Nasa team get deeper into space than any humans have ever ventured Astronauts on the historic Artemis II mission are expected to reach the far side of the moon on Monday, venturing deeper into space than any humans before them. Nasa has reported satisfaction with progress toward the lunar fly-round since the team’s launch on Wednesday, with the three Americans and one Canadian on course to break the record for maximum range from Earth just as a total solar eclipse awaits. Continue reading...

Slovenian secures second Monument victory this season Remco Evenepoel finishes third; Wout van Aert fourth Tadej Pogacar won a record-equalling third Tour of Flanders on Sunday after the world champion dropped his main rival Mathieu van der Poel with 18km to ride. Van der Poel was himself aiming for a record fourth victory in the second Monument of the season, but instead Pogacar made it two from two in the prestigious one-day classics having won Milan-San Remo last month. Continue reading...

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I vividly remember thinking how out of line she was. But as I thought more about what she said, I realised she’d done me a favour Read more in the kindness of strangers series More than 30 years ago, I set out to build my dream house in a small rural town. It was a stressful process exacerbated by a demanding career that required me to travel across Asia and the Pacific for weeks at a time. The challenges of juggling parenting, marriage, my work and the house felt overwhelming at times. Not to mention the builders were falling behind schedule and often did not show up at all. One day I found myself in a lighting shop, finally ready to buy light fittings. The woman who ran the shop was not exactly friendly but as it was the only shop of its kind around, she won my business by default. I asked her a few questions about some lights and received only one- or two-word answers. I made the purchase, and as I was about to leave, she looked me firmly in the eyes and said: “You know, no matter how hard you think you have it, there are always others who have it much worse than you.” With that, she turned and went into the back of the shop. Continue reading...

The potency of the crucifixion story lies in how, as we experience the sometimes devastating travails of human existence, God himself suffers with us Making sense of it is a column about spirituality and how it can be used to navigate everyday life Twelve months ago I lost a close friend to brain cancer. He was 53 years old and survived two years after the initial shock of the diagnosis. For about 18 months of that time, with chemo and radiotherapy holding the tumour at bay, he was fit and strong and we surfed together, attended footy matches and had family get-togethers. It was hard to accept he was actually dying. But once treatment came to an end, his demise was rapid. The last months were excruciating for him and his family, the final weeks unspeakably sad. It was confronting to witness how death took hold of him as we watched him fade away. The last time I saw him, struggling to stay awake and clearly in much discomfort, he thanked me for coming and said he expected to be “much improved the next time I see you”. It was a joke. His last one to me. Continue reading...

Even the greatest golfers can wilt in pursuit of the Green Jacket – Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth and Tommy Fleetwood try to explain its special aura They say the Masters is all about tradition. One involves the sense of trepidation that collides with excitement as the finest golfers in the world take to Augusta National. Rory McIlroy, now a Masters champion, was scared to take a divot when first taking to the Georgia venue. “For my first two or three times, it kind of felt like I was in a museum,” says Xander Schauffele. Some visibly wilt under an intimidation provided by a course that is picture perfect. It is like the dazzling princess is concealing an axe. Continue reading...

Updates from 4.30pm kick-off (BST) at London Stadium Survival or silverware? Farke faces dilemma at Leeds As Leeds travel to West Ham for an FA Cup quarter-final both teams could arguably do without, one thing is not in doubt: Daniel Farke knows how to read a balance sheet. As the holder of an MA in economics and a diploma in sporting directorship, the Leeds manager needs no reminders that, financially, avoiding relegation is infinitely more important than trying to win the FA Cup. “The Premier League’s our bread and butter,” he said on Thursday . “It’s our priority.” There is, though, another side to Farke. Away from the training pitches at Thorp Arch, one of the German’s preferred ways of switching off is to spend hours reading on his sofa, transported to different worlds through his love of literary fiction. His favourite novels include Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude. Continue reading...

An army of ‘pregnancy prep’ influencers is offering would-be parents everything from sensible advice to quackery and questionable supplements. What’s really needed? Anything to do with pregnancy can sometimes feel like a crash course in withstanding uncertainty. From getting pregnant in the first place to avoiding complications later on, any parent-to-be is forced to reckon with the limits of their own control. The stats around this are worth emphasising: about one in seven couples in the UK will have difficulty conceiving. About one in eight known pregnancies will end in a loss. And as many as 29% of low-risk pregnancies will experience some kind of unforeseen complication. Often there’s no rhyme or reason to any of this. “You can do everything ‘right’ and still face delays. That’s biology, not failure,” says Dr Linda Farahani, a consultant gynaecologist and specialist in reproductive medicine at the Lister Fertility Clinic in Chelsea, London. Continue reading...

Concerns raised over minors placed in adult detention centres since removals began under scheme in September More than 70 children from various conflict zones whose ages were disputed by the Home Office have been held in detention centres in the UK in preparation for forced removal to France under the government’s “one in, one out” scheme, research shows. The one in, one out initiative means each small boat arrival can be forcibly returned to France in exchange for another person – who has not attempted the crossing – being brought to the UK legally. Continue reading...

Jeffrey Stephen Wigand revealed how tobacco companies targeted children; now he sees similar marketing by big tech A key whistleblower in the tobacco industry’s landmark trials of the 1990s has been watching big tech’s recent court battles closely. Jeffrey Stephen Wigand, a biochemist who helped reveal how tobacco companies targeted children and hid just how addictive cigarettes were, has been struck with a feeling of familiarity. Last week’s verdict in a major social media trial that Meta and YouTube deliberately designed addictive products has only strengthened comparisons to the legal crackdown on big tobacco. Wigand sees it, too. His first thought, as he learned about the litigation in California, was that social media companies, through their advertisements, were trying to addict children – much like the tobacco industry did. A Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube to be negligent last week. Plaintiffs’ lawyers relied heavily on internal documents and correspondence to demonstrate that company leadership dismissed concerns about how features of social media could be harmful. Meta was also found liable in a separate trial in New Mexico, alleging that it had failed to prevent child sexual exploitation. These verdicts are the first time Meta has been found liable for how its products affect young people – after years of criticism, much of it from angry parents who feel social media harmed their children’s mental health. Continue reading...

The artist performed songs from her new album in a five-night residency at Hollywood high school’s auditorium With a swaying ocean projected on the stage, bathing the space in the brilliant light of sunset and sea, the figure holding a microphone almost appeared to be floating with the waves. It added to the surreal effect that permeated the auditorium of Hollywood high school on Thursday night as singer Mitski performed Dead Women from her new album Nothing’s About to Happen to Me. Continue reading...

From Tehran to Cameroon, people take part in Easter celebrations Continue reading...

Trump’s venal persona and his war on Iran will do untold damage to America’s ability to make a positive difference in the world Early one Sunday morning in the summer of 2003, I drove into the center of a little South African beach town on the Indian Ocean to pick up the Cape papers. Local news agents still employed the English custom of putting front pages on A-frame stands on the sidewalk. It was during the first months of the Iraq war, and from two blocks away, I could see the headline, in big block type: “WHY BUSH IS WORSE THAN BIN LADEN.” It was disheartening to see – especially so far from home – but it did correspond to something familiar: American favorability around the world tends to swing sharply with wars (especially ones America starts) and who the US president is. Within weeks of the American attack, the international support the US had after 9/11 was squandered. Continue reading...

I’d forgotten how reticent Brits can be. Try to connect with strangers and they just recoil I don’t know how accurate it is that the children of immigrants are themselves well suited to leaving home. But I do know my own experience – I first left home when I was 11 to go to boarding school, and I’ve barely looked back since. My most recent leaving happened at 33, when I moved from London to New York with a multi-year visa, clutching a receipt for the large brown boxes that would arrive some weeks after me. I have the good fortune to root well in new soil. You’ve heard of the idiomatic fish out of water? I have strong evidence to suggest that I am not that fish – I am the fish that thrives outside the water, perhaps even astride a bicycle. I moved to New York in 2016, with the intention of staying exactly 12 months: to report on an electric election year – and then return home with a chapter (“My Brooklyn Year”) of my eventual memoir tucked away in my mind. Instead, I stayed for almost a decade. Much has changed: silvery streaks have appeared at the crown of my head. My palate has widened dramatically to accommodate the vast cuisines of North America. Sometimes, when I stand up from my desk, I make an involuntary sound. And now, I am back. Coming home, just as my older bones are discovering, is an experiment in friction. Bim Adewunmi is a freelance journalist Continue reading...

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: should we be polite to voice assistants and AIs? Has a war ever ended or de-escalated because someone (eg the pope, the UN secretary general) called on the belligerents to “show restraint”? Laurence Whiteside, via email Send new questions to nq@theguardian.com. Continue reading...

Linking UK mainland with Isles of Scilly, this is last season before boat is replaced with a newer model There was a mix of anticipation and trepidation in Penzance among the passengers waiting on to board Scillonian III. Some were looking forward to an adventurous voyage on the ferry to the Isles of Scilly, which lie 30 miles off the Cornish coast; others were not quite so keen, knowing that when there is an Atlantic swell, the Scillionian can toss and turn, a tendency that has earned it the unflattering name the “vomit comet”. Continue reading...

The former rugby star on being a tough youngster, how she became Fury on the hit TV show, and losing her dad Born in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, in 2001, Jodie Ounsley is an athlete, television personality and author. A former England rugby sevens player, she is the first deaf female rugby player for a senior England side. In 2024, she joined the BBC revival of the series Gladiators, in which she competes as Fury; the same year, she was one of the presenters for the 2024 Paralympics. Her second book, Strong Girls, co-written with Becky Grey, is out on 9 April. I was six and had just got back from karate practice when Mum said, “Right, let’s take a picture!” Most kids would have stood politely and smiled, but my first instinct was to do the deadliest pose. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Animal welfare charities ‘bitterly disappointed’ that Labour plans to backtrack on manifesto commitments The government is to break a manifesto commitment to ban foie gras imports, and has declined to stop fur imports, after the EU made these red lines in its discussions for a trade deal. Animal welfare charities say they are “bitterly disappointed” that ministers are failing to use powers granted by Brexit to restrict the import of these “cruel” items. Continue reading...

Nu Stadium’s first game of any kind saw the South Florida club accomplish a long-held goal barely under the deadline Lionel Messi may have scored, captained the side and had a quarter of the new building named in his honor, but this was unmistakably Inter Miami co-owner Sir David Beckham’s night. The inaugural game at Nu Stadium in Miami – an entertaining 2-2 draw with Austin FC – was the culmination of the former England captain’s arduous, thirteen-year odyssey to first establish an MLS team in Miami, then fill it with superstars, win major honors and, critically, build a world class arena for the team to play in. Continue reading...

No injuries reported and no suspect found after a search of park and surrounding area, agency says The US Secret Service said on Sunday it was investigating reports of overnight gunfire near Lafayette Park, which is across the street from the White House. No injuries were reported and no suspect was found after a search of the park and the surrounding area after midnight, the agency said in an online post. Continue reading...

Former world champions may finally meet in the ring Eddie Hearn says Joshua is ready for fight after car crash Deontay Wilder called out Anthony Joshua for a long-awaited matchup between the former heavyweight champions, after Wilder edged Derek Chisora to clinch a split-decision victory in London on Saturday. Wilder came face to face with Joshua as he walked past the Briton after the fight. The two fist-bumped, and the American said: “Let’s do it. It wasn’t a few words, I dapped it up with him and I said, now let’s get it on. I’m ready for whoever, [as] long as these guys are in the heavyweight division, I am here. You can call me Mr Clean, because I want to clean up the whole division. The division is nothing without Deontay Wilder.” Continue reading...

Artemis II, Nasa’s first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years, is a key step toward a long‑term return to the moon and future crewed missions to Mars Continue reading...

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

This marvellous staple of the Portuguese kitchen is a rich bean stew with pork and sausages that makes an excellent one-pot feast. You might find it’s perfect for midweek … If you are trying to incorporate more beans and pulses into your diet, as I am, then this robust, one-pot feast, which food writer Edite Vieira describes as “a marvellous standby of the Portuguese kitchen”, is one to bear in mind. Though each region has its own variations, “basically”, she explains, “feijoada is a rich bean stew with pork and sausages”. The Brazilian version, often cited as that country’s national dish, is the product of the West African “love of beans”, according to the Oxford Companion to Food, with some suggesting that it’s a South American creation that travelled to Europe along with returning colonisers. Others insist with equal fervour that the dish was “born in the north of Portugal, and imported and adapted to what was available in Brazil”. Like so many such homely favourites, its precise history will probably ever remain a mystery; what’s important is that it’s simple to prepare, easy to adapt according to taste and budget, and very satisfying. Continue reading...

Scottish designers are showcased alongside a backstage set and props including a Chanel-branded megaphone In 1971, Manolo Blahnik created shoes for the designer Ossie Clark’s catwalk show in London. Relatively new to shoemaking, the Spanish designer forgot to put steel pins in the heels of the shoes, which meant that models wobbled, unbalanced, down the catwalk. Blahnik thought it was the end of his career. But the press thought it was a deliberate style; the photographer Sir Cecil Beaton even christened it “a new way of walking”. The sandal in question, a green suede heel with ivy leaf embellishments, is just one treasure currently on display at the V&A Dundee’s new exhibition, Catwalk: The Art of the Fashion Show, which helps bring to life more than 100 years of history, charting its journey from the discreet salons of 19th-century London and Paris all the way up to the extravaganza it is today. Continue reading...