Cancer Research UK figures show number diagnosed with most serious form of skin cancer has risen above 20,000 for first time The number of cases from the most serious form of skin cancer have reached a record high across the UK, according to analysis by a leading cancer charity. Melanoma cases in the UK have risen above 20,000 for the first time ever, with 20,980 people being diagnosed with the form of cancer in 2022, according to analysis of the latest figures by Cancer Research UK. Continue reading...

Arsenal’s party heading south, fights for Europe – and survival – and Londoners cheering on West Ham Premier League top scorers: the latest standings Last week’s costly defeat to Leeds means Brighton must overcome Manchester United on the final day to ensure they secure a place in Europe for the second time in their history. The good news is that Michael Carrick’s side have nothing to play for and United have a wretched record at the Amex, losing in three of their past four visits in the Premier League including a 4-0 drubbing back in 2022. Danny Welbeck could be key against his former club having enjoyed his most prolific season with 13 league goals. The veteran striker still has a chance of finishing as the highest scoring English player in the division if he can find the net on Sunday, with World Cup rival Ollie Watkins leading the way on 14 as it stands. Ed Aarons Brighton v Manchester United (all games Sunday 4pm BST) Burnley v Wolves Crystal Palace v Arsenal Fulham v Newcastle Liverpool v Brentford Continue reading...

Political editor Pippa Crerar and features writer Simon Hattenstone top major categories and Malak A Tantesh wins for Gaza reporting The Guardian’s political editor, a prominent features writer and a brave young Palestinian reporter are among those to have been honoured at the Press Awards in London. The awards celebrate the best journalism across all news media publishers distributing in the UK. Continue reading...

Kentucky is one of about 1,200 school districts across the US that have each sued Meta, TikTok, Snap and YouTube Meta agreed to settle a major lawsuit on Thursday with a school district in Kentucky over claims that its social networks are designed to be addictive, leading to harm in children. The settlement comes less than three weeks before the case was scheduled to go to trial in federal court in California. About 1,200 school districts from across the US came together to each sue Meta, TikTok, Snap and YouTube for allegedly fueling a mental health crisis in children. TikTok, Snap and YouTube settled their suits with Kentucky over the past couple of weeks. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Move to establish board comes after criticism that Lammy’s plan to slash jury trials will lead to increase in racial and class bias David Lammy and the most senior judge in England and Wales are drawing up plans to accelerate the recruitment of minority ethnic and working-class solicitors into the judiciary. A new judicial and legal diversity board, chaired by Lammy, who is the first black lord chancellor, and Sue Carr, the lady chief justice, has met for the first time to discuss removing barriers for diverse candidates attempting to join the judiciary. Continue reading...

As he prepares to say farewell to the club, the veteran left-back considers the highs – and tragic lows – of a stellar career at Anfield There was the Barcelona comeback on the night he ruffled Lionel Messi’s hair, the Champions League triumph in Madrid, winning Liverpool’s first league title in 30 years and pressing five Manchester City players in one career-defining run at Anfield when 4-1 up. But the best feeling Andy Robertson experienced at Liverpool was “climbing the mountain” with Jürgen Klopp’s all-conquering team. Nobody climbed higher or harder. The boy who was rejected by Celtic at 15 and tweeted: “Life at this age is rubbish with no money” after his debut for Queen’s Park aged 18 became the man many consider to be Liverpool’s finest left-back, and arguably the best in the world at his peak. With 377 fiercely committed appearances in a Liverpool shirt behind him, Robertson will say goodbye on Sunday. The 32-year-old Scotland captain leaves “with no regrets, no bitterness” and “glad that one of our Egyptian friends might take a bit more of the limelight. I can just sneak underneath that.” Continue reading...

While Friday morning is the official announcement, the makeup of the squad has become clear and contains some major surprises Thomas Tuchel has a way to go to emulate his Brazil counterpart, Carlo Ancelotti, in terms of sheer spectacle when it comes to the announcement of a World Cup squad. Ancelotti took centre stage at the elegant Museum of Tomorrow in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday to reveal his 26 players, going name by name, the large audience of celebrities and influencers erupting when he eventually confirmed that Neymar was in. There will nevertheless be a sense of razzmatazz on Friday morning when Tuchel confirms his England squad for the tournament in the US, Canada and Mexico. It is a seismic day in the football cycle, one that does not need additional trimmings. But it will get them anyway, with the Football Association going digital-first in an effort to harness the excitement and zap it straight to supporters’ devices. Continue reading...

Hull KR 62-4 Wigan Champions run in 11 tries as Peet plays youngsters Hull KR and Wigan took drastically contrasting approaches to prepare for next weekend’s Challenge Cup final: and the result was a disastrous look for Super League and an exhibition of men against boys, with Rovers inflicting a heavy defeat on the Warriors. While the Robins decided to go practically full strength in anticipation of next Saturday’s Wembley finale between the two sides, Wigan coach Matt Peet opted to do the complete opposite. Wigan rested almost the entirety of the 17-man squad that will walk out in next weekend’s cup final, handing out eight debuts and fielding just three players over the age of 23. Continue reading...

Licensing agreement will allow listeners to use AI to create content on streaming platform for first time Spotify and Universal Music Group have agreed on a deal that will allow subscribers to generate song covers and remixes using artificial intelligence. The licensing agreement is the first time the Swedish streaming company will allow listeners to use AI to create content through its platform. Continue reading...

The Oscar-winning actor’s role in the mythical drama has been attacked by Elon Musk and others on the far right Oscar-winning actor Lupita Nyong’o has responded to far-right criticism of her role in Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of The Odyssey. In the big-budget film, out in July, the star plays Helen of Troy alongside cast members including Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland and Zendaya. Continue reading...

Players have demanded bigger prize pots at top events Henman has secured meeting with players at Roland Garros Wimbledon will offer to create a new player council in a meeting with leading player representatives scheduled for Roland Garros next week, with Tim Henman having intervened in the ongoing row over grand slam prize money. The Guardian has learned the former British No 1 and All England Club Board member held talks with several top players, including representatives of the WTA Players’ Council at the Italian Open in Rome earlier this month. A formal meeting between Wimbledon officials and player agents at the French Open will follow. Continue reading...

Having unearthed the world’s largest triceratops head, Christian Angermayer knows where to find treasure among the dirt. Step forward Sunday’s inaugural ‘Steroid Olympics’ promoting PEDs to the masses Before we get to doping and psychedelics, arguably the most controversial man in sport is discussing how he came to own the largest triceratops skull ever discovered. And how he plans to install it in his London apartment. So how much did you pay for it, I ask Christian Angermayer, the German billionaire who has made fortunes from biotech, bitcoin and psychedelics and now intends to do the same again using – and many believe abusing – sport. “Not a lot, because I find them.” Continue reading...

Belgian ‘always planned’ late attack that sealed stage 12 Jonas Vingegaard now 33 seconds off the pink jersey Alec Segaert stole a march to win stage 12 of the Giro d’Italia on Thursday and his Bahrain Victorious teammate Afonso Eulálio snatched bonus seconds in the intermediate sprint to extend his overall lead. The 175-km ride from Imperia to Novi Ligure looked to be headed for a sprint finish before the Belgian rider Segaert made his telling move 3km from the line and held off the chasing pack to take the win on his Giro debut. Continue reading...

Arsenal fan Daniel Bull was in Mayfair nightclub Tape ‘I was thinking what the hell is going on?’ says 22-year-old Daniel Bull has waited his whole life to see Arsenal win the Premier League and it is fair to say that the 22-year-old from north London will never forget the celebrations on Tuesday night. Having found himself sharing a bottle of champagne with Ian Wright as thousands of supporters gathered outside the Emirates Stadium, the devoted Gunners supporter and two close friends took a gamble as the party was petering out. “I had just heard a whisper,” Bull says. That whisper was that Arsenal’s players were gathering at the exclusive Tape nightclub in Mayfair after they had watched from the training ground as Bournemouth drew with Manchester City to crown the club champions for the first time since 2004. An Instagram video later posted by Noni Madueke’s mother showed the England forward returning home to much acclaim before immediately announcing, “I’m going out.” Continue reading...

Nottingham Playhouse Teenage crushes, breakups, careers, kids, fallings out and unbreakable loyalty – Jane Upton gives us a sweeping story of two best mates Imagine if One Day was set in Long Eaton. Now, take its sweeping, time-spanning love story, but make it platonic, and about two theatre-obsessed best mates. That’s the foundation for Jane Upton’s luminous, heart-exploding play, which catches Jess and Billy in a series of snapshots across their friendship. Beginning in the early 90s, during their school days, and then moving through their 20s, 30s and into their mid-40s, the play threads together teenage crushes, career decisions, breakups, marriages, births and children. Jess (Katie Redford) is an oversharer while Billy (Benedict Salter) has secrets. Their early years together pass through play rehearsals, parties, personal revelations and betrayals, but even in their lowest moments, the two are always pulled back to each other’s side. Continue reading...

Musician wins rising star and best song musically and lyrically, continuing their success after Brit award win and Mercury prize nomination Scottish singer-songwriter Jacob Alon was the big winner at the 2026 Ivor Novello awards, which acknowledge the best in British and Irish songwriting and screen composition. Alon, 25, has captivated audiences with their swooping voice and imaginative alt-folk arrangements, showcased on debut album In Limerence which was released in May 2025. They won the Ivor Novello award for rising star – the second such win for Alon this year, having won the equivalent prize at the 2026 Brit awards in February, called the critics’ choice award. Continue reading...

Policy adviser Jen Reed says tech-facilitated abuse has become ‘increasingly prevalent’ and calls for its inclusion in Domestic Abuse Act The Domestic Abuse Act fails to fully recognise the danger of technology-facilitated abuse, such as location tracking or hidden stalkerware, a Lords select committee has heard. Tech abuse has become “increasingly prevalent” and “very commonplace now within a domestic abuse context”, said Jen Reed, the head of policy at University College London’s Gender and Tech Research Lab, during an evidence session. Continue reading...

Cannes film festival: Threading together three stories from distinct eras of Spanish life, this narrative triptych is superlatively acted and beautifully shot The Black Ball is a narrative triptych about the lives of three different Spanish men at various times: a meditation derived from Lorca about the secret history of gay men’s sexuality, which has been erased, excluded or denied – sexuality transfigured into a mysterious, restorative poetry of the soul. In Lorca’s words, “only mystery keeps us alive” and in fact the small regret I have about this superlatively acted and beautifully shot film is that once the connection between the three narrative strands is explained, some of the mystery and poetry is lost. In 1932, Carlos (Milo Quifes) is a young man of a good family in Granada, who applies for membership of the elite “Casino” club but is turned down on the grounds of his rumoured homosexuality, blackballed in an oppressively elaborate ceremony presided over by politicians and clergymen, in which the white and black balls are solemnly rolled down a special chute. In 1939, Sebastián (played by the actor and musician Álvaro Lafuente Calvo) finds himself chaotically enlisted into the pro-Franco nationalist army during the civil war and falls in love with the wounded Republican prisoner-of-war that he is supposed to be guarding. This is Rafael (Miguel Bernardeau), an actor and footballer with Atlético Madrid, an impossibly handsome, captivatingly vulnerable man whose bandages ooze blood like the tears of a miraculous statue. Continue reading...

Updated code of practice covering England, Wales and Scotland also relates to changing rooms and follows supreme court ruling Single sex toilets and changing rooms in England, Wales and Scotland must exclude transgender men and women, according to a new code of practice from the equalities watchdog. But the long-awaited guidance also says that businesses and service providers have to offer practical alternatives such as gender-neutral toilets for people who don’t wish to use services for their biological sex. Continue reading...

Research led by WHO predicts hotter climate will lead to more contact between humans and venomous snakes The risk of snakebites is increasing across the world as reptiles shift their habitats to cope with rising temperatures and growing human pressures, a study of venomous snakes has found. Spitting cobras in Africa, vipers in Europe and South America, cottonmouth moccasins in North America and kraits in Asia are coming into greater contact with people as a result of climate disruption and landscape change, according to the research, which was led by the World Health Organization. Continue reading...

Music is banned on Wednesdays on island of Stromboli where Rolling Stones frontman was celebrating wrapping a film Police on an Italian island stopped a party attended by Mick Jagger – because music is banned on Wednesdays. The Rolling Stones frontman was on Stromboli, the volcanic island among Sicily’s Aeolian archipelago, for the production of Three Incestuous Sisters, a film by the Italian director Alice Rohrwacher in which he stars. Continue reading...

Highest ranking staff will get 2.5% pay rise with bonuses for top performers in plan to ‘rewire’ civil service Senior civil servants will get bonuses for exceptional performance for the first time under a new system that Darren Jones, the Cabinet Office minister, said would reward the “doers, not the talkers”. Jones, who is also chief secretary to the prime minister, said most civil servants would get a 3.5% pay rise, but senior staff would have a base increase of 2.5%, with 1% held back for bonuses for the highest performing officials. Continue reading...

Africa CDC says restrictions could increase public health risks and highlight ‘deeper structural injustice’ in global health A US travel ban for people coming from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in response to the Ebola outbreak could make the situation worse, critics have warned. Declared a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday, the outbreak continues to spread with a new case reported in the DRC’s South Kivu province, an area under the control of armed rebel groups. Continue reading...

Ruling annuls 2023 CHP leadership contest to depose Özgür Özel, in blow to Erdoğan’s rivals A Turkish court has issued a ruling that effectively removes the head of the country’s main opposition party, in the latest blow to challengers of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The ruling, issued by an appeals court in Ankara on Thursday, annulled a 2023 leadership contest within the Republican People’s party (CHP), deposing the party’s leader, Özgür Özel. Continue reading...

Sarah Kellen told lawmakers that convicted sex offender ‘sexually and psychologically abused me … and gaslit me’ Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email One of Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime assistants has fiercely denied she was an accomplice of the convicted sex offender during a congressional interview, claiming she was “sexually and psychologically abused” by the late financier. “I am here today to answer your questions, to dispel rumors and conspiracies, and to tell you the truth,” Sarah Kellen told lawmakers on the House of Representatives oversight and reform committee on Thursday morning, as part of its ongoing review of the federal investigation into Epstein. Continue reading...