Linbury theatre, London For its quarter of a century celebrations, the company combines an eloquent new dance that speaks of idealism with a revival of its punchy social drama It’s 25 years since the indomitable Ballet Black was founded, and to mark the occasion they present us with a crackingly good double bill. The company generally commissions works from external choreographers, but here it rightly blows its own trumpet with a revival of a breakthrough piece by one of their own – Ingoma (2019) by Mthuthuzeli November, who has since gone on to work on an international scale. It doesn’t take long to see why this piece punched through. Its subject is the 2012 South African Marikana strike, where police killed 34 miners, and what initially looks like scene-setting – dark figures in overalls and headlamps, a single man centre-stage (Ebony Thomas), joined by his wife (Isabela Coracy) for a pleading duet – soon gives way to episodes of resounding force, the miners’ rhythmic gumboot dance hardening into the relentless heave and lunge of hard labour. Focus then switches to their womenfolk, whose wrenched gestures and blunt pointework speak of their own rage and struggles. Driven by relentless drumbeats and rising strings, the two groups merge into an outburst of revolt, its aftershock registered in isolated, tortuous solos by Helga Paris-Morales and Taraja Hudson. Throughout, November keeps the physical and emotional dynamics high, but always human. Continue reading...

US president is ‘truly uninformed’ for spreading claims of ‘white genocide’ in South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa tells New York Times South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa has called Donald Trump’s policy of allowing white Afrikaners to apply for refugee status in the US “racist,” saying the US president was “truly uninformed” in a rare instance of direct criticism. Ramaphosa told the New York Times that last year’s Oval Office meeting with the US leader, when Trump turned down the lights and played a video that he falsely claimed showed there was a “white genocide” in South Africa, was a “spectacle” and an “ambush”. Continue reading...

We must get back to the party’s roots before it is too late. That means embracing difference, rejecting division – and fighting for opportunities for all The 1951 Labour government proudly signed the refugee convention. Today’s Labour government is now in danger of consigning it to history. Why and how this is happening challenges those of us who are both socialists and democrats. For our economy, our society and our sanity we must reject the thinking of the Blue Labour faction and set out what Labour truly represents instead. The performative cruelty of repeatedly demanding that refugees prove they are still refugees – or else face deportation – cannot be understated. It is also a waste of money given that so few refugees, when retested, will change status. At nearly £1bn, this is money that could be better spent on foreign aid programmes to tackle the conflicts that create refugees. The home secretary is also attempting to bypass parliament altogether – using “Henry VIII” powers to push these changes through with minimal scrutiny. Stella Creasy is the chair of the Labour Movement for Europe and the Labour and Cooperative MP for Walthamstow Continue reading...

Lawmakers cite ‘consistent pattern’ in which Americans are being killed ‘without justice or accountability’ Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox More than 30 US senators have signed a letter demanding that the Trump administration open an independent investigation into the February killing of a 19-year-old American in the occupied West Bank, the ninth US citizen killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers since 2022. The letter, led by the senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and addressed to the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio; the US attorney general, Pam Bondi; and the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, asks for a US-led investigation and a full accounting of where all nine cases stand, and for the administration to brief Congress on the killing by 5 April. None of the cases have resulted in a criminal conviction. Continue reading...

In Dallas and Williamson counties, voters faced long lines, extended wait times and confusion about voting location On Tuesday, Texas held its Democratic and Republican primaries ahead of the upcoming November midterms. Democratic voters chose between Jasmine Crockett, the anti-Trump firebrand congresswoman, and James Talarico, the populist state representative, in an election that attracted national attention. Crockett conceded the race and endorsed Talarico on Wednesday, but only after claiming late on election night that she wasn’t ready to concede because of a voting issue in Dallas. “We don’t have any of the results because there was a lot of confusion today,” Crockett told supporters at her election-night party: “We were able to keep the polls open, but I can tell you now that people have been disenfranchised.” Crockett received 45.6% of the vote, compared to Talarico’s 53.1%. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Standards committee proposal aims to improve staff safety but critics say it will further reduce public trust UK politics live – latest updates MPs are planning to redact the names of 2,000 parliamentary staff from an official register that has been in place for decades, in a move that experts say will reduce transparency around lobbying by passholders. The proposal has been put forward by the House of Commons standards committee after evidence sessions held in private with staff unions, which raised concerns about the safety of those working for MPs. Continue reading...

Experts say government’s shutdown means civilians are not seeing evacuation warnings before bombs hit Middle East crisis – live updates As US and Israeli bombs continue to rain down on Iran, civilians are enduring the bombardment in the dark – cut off from comprehensive information about where strikes have happened, which medical facilities are affected and where new rounds of bombings are about to occur. As state media broadcasts limited or contradictory information about airstrikes, and evacuation orders from the attacking countries remain invisible to most civilians, the internet shutdown risks worsening the human toll of the war, human rights groups say. Continue reading...

(Love/BMG) Squeeze’s first new album in nearly a decade is based on material written when they were teenagers. It’s endearing but callow In interviews to promote their 16th album, Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook have been upfront about the reason for its existence. After the world shrugged at The Knowledge in 2017, someone told Tilbrook: “‘Nobody is interested in a Squeeze record. What matters is Squeeze’s story.’ That stayed with me,” he says. So not only does Trixies contain a story – it’s a concept-album-cum-musical about a fictional nightclub – but there’s also a great tale around the album. It was written when Difford and Tilbrook were teenagers in 1974 but left unrecorded because they couldn’t properly play the songs they had written. It’s both a new record and something for the fans who always want the old stuff. Continue reading...

When Fabian Hürzeler grumbled about Arsenal’s penchant for time-wasting ahead of their visit to the Amex Stadium, he knew exactly what levers he was pulling. While he may have been speaking to the ladies and gentlemen of the press, Brighton’s head coach was playing to a different gallery: his own team’s fans and the match officials tasked with maintaining order. By highlighting the ticking clock before a ball had even been kicked, Hürzeler effectively primed the Amex faithful to jeer and barrack every slow corner or carefully choreographed shoulder injury. More importantly, the German placed the referee in an extremely tricky position: ignore any stalling and appear weak, or brandish an early yellow and validate Hürzeler’s gamesmanship. Between his presser and kick-off, much of the discourse revolved around whether or not Arsenal are masters of the “strategic pause”, with some Social Media Disgrace users even going so far as to produce a Premier League table of time-wasting. True to form, Arsenal couldn’t even win that but it didn’t matter. Irritating their head coach was half the battle for Hürzeler, as an agitated Mikel Arteta is prone to touchline histrionics that often bleed on to the pitch and affect his players as the pressure mounts. Continue reading...

The men, who had been released after completing criminal sentences, are from Cuba, Jamaica and Yemen Three men deported by the US to Eswatini – rather than their home countries – have filed a case against Eswatini’s government with the African Union’s human rights body, claiming their detention was an unlawful violation of their rights. Two of the claimants, from Cuba and Yemen, have been in prison in Eswatini, formerly Swaziland, for eight months. The third, Orville Etoria, was repatriated to his home country, Jamaica, in September. Continue reading...

Thinking only of winning may be having a detrimental effect on Steve Tandy’s side according to sports psychologist Dr Stephen McIvor It’s unlikely Steve Tandy got to this point in his coaching career without ever alluding to the joy of playing with no baggage. Between club and country over the years he must have reminded his players that the lads down the corridor would be bearing the load, so that’s one thing less to worry about. And with that realisation comes a certain lightness. We’re not talking about the freedom of skipping around the park, picking out faces in the crowd and drinking in the atmosphere of a Six Nations tie, rather getting some value from being spared the burden of expectation. For Wales this has come at a price. When you dip into your emotional bank for a run of 14 Championship fixtures, all of which end with getting your face slapped, it’s expensive. That kind of price makes you wonder about the value of it all. In which case the power of togetherness is critical if you hope to tip the scales, even slightly. Continue reading...

Asif Merchant testified that Revolutionary Guard coerced him into scheme by threatening his family in Tehran A Pakistani businessman accused of plotting to kill Donald Trump told a federal jury on Wednesday that he was coerced into the scheme by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, which he said had threatened his family to secure his participation. Asif Merchant, 47, took the unusual step of testifying in his own defense at Brooklyn federal court, where he faces terrorism and murder-for-hire charges. Speaking through an Urdu translator, he told jurors he went along with the plot only out of fear for his wife and adopted daughter in Tehran. Continue reading...

Two musicals dominate nominations while Tom Hiddleston and Bryan Cranston vie for best actor, with Cate Blanchett and Rosamund Pike up for best actress • Olivier awards 2026: full list of nominations Michael Bond’s marmalade-loving bear will go up against a band of fairytale characters at the Olivier awards next month, as two musicals dominated the nominations announced on Thursday. The frontrunners for London’s biggest theatre awards are Paddington: The Musical and Into the Woods, which each received 11 nominations. Paddington, which opened to five-star reviews at the Savoy theatre, is up for best new musical, best director (Luke Sheppard), best theatre choreographer (Ellen Kane) and best actor in a musical for the duo who play the lovable ursine hero. James Hameed provides the bear’s voice and is the remote puppeteer while Arti Shah dons the furry costume. Their co-stars Tom Edden, Amy Booth-Steel and Victoria Hamilton-Barritt are also nominated for their supporting roles. Gabriella Slade’s costumes, Tahra Zafar’s puppet designs, Tom Pye’s set, Ash J Woodward’s video, Gareth Owen’s sound and Matt Brind’s orchestrations and arrangements were all recognised. Continue reading...

Slow-burn office crushes that left you weeping, sitcoms that made you fall in love and vampire shows that changed you for ever: Guardian readers pick their ultimate television romances A mark of a true romance is that the couple are closer than anyone else in the world. As Emily Brontë said, “whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.” This is true for Miss Piggy and Kermit. They’ve had a longer relationship than most TV couples (since 1976), although it has been tumultuous. No matter what universe, from Dickensian London to Treasure Island to their various TV shows and movies over the years, they find each other – even after their official separation in 2015. Did Ross ever say to Rachel: “You don’t need the whole world to love you, you just need one person”? I don’t think so. Michelle, 19, Manchester Continue reading...

Singer was handcuffed by highway patrol on Wednesday night and has since wiped her Instagram profile Britney Spears was arrested in Ventura county, California, on Wednesday night for driving under the influence. The singer was stopped and handcuffed by the California highway patrol at about 9.28pm local time, as first reported by TMZ and confirmed by Variety. Continue reading...

(Decca) Davidsen/Baillieu Recorded in New York in 2023, the soprano sings Strauss, Wagner, Grieg and more to thrilling effect, her sincerity and passion matched perfectly on piano Lise Davidsen and James Baillieu made this live recording on stage at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, in September 2023. While there’s a sense of occasion – being asked to give a solo recital at the Met is a reasonably big deal – what it really represents is simply nearly an hour of outstanding singing. Davidsen’s soprano sounds fresh, gleaming and direct, her top-most notes silvery. She knows how to ensure nothing gets overblown – and how to get so close to the edge that the effect is thrilling, especially in her four Strauss songs. In Schubert, she fills out long lines into phrases full of sincere expression; four Sibelius songs unleash a passionate way with the text. Continue reading...

It’s not a question of if, but when, another pandemic hits Britain. We owe it to all those who suffered to make sure mistakes are not repeated What makes the independent inquiry set up to examine the UK’s response to, and the impact of, the Covid-19 pandemic unlike any other in British history is that we are not examining something that affected one specific group of people. The chair, Heather Hallett, and her team have investigated a virus that swept the land and affected every single person in the UK at a profound and long-lasting level. We have published two inquiry reports, with eight more to come. Each is full of valuable insight, carefully considered conclusions and recommendations about what must now change to ensure we are better prepared for next time. Continue reading...

The 10th season of Netflix’s reality TV show has given us old-fashioned gender roles, bad behavior and a dark look at what dating looks like in 2026 In this rotted year that is 2026, there are not shortage of things to depress us: domestic terrorism by federal agents, war, the predominance of AI and sports-betting ads at the Super Bowl. The Epstein files. The Fifa peace prize. Six more weeks of winter. The need for escapism, or catharsis, or both, is as pressing as ever. And yet the thing that has depressed me most, in the low-stakes, “I can actually wrap my brain around this” way, is the pinnacle of smooth-brained, escapist entertainment: the new season of Netflix’s Love Is Blind, set in Ohio. To be clear, Love Is Blind has never been a good show, even by reality TV standards. The first season of the series, in which young, generally attractive singles form emotional connections in “pods” and then get engaged sight unseen, had the good(ish) fortune of premiering just before a pandemic that gave “pod” a terribly relatable new valence; even still, it was described as “toxic”, “revolting” and, of course, “totally addictive”. At its best, the show can voyeuristically poke at our judgments and vocalize uncomfortable feelings, bringing up issues of race, politics, weight, attractiveness and age on top of the usual alcohol-aided drama, idealized romance and classic reality TV victim and villainy. At worst, it’s boring. Generally, it’s pleasantly baffling – modern dating sucks, for sure, but getting married after six weeks? That’s unrelatable content, perfect second-screen fare. But the Ohio version, and I say this with much love and ardent loyalty for my home state, has reached new lows, both on the level of production and in the spectacle itself. Continue reading...

Sleeveless knits, breton stripes and shoe charms … our fashion writers share their secrets to a budget-friendly, new-season refresh • How to have a guilt-free wardrobe clearout Think of your spring wardrobe as a dry run for summer. There are the occasional warm days – when you regret leaving the house with a coat – and, of course, no end of showers. There are even the odd times when you can almost get away without wearing tights, which opens you up to all manner of skirts and shoes. Spring is blouson jacket season, and a good time to wear denim beyond jeans (how about a dress?). Now’s also the time to try a short(ish) skirt with socks and loafers, which is strangely wearable for something with its roots in Prada. How about a corset top that isn’t a corset, or wearing a Lanvin-style headscarf if you’re having a difficult hair day? And why not add a bag charm while you’re there? Think 2026 colours – difficult green, pops of cornflower instead of red, universally wearable lilac. Most of all, it’s about adding to what you already own, or styling it in a new way. Welcome to spring. Continue reading...

Primary School Bangers caused a sensation on TikTok, then at Glastonbury, and now it’s gone nationwide. Is it harmless nostalgia – or a symptom of an increasingly conservative culture? He’s got the whole Warwick Arts Centre in his hands. It’s Friday night and the 550-capacity venue is sold out. The theatre is full of adults singing the school assembly hymns you may remember from childhood. They are rising and shining, conducting gleeful hand actions of wiggly worms and fish in the sea. Just what is going on? James B Partridge’s Primary School Bangers is the hit show that is storming UK arts centres, originally a viral video that has become a defiantly IRL phenomenon. “It just brings back memories of primary school, sitting in the hall,” enthuses Hayley, 40. She is one of many teachers attending tonight. “We don’t sing in primary schools much any more,” mourns Katie, 33. She is right: in the 2010s, funding cuts, Conservative policy and a crisis in teacher retention caused an ongoing fall in music at primary level. At her school, children sing just once every three weeks. Some of tonight’s pull is communal. “You go to a show and you have to sit and watch,” says Frank, 61, “but you’re actually participating in this, that’s the big difference.” Continue reading...

In his new book, the celebrated author explains why we need ‘consciousness hygiene’ to defend ourselves from AI and dopamine-driven algorithms Each day when you wake up, you come back to yourself. You see the room around you, feel your body brush against your clothes and think about your plans, worries and hopes for the day. This daily internal experience is miraculous and mysterious, and the subject of Michael Pollan’s new book, A World Appears. It also may be under siege, Pollan said. He recently suggested that people need a “consciousness hygiene” to defend our internal world against invaders that are trying to move in. Our ability to sit with our thoughts and perceive the world, he argues, is increasingly disrupted by algorithms engineered to tickle our dopamine receptors and capture our attention. Meanwhile, people are forming attachments to non-human chatbots, projecting consciousness on to entities that do not possess it. Continue reading...

Actor Katie Leung narrates this genre-bending debut in which an Victorian Arctic explorer is catapulted into our brave new world The Ministry of Time opens in the middle of a job interview. The applicant, a nameless British Cambodian civil servant, is in line for a role that involves working with expats of “high-interest status and particular needs”. When she asks where these expats come from, she is told: “History.” The interviewer adds, casually, “We have time travel.” Listeners concerned about the practicalities of this time-hopping tale will be reassured by our protagonist’s observation that contemplating the physics leads to a “crock of shit”, so it is best not dwelled upon. “All you need to know is that in your near future, the British government developed the means to travel through time but had not yet experimented with doing it.” Her job, then, is to act as minder or “bridge” to individuals removed from their eras and bounced into the present. Continue reading...

Party leader and Welsh counterpart launch Reform UK manifesto in Newport UK politics live – latest updates Nigel Farage has described May’s Senedd elections as a “referendum” on Keir Starmer, as Reform UK gears up to battle Plaid Cymru for the chance to end a century of Labour dominance in Wales. Launching Reform’s election manifesto in Newport on Thursday alongside the party’s newly appointed Welsh leader, Dan Thomas, Farage said: “It’s a Welsh election, but I’m afraid, whether you like it or not, it doubles up as a referendum on Keir Starmer’s premiership. 7 May will end Labour dominance in Wales and in particular the Valleys. And, if we get this right, we will get rid of the worst prime minister any of us have seen in our lifetimes.” Continue reading...

Home secretary announces plans to overhaul system, including an end to permanent refugee status UK politics live – latest updates Shabana Mahmood has put herself on a collision course with Labour MPs after announcing a set of changes to the immigration system that one backbencher said mimicked Donald Trump and another claimed would lead to a Windrush-style scandal. The home secretary announced her plans on Thursday, including an end to permanent refugee status and the removal of government support from asylum seekers who are deemed not to need it or who break the law. Continue reading...

The court of justice said Portugal had committed serious infringements of EU environmental law Portugal has been fined €10m (£8.7m) by the EU’s court of justice for failing to comply with environmental laws that require it to protect biodiversity. It has also been ordered to pay €41,250 a day until it complies with a previous court order in 2019. The court said it was imposing the maximum fine possible to “encourage” Portugal to bring the infringement to an end. Continue reading...