authority to do so. Continue reading...

The US is blocking the employment of Cuban doctors around the world – and the poorest will suffer the costs US pressure on Cuba is rising. A country that has already been under US-led and enforced embargos for almost 70 years, Cuba is now in the crosshairs of the Trump administration, with a new policy that is isolating it further and having a devastating effect on Latin America and the Caribbean. The US has blocked the employment of Cuban doctors, medical professionals who go where others fear to tread and who have propped up healthcare across the region for decades. I spoke to the Guardian’s South America correspondent, Tiago Rogero, about the impact of Trump’s policy and what makes Cuban doctors special. Continue reading...

La Nación has been critical of Costa Rica president and Donald Trump ally, Rodrigo Chavez The US state department has cancelled tourist visas for more than half of the board members of Costa Rica’s leading national newspaper, La Nación, which has been a critical voice against the country’s president, Rodrigo Chaves, an ally of Donald Trump. During Chaves’s 2022 presidential campaign, La Nación published several articles documenting allegations of sexual harassment against him that had forced him out of his job at the World Bank. The paper also reported on allegations of illegal campaign financing, which Chaves denied. Continue reading...

Transform this tough offcut into an intensely delicious compound butter that’s perfect with eggs, bread, gnocchi or anything else you can think of Asparagus butts are a particularly tricky byproduct to tame because they’re so fibrous. I usually cut them very finely (into 5mm-thick discs, or even thinner), then boil, puree and pass them through a sieve (as in my green goddess salad dressing and asparagus soup), but even then you’ll still end up with a fair bit of fibrous waste. Enter asparagus-butt butter: a recipe that defies all odds, making the impossible possible by transforming a tough offcut into an intense compound butter that’s perfect for grilling or frying asparagus spears themselves, or for eggs, bread, gnocchi or whatever you can think of. The short fibres brown and caramelise in the butter, and in the process become the highlight of the dish, rather than the problem. Continue reading...

Researchers say 481-metre wave in fjord was triggered by rockslide linked to climate crisis A mega tsunami in Alaska last year in a fjord visited by cruise ships is a stark warning of the risks of coastal rockslides and glacier retreat fueled by the climate crisis, a new study warns. Scientists recorded the world’s second-tallest tsunami after it struck the Tracy Arm fjord in south-east Alaska last August after a massive rockslide around the toe of a glacier. The tsunami reached 481 metres (1,578ft) in height; by comparison the Eiffel Tower is 330 metres (1082ft). Continue reading...

Polls suggest Reform could win most seats in Senedd election but party is unlikely to be able to form government UK politics live – latest updates On a sunny but cold evening in a shopping centre car park on the outskirts of Merthyr Tydfil, Reform UK supporters enjoyed free pizza and loud music as they waited for what the party leader, Nigel Farage, said was his last big speech before Thursday’s Welsh Senedd, Scottish parliament and English local elections. Reform could win the most seats under Wales’s new more proportional voting system but it is unlikely to be able to form a government, as other parties have ruled out going into coalition with it. Yet Farage’s outfit is the first rightwing party with a shot at winning in Wales since the 1850s. The surge in support for a party that got 1% of the vote in the last Senedd election is impossible to ignore. Continue reading...

O2 Arena, London The ambition of 2025 album Lux is scaled up even bigger by the Catalan megastar, delivered with operatic vocals and en pointe ballet moves as well as funny asides and glasses of wine Wrapped in a vast white sheet, Rosalía is telling the audience a story about her youthful dreams of performing in London, undaunted by the fact that her English is, as she puts it “a little bit rat-a-tah”. It turns out her real ambition was to sing at the Royal Albert Hall – “which I’ve never done” – but no matter: “I have sold out two nights at the O2!” she cries triumphantly. “Crazy, crazy,” she adds, shaking her head. You can understand the Catalan singer’s surprise. We are supposed to live in a hopelessly risk-averse era for pop, where what audiences are deemed to want is more of the same. While you might have expected her fourth album, Lux, to be greeted with critical hosannahs, the fact that she’s managed to fill one of the UK’s biggest venues twice off the back of a song cycle based on the lives of various female saints, sung in 13 different languages, and set to music that conjoined lavish orchestration with leftfield electronica – and provoked a debate about whether the results should be filed under classical rather than pop – seems pretty improbable. Continue reading...

Team of 100 extra officers is aimed at providing ‘more consistent model of protection’ for Jewish communities Politics live – latest updates The number of antisemitic hate crimes recorded in April in London was the highest in two years, data shows, as the Metropolitan police commit to deploying 100 extra officers to protect Jewish communities. The force says a “community protection team” will be set up, combining neighbourhood policing with counter-terrorism capabilities, as British Jews face “some of the highest levels of hate crime alongside significant terrorist and hostile state threats”. Continue reading...

Chair Tim Martin says pub chain could miss expectations, in latest sign UK hospitality sector buckling under higher bills Business live – latest updates The boss of JD Wetherspoon has said the pub chain could miss profit expectations because of rising costs, in the latest sign the UK hospitality industry is buckling under the pressure of higher energy, food, labour and tax bills. The company’s chair, Tim Martin, told investors on Wednesday: “As many hospitality operators, including Wetherspoon, have reported, there have been substantial increases in costs.” Continue reading...

Winger insists side can overcome PSG or Bayern Ødegaard takes ‘massive confidence’ from semi-final Arsenal will travel to Budapest for the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich with no trace of an inferiority complex, according to Leandro Trossard, who knows that anything is possible in a one-off game. The Arsenal winger and his teammates drank in the euphoria after Tuesday night’s 1-0 home win over Atlético Madrid in the semi-final second-leg for a 2-1 aggregate triumph, savouring the achievement and the sense of history. Arsenal have only contested one previous final in the competition, losing to Barcelona in 2006. Continue reading...

G77 nations spend $8tn a year servicing debts, but analysis shows how comprehensive relief could benefit social spending Cutting debt servicing costs for the world’s poorest countries could free up $900bn (£660bn) a year for development, a new report to the UN secretary general has claimed. Prepared by advocacy group Development Finance International (DFI) with the support of the Norwegian government and launched in Oslo today, the analysis warned that the world is facing “the worst ever debt-provoked development crisis”. Continue reading...

In a rare interview, the director has said he wants to do justice to Homer’s ‘the original non-linear narrative’. How will that translate on screen? • New trailer for Nolan’s The Odyssey released online The excitement around Christopher Nolan’s forthcoming film of the Odyssey has been taken up a notch this week with the launch of a new trailer and the director appearing on Stephen Colbert’s US chatshow to give a rare interview. With fresh information emerging about the film, which is scheduled to be released on 17 July, it’s worth taking stock of what we know about Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s ancient Greek epic, starring Matt Damon as Odysseus. And how faithful to the original poem is it likely to be? Continue reading...

IRGC says ‘with the end of threats from aggressors’ safe transit in the strait can resume after Trump pauses Project Freedom Trump puts ‘Project Freedom’ on hold, saying he hopes to finalise deal with Iran The UK work and pensions secretary, Pat McFadden, has warned that job losses “could happen” in Britain due to the economic impacts of the Iran war. He said the UK economy was “going in the right direction” at the start of the year and unemployment figures for February showed a decline. He added that interest rates were expected to come down and the markets were pricing in cuts during the course of the year. Continue reading...

As photography became mainstream in the mid-20th century, a group of Princeton teachers helped solidify art photography as a movement. The work and lives of Minor White, Aaron Siskind, Harry Callahan and other photographers is celebrated in a new exhibition. Photography as a Way of Life is on display at the Princeton University Art Museum until 7 September Continue reading...

The leader of the Green party has faced antisemitic attacks, and yet his thoughts on the subject don’t count as far as the rightwing UK press is concerned The surge of the Green party has emphasised an iron rule of British politics: those on the left cannot be treated as legitimate political actors. A case in point came at the weekend, when the Green party leader, Zack Polanski, was interviewed by Sky News’ Trevor Phillips, who barely concealed his contempt. Two weeks ago, in an interview with Haaretz newspaper, Polanski was asked what the Green party’s response was to the recent wave of attacks against Jewish sites in the UK. His response: “I’m concerned about rising antisemitic attacks. We saw arson attacks on ambulances, for instance, and we know that, increasingly, Jewish communities are feeling unsafe. Now, there’s a conversation to be had about whether it’s a perception of unsafety [sic] or whether it’s actual unsafety [sic], but neither are acceptable.” Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

It is feared soft-power politics and a $240m war-chest could leave Samoa and Tonga uniquely vulnerable There’s a new war in the Pacific brewing, with the Super Rugby side Moana Pasifika collapsing and rugby league on a new signing spree in union’s traditional heartlands. The conflict spells trouble for Rugby Australia (RA), whose federal government is funding a $600m NRL franchise in Papua New Guinea, $240m of which will go into poaching talent and creating pathways throughout Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and the Cook Islands. Continue reading...

With the Wood one win from reaching the Football League for the first time, a veteran correspondent recalls lessons learned from their amateur days The years teach much which the days never know. This weekend Boreham Wood FC go to Wembley fighting for a place in that treasured home of the global game, the English Football League. Why will I be watching 7,000 miles away? Well, the experience of riding the Wood’s team bus 50-odd years ago taught me much that I have carried across our world ever since. So, I’ll be somewhat possessed this Sunday, Boreham Wood versus Rochdale, even though I live in that footie mecca on the other side of the world, Argentina. The memories are rich. Back then I’m on a gap year before university, a football captain at school sees an advert in his local paper for a reporter, urges me to apply, and I do, convincing one of the best editors I ever worked for (by the name of Roger Norman) to take me, and I spend a golden period reporting for the Borehamwood and Elstree Post. Elstree, with its film studios, the poor man’s Hollywood. Borehamwood, a working-class hinterland of my north London, with not much to celebrate. Continue reading...