National Gallery, London The 17th-century Spanish master painted with a supernatural intensity that will hit you just as hard as it did his original viewers The word “visionary” is done to death but the 17th-century Spanish painter Francisco de Zurbarán demands it: he paints supernatural things naturally and natural things supernaturally. Space becomes different in his world, melting distance and erasing the barrier between you and the picture. The very first painting in this dreamlike ecstasy of a show dissolves logic. A monk robed in white kneels before a living man hanging upside down, his hands and feet nailed to an inverted cross: it’s a vision as real and close to us as it is to the awestruck monk, held in a penumbra of bronze fire, a stream of smoky light from heaven. The Apparition of Saint Peter to Saint Peter Nolasco from 1629 has been lent by the Prado and depicts Nolasco receiving a vision of the original St Peter who asked to be crucified upside down so he would not imitate Christ. Nolasco couldn’t make the pilgrimage to Saint Peter’s shrine in Rome, so the church founder mystically appeared to him at home in Spain. You might think this is sentimental folk art, the stuff of prayer cards. But one thing’s for sure: Zurbarán believed it and paints it with such incandescent conviction it becomes sublimely real. You can see why Salvador Dalí loved this artist and imitated his still lifes and crucifixions: for Zurbarán is a primitive surrealist. Several newly attributed paintings in this show include a wall-filling mask of a giant, possibly painted for a stage set: it makes a mockery of proportion yet is beautifully detailed, full of character, weirdly alive. Continue reading...

Research offers insights into domestication of dogs but it remains unclear why they ended up with smaller brains than wolves It has long been known that dogs have less between their ears than wolves, but now research has suggested their brains started to get smaller at least 5,000 years ago. Experts say the results offer fresh insights into the domestication of our canine companions. However, the findings are unlikely to explain why your spaniel will only drink from a muddy puddle: the researchers say a reduction in brain size does not mean dogs are dafter than their wolf-like ancestors. Continue reading...

Niesr says even under best-case scenario, economy would grow at slower pace in 2026 and 2027 because of conflict Britain is facing a £35bn economic hit and the risk of a recession this year as the fallout from the Iran war adds to the pressure on Keir Starmer’s government, a leading thinktank has warned. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) said that even under a best-case scenario the UK economy would grow at a much slower pace this year and next because of the Middle East conflict. Continue reading...

Research on maths teaching in English secondary schools upends decades of debate over mixed-ability education Teaching pupils in classes grouped by ability improves the results of high-flyers but does not affect the progress of less able children, according to a study that upends decades of debate over mixed-ability education. The research by University College London’s Institute of Education found that secondary school pupils in England with previously strong maths performances made slower progress in mixed-attainment classes than when they were taught alongside children with similarly high ability. Continue reading...

Latest ONS figures also suggest lower population growth in coming decades than previously expected Deaths are projected to outnumber births in the UK every year from 2026 and the population is expected to grow at a slower rate over the next few decades than previously reported, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). About 1.7 million people are projected to join the population between 2024 and 2034, pushing the total up 2.5% from 69.3 million to 71 million, before it starts to decrease in the mid-2050s. Continue reading...

The estates of Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell, who both died in the 2000s, disputed the copyright of studio recordings from the 1960s The estates of two of Jimi Hendrix’s former bandmates have lost a high court case against a major record label. Owners of the estates of bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell took legal action against Sony Music Entertainment UK (SMEUK), claiming they were entitled to copyright and performers’ rights. Continue reading...

US representatives Jared Huffman and Jamie Raskin earlier this month called agreements outrageous and unlawful Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox The Trump administration blocked two permitted US wind energy projects from development this week, with an agreement to pay millions of dollars in refunds to the companies behind them if those funds are reinvested in oil and gas. US Department of the Interior officials framed the canceled agreements as a way to “promote US energy security and affordability” by funneling funds “away from intermittent, higher-cost energy sources toward proven conventional solutions”, in an announcement issued Monday. Continue reading...

Has there ever been a game of football quite like this? On a luminous, thrilling, slightly crazed night at the Parc des Princes Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich produced something that felt like a different category of human activity altogether. There were nine goals in Paris, the most ever in a Champions League semi-final first leg, the end result a largely arbitrary 5-4 lead for PSG ahead of next week’s second leg. Most remarkable was the nature of the spectacle itself, which felt like football of the demi-gods, a startling combination of relentless fine point craft, and insatiable attacking thrust. Continue reading...

Singer-songwriter was known for collaborations with former husband John Martyn as well as star-studded 1960s singles and 2014 comeback album British folk singer Beverley Martyn, known for her collaborations with her former husband John Martyn as well as spirited, sublime solo work, has died aged 79. A statement from the family of the late John Martyn announced the news, saying she died peacefully at home on Monday. “Beverley was a remarkable woman of great inner strength,” the statement continued. “She was beautiful, intelligent, warm and kind.” Continue reading...

Remarks marking 250th anniversary of American independence tell US lawmakers: ‘The actions of this great nation matter’ King Charles has extolled the importance of Britain’s “special relationship” with the United States in a speech to US Congress that made pointed reference to the importance of Nato, the defence of Ukraine and the climate crisis. In a speech that will be read as a veiled plea to Donald Trump to return to the United States’ traditional European alliances and restore his country’s role as a defender of liberal values, Charles said: “America’s words carry weight and meaning, as they have since independence. The actions of this great nation matter even more.” Continue reading...

Captain confident team can handle pressure and learn Havertz unavailable but Eze part of Arsenal’s squad Martin Ødegaard has accepted that Arsenal will remain open to criticism until they shed their nearly-men reputation and is confident the club are primed to do precisely that this season. The captain cut a convincing figure on the eve of Wednesday night’s ­Champions League semi-final first leg at ­Atlético Madrid, insisting he and his ­teammates were ready to respond to the lessons of the past and deliver silverware. Continue reading...

The limited-edition versions will place the US president’s portrait inside cover alongside declaration text and flag motifs US politics live – latest updates The United States government, marking 250 years of independence from a monarchy, will this summer issue passports featuring a large photograph of its most senior leader’s face. The limited-edition documents, billed as a commemoration of the US’s 250th anniversary of independence, will display Donald Trump’s photograph on the inside cover, surrounded by the text of the Declaration of Independence and the US flag, with his signature rendered in gold. A separate page features the famous painting of the founding fathers signing that very document. Continue reading...

Five frames in a row give Murphy 5-3 first session lead Robertson leads Higgins; Vafaei level against Wu Shaun Murphy fought back against the defending champion, Zhao ­Xintong, to lead 5-3 after the opening session of their World Snooker Championship quarter-final at the Crucible. Zhao had started with a break of 122 and soon moved 3-0 ahead. Former champion Murphy – who won his second-round match against Xiao Guodong with a session to spare – took the fourth frame after a composed break of 69 before the mid-session interval. Murphy then capitalised on Zhao’s break finishing at 56 to clinch the next after clearing the final five colours to further reduce the deficit. Continue reading...

Eight EU members continue to include force or violence in their definitions in national criminal codes The European parliament has called on the EU to draw up a standardised consent-based definition of rape, in what legislators described as a crucial step towards addressing the patchwork of laws, some of them insufficient, that now exist across the bloc. On Tuesday, 447 of the parliament’s 720 MEPs voted to approve a report calling for a common definition of rape, centred on “only yes means yes”, prompting a loud round of applause in the chamber in Strasbourg. Continue reading...

Multiple people injured when gunman opened fire inside a social security office and later an appeals court An 89-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of shooting and wounding several people in attacks on government buildings in Athens. Hours after the double shooting in the Greek capital, authorities announced a suspect had been detained in the western port city of Patras, reportedly attempting to flee to Italy. His arrest followed a countrywide manhunt. Continue reading...

Subject of charges remains unclear, after earlier case over congressional testimony was dismissed US politics live – latest updates Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email The justice department filed new criminal charges against James Comey, the former FBI director, on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the matter. The subject of the charges was not immediately clear and the justice department did not immediately return a request for comment. CNN first reported a new indictment had been filed. Continue reading...

The prime minister’s account is not false, but it seems partial. The omissions raise serious questions about his judgment and parliamentary accountability Whether a prime minister misled parliament is a serious matter. The pattern of statements made by Sir Keir Starmer about appointing Lord Mandelson as US ambassador may justify a parliamentary sleaze inquiry. Opposition parties claim that the prime minister misled MPs over the process that led to the peer taking the Washington job. But they would say that, wouldn’t they? More troubling is that in Tuesday’s Commons debate some Labour MPs either abstained or defied the whip and voted to refer the matter to parliament’s privileges committee ahead of next week’s elections. Such rebellion speaks to disillusionment with Sir Keir’s leadership. The prime minister has confessed to making a “mistake” in appointing Lord Mandelson despite knowing that he maintained a friendship with Jeffrey Epstein after the financier’s conviction for child sexual abuse offences. But it was Morgan McSweeney, who backed Lord Mandelson for the job, and Sir Olly Robbins, the head of the Foreign Office, who did not draw vetting concerns to Sir Keir’s attention, who both lost their jobs. Voters plainly think it wrong that others have paid for Sir Keir’s blunder. Continue reading...

Social democratic parties are suffering an almost total wipeout, as rightwing nationalism flourishes on the EU’s eastern flank Péter Magyar’s historic defeat of Viktor Orbán in Hungary’s recent election was rightly celebrated in progressive circles and beyond. For the global far right, which has been steadily gaining power and influence for over a decade, this was a significant reverse. But it was no victory for the left. A former member of Mr Orbán’s Fidesz party, Mr Magyar will lead a centre‑right conservative government in a parliament where the only opposition will come from Fidesz and a small party with neo-Nazi roots. Across the rest of central Europe, it is much the same story. Bulgaria last week elected a nationalist, Moscow‑friendly prime minister, Rumen Radev, who will take a draconian line on migration and is a fierce critic of the European Union’s green deal. The country’s Socialist party, a presence in parliament since 1989, failed to win a single seat. Continue reading...

Downing Street says focus to remains on cutting bills, backing renters and lowering energy prices Downing Street has dismissed a freeze on private sector rents even as Rachel Reeves left the door open to the idea, after the Guardian revealed the chancellor has been considering it as an option to cut the cost of living. A No 10 spokesperson said on Tuesday freezing private sector rents was “not the approach we will be taking” after sources told the Guardian it was Reeves’s preferred solution for dealing with a spike in housing costs in the wake of the Iran war. Continue reading...

Gámez-Cuéllar brothers were arrested alongside parents in February and later released after bipartisan backlash Three teenage mariachi musicians who were temporarily detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in February have been tapped to open for country singer Kacey Musgraves at several upcoming shows in Texas. On Monday, Musgraves announced that the Gámez-Cuéllar brothers Antonio, 18; Caleb, 14; and Joshua, 12, would join her for performances at Gruene Hall from 3 to 5 May as part of her Middle of Nowhere tour. Continue reading...

⚽️ Champions League updates from the 8pm BST kick-off ⚽️ Live scoreboard Read today’s Football Daily | Mail Scott It’s been a slow crescendo – poco a poco – but the Champions League has been building up to this: a summit meeting between the best two teams in the competition. On the face of it, you’d have a good job confidently predicting the outcome of a tie between the outrageously talented holders and a side who have won 11 of their 12 games in the competition this season and simply don’t know when they’re beaten. But then Bayern have won the last five games between the clubs, and seven in the last eight, including the 2020 final, so apologies for clouding your mind. The Paris Match begins at 8pm BST. C’est parti! Continue reading...

Vote goes PM’s way but he faces anger from his own MPs who accuse him of creating perception of ‘cover-up’ UK politics live – latest updates Keir Starmer saw off an opposition bid to refer him to a standards committee over Peter Mandelson’s appointment after Downing Street deployed its full weight to force Labour MPs to shore up the prime minister. However, the Labour leader bore the brunt of anger from some of his own backbenchers who accused him of creating a situation where they would be perceieved as being complicit in “a cover-up.” Continue reading...

King will probably press his passion for nature during US state visit, but his advocacy will fall on deaf ears Of the many clashes in worldview between King Charles III and Donald Trump, the greatest is on an issue the White House has sought to silence: the future of the planet. For more than 50 years, as the Prince of Wales, the environmentally minded Charles spoke out frequently, addressing UN summits and closed gatherings alike, to urge better guardianship of nature and strong action on the climate. Continue reading...

The bank shouldn’t sound the all-clear, but two screw-ups doesn’t mean the current credit cycle will end in tears Barclays cuts back risky lending after £228m hit from UK mortgage firm MFS Barclays boss CS Venkatakrishnan, having seen the bank hit in the space of six months by two high-profile blow-ups in the world of shadow banking, is pledging to take more care. “We are constraining lending to certain structured finance counterparties who operate more vulnerable business models and cannot convince us of the quality and independence of their financial controls,” he said. There’s an obvious response to that vow of greater vigilance: what were you doing previously? Wouldn’t it have been a good idea in the first place not to lend to high-risk outfits with unconvincing financial controls – for example those with large mortgage exposures but small audit firms? There was, in other words, a sense in the chief executive’s comments of stable doors being shut rather too late. Continue reading...

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