Zbigniew Ziobro has been accused in Poland of leading an organised criminal enterprise and abuse of power, which he denies Poland’s former justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro, wanted on several criminal charges in his home country, has fled Hungary to the United States, he confirmed on Sunday, after being granted asylum from former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán’s government last year. “I am in the United States,” Ziobro told rightwing Polish broadcaster Republika. “I arrived yesterday, and this is my third time travelling around the country,” he said. Continue reading...

British singer claims electronics company ‘repeatedly refused’ to stop using a photo of her on its packaging Dua Lipa is suing Samsung for at least $15m (£11m, A$20.6m), alleging that the electronics company used a photo of her to sell its TVs without financially compensating her or seeking her permission. According to the legal complaint, filed in the US district court in California on Friday, Samsung began using an image of Lipa on an image of a TV screen printed on its cardboard packaging for “a significant portion” of its TVs sold in the US last year. Continue reading...

The journalist Patrick Radden Keefe on trying to unravel the double life and tragic death of 19-year-old Zac Brettler – and what it tells us about London’s dark underbelly For decades, London has been a magnet for global wealth, a flashy playground for the super-rich. To one teenage boy, it contained an elite scene he desperately wanted to be part of: the oligarch class. Not just rich, but powerfully connected billionaires who amassed such huge fortunes with so few questions asked that they helped turn London into what was called the “dirty money capital” of the world. Zac Brettler began posing as the son of one. Within months, he was found dead on the riverbank in central London. He was 19 years old. Continue reading...

Four Australian citizens and one permanent resident from the MV Hondius to fly home via Perth on Tuesday Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Some of the Australian travellers on board the MV Hondius, the ship at the centre of the hantavirus outbreak, will return to NSW this week and enter Australia’s first purpose-built biocontainment facility. The federal government is still finalising health measures and quarantine arrangements for the group of five people – four citizens and one permanent resident – about to disembark in the Canary Islands. Continue reading...

Actor and comedian speaks for the first time since his 42-year-old daughter died by suicide in February Martin Short has spoken for the first time about the death of his daughter, Katherine Short, saying her death has been “a nightmare for the family”. Katherine died in February aged 42, at her home in the Hollywood Hills. The County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s office confirmed she died by suicide. In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

Critics question former German chancellor’s suitability, while others think Europe should seize every chance for peace. What we know on day 1,538 German officials have reacted cautiously to Vladimir Putin’s surprise suggestion that former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder could act as a mediator in Ukraine war peace talks, saying they had “taken note” of Putin’s comments but viewed them as part of “a series of bogus offers” from Russia, government sources told Agency-France Presse. One source said a real test of Moscow’s intentions would be to extend the current three-day truce. Schröder, 82, has remained close to Putin long after leaving office, standing apart from most western leaders since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. He previously held key roles in Russian energy projects, including work on the Nord Stream gas pipelines and a seat on the board of Russian oil firm Rosneft, which he gave up in 2022. Putin on Saturday said he thinks the Ukraine war is winding down and he nominated Schröder as a potential key negotiator to help end the conflict. Michael Roth, a former lawmaker from Germany’s Social Democratic party (SPD) and chair of the foreign affairs committee, said a mediator “cannot be Putin’s buddy”, in an interview with Tagesspiegel. He stressed that any mediator must above all be accepted by Ukraine. “Neither Moscow nor we can decide that on Kyiv’s behalf.” Others within the party, however, have been more open to Putin’s suggestion. Quoted by Der Spiegel, the SPD’s foreign affairs spokesperson in parliament, Adis Ahmetovic, said the proposal needs to be “carefully considered” with European partners. SPD lawmaker Ralf Stegner argued, in the same magazine, that “if we don’t want Putin and (US President Donald) Trump to decide Ukraine’s future” alone, Europe should seize every possible chance – however small. Meanwhile, the US-mediated ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine appeared under serious strain on its second day on Sunday, writes Angelique Chrisafis and Pjotr Sauer. Both sides have accused the other of violating the deal through weekend attacks. Three people were killed in Russian drone strikes on areas near the frontline, and more than 200 battlefield clashes had taken place since early Saturday, Ukrainian officials said. Russia’s defence ministry said it had downed 57 Ukrainian drones over the past day and “responded in kind” on the battlefield. The US envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will visit Moscow “soon enough” to continue talks with Russia, news agency Interfax reported Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov as saying on Sunday. Russia has accused Armenia of providing Volodymyr Zelenskyy with “a platform for anti-Russian remarks”, in a further sign of a chill in relations between traditional allies Moscow and Yerevan. On a visit to Yerevan last week, Zelenskyy said Russia feared “drones may buzz over Red Square” in Moscow during the annual parade on 9 May. “The main thing for us is that Armenia does not adopt an anti-Russian stance,” the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, adding that Russia was awaiting an explanation from Yerevan on the matter. Latvia’s defence minister resigned on Sunday, after the recent incursion of two Ukrainian drones into its territory, hitting oil storage facilities. Minister Adris Spruds’s decision followed a call for his resignation from Latvia’s prime minister, Evika Silina, who stated he had “lost (her) trust and that of the public”. Silina said anti-drone systems had not been deployed quickly enough to counter the Thursday’s incursion. On Thursday, two drones crossed over the Russian border into Latvia. A fire broke out, but was quickly brought under control. The Ukrainian foreign minister Andriy Sybiga said that the drones had flown into Latvia as a result of “Russian electronic warfare”. Continue reading...

The gloriously knowing adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s novel gets a tremendous second season. Its fabulous escapism is beyond earthly praise Rupert Campbell-Black is a bounder, a braggart, a scoundrel who won’t play by the rules, by Jove. “The man is a loose cannon,” hisses show-jumping coach Malise Gordon (Rupert Everett), as Rupert (Alex Hassell) directs his own cannon at the latest in a seemingly endless conga-line of pantingly grateful locals. By “his own cannon” I mean, of course, his penis. Or rather his “willy”, for there is no aspect of the anatomy – or, indeed, life – that Rivals will not reduce to a cartoon while pointing and sniggering like a schoolgirl. And quite right, too. Who wants boring old reality when you could be engaging in an explosive bout of nude tennis with the MP for Chalford and Bisley (“Tit fault!”)? Anyway, back to Rupert, who, as the aforementioned minister for sport and “most handsome man in England”, is the throbbing nub of this unapologetically preposterous adaptation of the late Jilly Cooper’s 80s bonkbuster. Rupert has a head for business and a body for wearing jodhpurs while shouting “ARE YOU READY FOR ME TO COME DOWN YOUR CHIMNEY?” during sex. Men admire his ruthlessness; horses are magnetised by his reckless approach to leisurewear. Continue reading...

Knicks return to East finals after 4-0 series win Team hit record 11 three-pointers in first quarter Knicks fans dominate in 76ers’ home arena The New York Knicks are back in the Eastern Conference finals, setting an NBA postseason record with 11 three-pointers in the first quarter in front of a raucous crowd mostly rooting for the road team in Philadelphia. The Knicks’ 144-114 win on Sunday completed their series sweep of the 76ers. Deuce McBride hit seven of New York’s NBA postseason record-tying 25 three-pointers and scored 25 points. Jalen Brunson had 22 points and Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns each scored 17 in the Knicks’ latest lopsided playoff victory. Continue reading...

Countries such as US and Mexico that have longer hours also have higher obesity rates, research finds Those who work longer hours are more likely to be obese and cutting how much time you spend working could help you keep the weight off, research suggests. International research presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul compared working patterns and obesity prevalence for 33 OECD countries from 1990 to 2022. The study found that countries such as the US, Mexico and Colombia, which have longer annual working hours, also had higher obesity rates, even though northern European countries consume more energy and fat on average than those in Latin America. Continue reading...

This time it was Marcus Rashford who delivered the knockout blow. Three days after the fight between Fede Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni that ended with Real Madrid’s vice captain taken to hospital and the crisis at the club laid painfully bare for all to see, they went to the Camp Nou and finally relinquished the league title they lost long ago. For the first time in 94 years a meeting of sport’s greatest rivals decided La Liga, 62,000 fans starting the party as goals from the Englishman and Ferran Torres took Hansi Flick’s team over the line with three games to spare. For Madrid, at least it was over, nothing left to hold on to. They had avoided it happening last week by beating Espanyol, just across the city limits, sparing themselves from having to hand their rivals a guard of honour before the game but they knew they couldn’t avoid it for ever. Now all they could aspire to was preventing them from beginning the title party in their presence, but like so much else this campaign that was beyond them, and so a second successive season closes without a trophy, and on the worst possible stage. Continue reading...

The tale of ‘black-cab rapist’ John Worboys gives the spotlight to the survivors. It’s a sensitive, compelling look at their fight for justice – which rightly pushes the perpetrator into the background In 1982, the film-maker Roger Graef made the first ever fly-on-the-wall documentary, in 12 parts, about the police. One of the episodes – A Complaint of Rape – showed Thames Valley detectives aggressively questioning a woman with a history of psychiatric treatment who had reported being violated by three strangers. “This is the biggest bollocks I’ve ever heard!” is a fairly representative sample of the police interview technique deployed. The episode caused a public outcry (especially as it was broadcast after a court decision in which a judge accused a hitchhiker of “contributory negligence” in her own rape) and led to the formation of an all-female rape investigation team at the police station in the months afterwards. It has been seen as a pivotal moment for a revolution in the way victims and their cases were approached and handled. And maybe it was, at least for a while. But it’s hard to say with any conviction that any progress gained has been maintained or built on. Conviction rates for rape are horrifyingly low and there is an ever-growing mass of documentaries and dramas – about historic and recent cases – highlighting the role of the police in creating that phenomenon, be it their negligence, apathy, incompetence, misogyny, active malevolence (in cases such as that of Met officer Wayne Couzens, the killer of Sarah Everard) or any combination of the above. Continue reading...

Multibillion stage of title-relegation stagger boils down to a referee in front of a screen decoding a raised forearm There’s a great moment towards the end of the otherwise non-great Rocky III, when Clubber Lang is asked by a straw-hatted, bowtie-twirling US sports reporter for a prediction before his imminent title fight. There’s a pause as Clubber looks down, lets the mask of showmanship drop, and just says the word “pain”. You can say that again. Let’s face it, this was always going to hurt, whichever way the latest note in the conjoined title‑relegation stagger fell. Just as it was always likely, the destination of the Premier League title would come down to staring at a referee staring at a screen to decide the minutiae of an arm wrestle at a corner. Continue reading...

Washington last picked No 1 overall in 2010 Wizards had worst record in the NBA this season The league’s worst team this season are getting the No 1 pick in the NBA draft. The Washington Wizards won the draft lottery on Sunday and are poised to pick first overall for the first time since choosing John Wall in that spot in 2010. Wall was the Wizards’ on-stage representative for this year’s lottery. Utah won the right to pick No 2, Memphis will pick No 3 and Chicago will pick No 4. Continue reading...

The Netflix drama won the award for best limited drama while Stephen Graham took the best leading actor prize Bafta TV awards 2026: the full list of winners Netflix drama Adolescence, which won universal acclaim for its chilling portrayal of violence by disaffected teenage boys, has dominated the Bafta TV awards. The four-part series where each episode was filmed in a single take won the award for best limited drama, while Stephen Graham, who co-created the show, took the best leading actor prize. Continue reading...

Finborough theatre, London Titas Halder’s raw solo play relays one young man’s feverish struggle in the face of racism, deftly played by Amar Chadha-Patel in his stage debut Titas Halder’s striking new one-man play is about a young British Asian man, A.K., growing up in Britain and experiencing increasingly brutal incidents of racism: bullying in the playground; casual jibes at work; parents who no longer feel safe in their family home. And at the centre of it all: a funny and sensitive man, struggling to find himself and fracturing in two. This is a strangely arresting production but there are some issues too. It feels like there’s a fairly specific play hiding in here but we’re only given scraps of details. A.K. spends his youth growing up on unnamed “Island” and later moves to the city, where he lives in a dingy flat on Seven Sisters Road. There are fleeting references to Walkmans in his childhood and, later, an allusion to the murder of Jean Charles de Menezes but the writing wavers between a feverish nightmare and something much more grounded and political. Continue reading...

1st ODI: England, 211-9, bt New Zealand, 210, by 1 wkt Captain guides long tail to low target After all the hype about England’s biggest summer, it got off to an underwhelming start at Chester-le-Street on Sunday, as they limped to a one-wicket win in the first one-day international against New Zealand, chasing just 211. Only a calm rearguard effort from the stand-in captain, Charlie Dean, who finished unbeaten on 31 and valiantly marshalled England’s long tail, enabled them to crawl across the line. England played exactly the way you might expect from a team who have gone 194 days without playing an international match (their last outing was the World Cup semi-final in October). First, they made a spate of fielding errors, costing them precious runs in a low-scoring thriller. Then they subsided to 149 for six, after Emma Lamb, Amy Jones and Dani Gibson all holed out to gleeful fielders. Continue reading...

It was the most extraordinary finale to an occasion when the tension seemed to override everything. The spectacle was suffocated. There was almost too much at stake for both teams. And then there we were, the players from each team standing on the sideline behind the referee, Chris Kavanagh, as he pored over the replay monitor on the advice of the video assistant, Darren England, his heart hammering, like that of everybody else inside the stadium. Arsenal led 1-0 through Leandro Trossard’s 83rd minute goal, which had come shortly after David Raya had produced a massive one-on-one save to deny the West Ham midfielder, Mateus Fernandes. Now West Ham had their lifeline. Or had they? It all came down to Kavanagh’s interpretation of the moment when West Ham sent their goalkeeper, Mads Hermansen, forward for an all-or-nothing 95th minute corner and, after a melee of bodies, the West Ham substitute, Callum Wilson, had lashed a shot over the line. Continue reading...

Party leader has been vocal about its gains in London and there is a feeling that its losses could have been worse By any sane person’s reckoning, the Conservative party had a night to forget in Thursday’s local, mayoral and devolved elections. It lost about 500 councillors in England and ceded control of three local authorities to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK – losing to the rightwing upstarts in England, Wales and Scotland. Why then is Kemi Badenoch hailing these results as proof that “the Conservatives are coming back” – and why do many Tory MPs appear to agree with her? The Conservative leader was vocal on Friday about the eye-catching gains her party made in politically atypical London, where the Tories won back the totemic council of Westminster, took the most seats in Wandsworth council and saw off the threat from Reform in Bexley and Bromley. Continue reading...

⚽ Barça will win La Liga with a point from 8pm BST kick-off ⚽ Live scores | Follow us over on Bluesky | And email John Been a quiet week at Real Madrid? Well, even by the standards of the soap opera that is the world football’s equivalent of the Borgias, it’s been chaotic. On Thursday a fight with Aurélien Tchouaméni at Valdebebas left Fede Valverde bleeding and with what a club communique described as “craniofacial trauma”. Kylian Mbappe is missing, too, his popularity rating down at absolute zero. What’s worse is that Barcelona can clinch a second successive Liga title with a draw. Continue reading...

Khadija Shaw showed Manchester City what they are giving up and Chelsea what they are potentially getting in emphatic style at Stamford Bridge, scoring the injury-time equaliser and then the winner as City came from two goals behind to earn a place in the FA Cup final against Brighton. Shaw has dominated headlines this week: the Women’s Super League top scorer is set to leave Manchester City and Chelsea are leading the chase. Her 91st-minute goal forced extra time before a thumping header in the 103rd minute ensured City’s double ambitions remain alive after the most fraught of encounters. Continue reading...

Boreham Wood 2-2 Rochdale (Rochdale 3-1 on pens) Rush 22, Abdulmalik 69; Smith 78, Dieseruvwe 90+6 Supporting Rochdale should come with a health warning. For all that football has a wonderful propensity for drama, few clubs have ever packed in the heart-stopping tribulations of their past fortnight. But, after it all, they are a Football League club again. And that is all that matters. Hopes of returning to the ranks of the country’s top 92 clubs looked to have disintegrated as mere seconds remained for Boreham Wood to cling on for victory in this National League playoff final. Then came Mani Dieseruvwe’s extraordinary 97th-minute equaliser to send the match into extra time that preceded penalties. Continue reading...

Italian could win record sixth straight Masters 1000 title Naomi Osaka beats Diana Shnaider to reach fourth round Casper Ruud believes Jannik Sinner is not unbeatable but the rest of the field will have to catch the world No 1 on a favourable day as they try to stop him winning a record-extending sixth consecutive Masters 1000 title on home soil at the Italian Open. “His results this year kind of speak for themselves,” said Ruud. “Four Masters 1000s in a row to begin the year. Four of four. He’s already made history, he can make more history. But he also showed in the beginning of the year, he’s beatable. Novak [Djokovic] beat him. [Jakub] Mensik beat him. Continue reading...

Officials reportedly drafting legislation likely to safeguard Britain’s last blast furnaces and save thousands of jobs The full nationalisation of British Steel is expected to be announced in the King’s speech this week, a year after the government took over the daily running of the loss-making business from its Chinese owner. The steelmaker, which employs 3,500 people at its plant in Scunthorpe, came under government control last April amid fears that its owner, Jingye, was planning to shut down the site. Continue reading...

Rhun ap Iorwerth says he hopes to work with other parties and press the UK government for extra powers The leader of Plaid Cymru, Rhun ap Iorwerth, has vowed to form a stable minority government in the Senedd and said he would seek out mature cooperation from all opposition parties. Ap Iorwerth said his administration would press the UK government for extra powers over policy areas such as policing and justice and focus on results rather than engaging in political rows with Westminster. Continue reading...

Zsolt Hegedűs’s celebrations since the election of Péter Magyar have sparked joy across the country As Hungary’s Péter Magyar took office, ousting Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power, the daylong event on Saturday was laced with symbolism, from the return of the EU flag to parliament to the ringing out of the European anthem, Ode to Joy. But it was the 56-year-old tipped to be the new health minister – and more specifically, his dance moves – that may have become the most potent symbol of Hungary’s new political era. Continue reading...