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

Victoria Miro, London Mischievous, moving and troubled tales of female oppression unspool across the largest ever exhibition of the artist’s drawings, which show an intuitive touch her paintings lack When Paula Rego was nine, she drew her grandmother sitting comfortably in a chair. The old woman’s hair is pinned back, and she wears dangly earrings and thick-rimmed glasses on a chain. She might be reading or sewing – it’s hard to tell. Whatever it is, she’s absorbed in the task at hand. Just like the young artist, who, even as a child, diligently signed and dated her work, in neat script shooting up from the tip of her grandmother’s shoe like a flare in a night sky. This small, tender sketch is part of the largest exhibition of the Portuguese-born artist’s drawings to date. Curated by her son, Nick Willing, the show features works on paper from the 1950s, right around the time that she settled in Britain, to her death in 2022. Unspooling from lines in pencil, pastel, pen and ink are tantalising tales of people and places real and imagined, and periods in Rego’s own life when she felt afraid, inspired or fierce. Sometimes the tales intertwine. Sometimes they stand alone. They can be mischievous, moving, troubled. All are full of feeling. Continue reading...

In open letter, writers criticise Bollaré for promoting reactionary and far-right ideas and say ‘we refuse to be hostages in ideological war’ More than 100 writers have quit the historic French publishing house, Grasset, in protest at its billionaire conservative owner, Vincent Bolloré, whose media empire has been accused of promoting reactionary and far-right ideas. In an unprecedented walk-out, dozens of writers including the acclaimed punk feminist novelist Virginie Despentes and the philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy, signed an open letter against Bolloré, 74, who is close to far-right figures. Continue reading...

Real Sociedad’s coach’s career reveals plenty about the man leading the proud Basque club to only their fourth Copa del Rey final There is a moment, about halfway through a long conversation about an extraordinary journey from New Jersey to Seville, when Pellegrino Matarazzo stops mid-sentence. “I keep using that word: ‘special’. I’m realising now that my English is terrible,” Real Sociedad’s coach says. So much so that when it finally comes to an end, after he has moved from management and mathematics to music – to OK Computer and Nino D’Angelo, tapes in the old Chevy and all-night sessions on guitar and baglama – he has a suggestion. Laughing now, about to bid farewell, he says: “Feel free to replace any words I used over 10 times. So: ‘special’…” Continue reading...

Tonic is much more than a bit player in a G&T. A lot of it’s good enough to drink solo If a tonic is something that “makes you feel stronger and happier”, my tonics come in the form of good wine, bad chocolate and an ageing whippet called Ernie. Recently, though, I’ve found myself craving the OG tonic – tonic water – which started life as a malaria treatment in the age of the British empire. In the 17th century, Jesuit missionaries brought quinine, a bitter compound found in the bark of American cinchona trees, to Europe. They knew that indigenous people had been using it to treat fevers, and by the 1700s it was routinely being used as an antimalarial in tropical colonies. But there was a snag: quinine is unpalatable. To offset its impossible bitterness, it was combined with water and sugar to make a drink that enabled those stationed in the tropics to self-medicate every day. By the Victorian times, that self-medication had taken on a different aspect; not only had tonic water become fizzy, but it was routinely combined with gin for a drink now emblematic of the British Raj. Continue reading...

The skewed perspectives in my A-level curriculum are staggering. Until that changes, harmful ideas about race and migration will live on Astrid Barltrop is the winner of the 2026 Emerging Voices award (16-18 category) and a year 13 student in Oxfordshire “Lord Cromer was a successful consul-general of Egypt. To what extent do you agree?” I read this essay prompt in my A-level history class, wondering what “successful” means. Successful in forcing austerity on Egyptians to line the pockets of British financiers? Successful in civilising a country of people he viewed as “subversive demagogues” and “subject races”? Thankfully my essay could argue that Cromer wasn’t successful if I tried to frame “success” in terms of how he impacted the Egyptian population: he imposed an unfair land tax system and restricted access to education. But even then I had to write it under the implicit assumption that colonial rulers can be successful for a population – it’s just that this one wasn’t. Why doesn’t discussion around Cromer – and the values he embodied – instead centre on the right to rule? Continue reading...

There will be flight cancellations ‘soon’ if oil supplies are not restored in coming weeks, says head of IEA Business live – latest updates Middle East crisis – live updates Europe has only six weeks’ supply of jet fuel left before shortages will hit because of the Iran war, according to the head of a global energy watchdog. Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), said there will be flight cancellations “soon” if oil supplies from the Middle East are not restored within the coming weeks. Continue reading...

With an eye on elections in 2027, Italy’s PM has made tactful pivot away from US president Six months ago, Italy’s far-right prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, stood surrounded by men on a stage in Sharm el-Sheikh, where world leaders had gathered to discuss the Gaza peace deal. In front of her, Donald Trump showered praise and insults on the assembled leaders, before describing Meloni as a “beautiful young woman”. Turning towards her, he added: “You don’t mind being called beautiful, right? Because you are. Thank you very much for coming.” Continue reading...

Pedro Piscal pisco is latest Chilean brand to resemble a Hollywood name – and others have fought off the lawsuits The actor Pedro Pascal is waging a legal battle against a Chilean pisco merchant who has chosen a cheeky name for his brand of the country’s national spirit: Pedro Piscal. David Herrera registered the brand name with a Chilean commercial regulator in 2023 and began selling his pisco in off-licences and restaurants. Continue reading...

Heather Hallett hails vaccine scheme but criticises rule that only those meeting 60% disabled threshold can get payouts The Covid-19 vaccine programme in the UK was an “extraordinary feat” but the payment scheme for people injured by the jabs must be urgently reformed, the public inquiry on the pandemic has found. In her report, the inquiry chair, Heather Hallett, praised the fact the UK was a world leader in biomedical sciences, which set it in good stead for developing and rolling out vaccines at scale. But she said the government must act urgently to reform the scheme for payments to the “small minority” of people seriously injured by the vaccines, and almost double maximum payouts to at least £200,000 from an upper limit of £120,000 at present. Continue reading...

Scott O’Neil sends rallying cry to staff after reports McGinley says PGA Tour could now ‘play hardball’ LIV Golf has insisted the tour intends to continue “uninterrupted and at full throttle” this season amid claims its Saudi Arabian backers will imminently withdraw having funded the breakaway league to the tune of $5bn (£3.68bn). The future of the rebel tour was mired in confusion on Wednesday following an executive meeting in New York and publication of a new Saudi investment strategy that did not mention sport and emphasised sustainability. Continue reading...

(EMI) The podcaster’s third sequin-festooned album in a row is her most retro, with its slightly cringe moments balanced by unerring quality control and opulent arrangements Recent episodes of Table Manners, the podcast Jessie Ware co-hosts with her mother, Lennie, have begun with a brief advert for Ware’s new album: listeners, it advises, can get 10% off by preordering Superbloom using a special code. The fact that the advert is directing traffic from Ware’s podcast to her music feels slightly telling. As side hustles go, Table Manners has proved extraordinarily successful, attracting A-list guests: Margot Robbie, Jeremy Allen White, Paul McCartney, Robert De Niro. Indeed, it’s proved so successful that it scarcely seems like a side hustle at all: in 2026, Ware is probably better known as a podcaster than a singer. Hats off to her: in an uncertain era, when rock and pop artists are well advised to have a backup plan, there’s something hugely impressive about how big Ware’s has become. Still, there lurks the danger of her music seeming an afterthought: like the 10% off ad, something to get out of the way before the more serious business of enjoying banana bread with Lisa Kudrow. You can hear the impact of Table Manners on Superbloom in a literal sense: a track called Automatic features a deep-voiced spoken-word appearance from Euphoria star Colman Domingo, previously a guest on the podcast. It’s also an album marked by a sense of doubling down. Ware’s third album in a row to mine a disco-pop hybrid, it’s also the most straightforwardly retro of the trio, sanding away the sheen of futuristic electronica found on 2020’s What’s Your Pleasure? and 2023’s That! Feels Good! in favour of lush orchestration: even the most synth-heavy tracks here speak less of the present than they do the early 80s post-disco boogie genre. Continue reading...

Old Vic theatre, London Director Clint Dyer brings a fresh political focus to Ken Kesey’s story of disempowerment but the relentless misogyny of the text feels retrograde When Randle P McMurphy is thrust into an American psychiatric hospital in the early 1960s, the torpid air begins to crackle. As the anarchic McMurphy, Aaron Pierre gives a storming performance but although Clint Dyer’s stirring take on Ken Kesey’s 1962 novel boldly reframes the story, the text can’t support his ideas. McMurphy immediately locks horns with authoritarian Nurse Ratched (Olivia Williams). He pivots and provokes, urging fellow patients to resist, play and party. Pierre roams the space with a pumped-up strut or an incongruous dainty scamper. He gives good fraternal hugs, but there’s a frantic vulnerability beneath the booming laugh. Continue reading...

Scotland’s tournament was overshadowed by off-field uncertainty but, says former international Beth Blacklock, the future is looking brighter “There were players who were definitely struggling,” says the former Scotland international Beth Blacklock of the contract uncertainty that surrounded the squad before their run to the 2025 Rugby World Cup quarter-finals. In pre-World Cup camps contract talks were taking place between players and the Scottish Rugby Union. Some of the 32-player squad had deals which ran until May 2026 but the rest of the team had arrangements which ended in October after the World Cup had concluded. Continue reading...

Sustainability certification by Marine Stewardship Council may be obscuring labour abuses in seafood supply chains, say researchers The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), which operates a “blue tick” scheme to indicate the sustainability of fish, has been accused of creating an “illusion” of ethical sourcing, after a study reported that widespread labour abuses have taken place on the fishing vessels it approves. One in five vessels where the crew reported abuses to the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) over the last five years took place on ships catching seafood certified as sustainable by the MSC, researchers found. Continue reading...

For his project ‘De Oförtrutna’ (The Relentless), photographer Christer Björkman pictured Swedish scientists working in the spirit of Carl Linnaeus, the botanist who created the modern taxonomic system that classifies organisms based on appearance. Each scientist brought to the shoot a book and an item of importance to their work Continue reading...

Thirteen of the Damallsvenskan’s 14 teams are based in the south. For Piteå IF, rising costs are now the priority Piteå IF are entering their 17th season as a top-division side in Sweden’s Damallsvenskan, but the challenge for them is getting tougher and tougher every year. And it is not a small budget compared to clubs such as Hammarby and Häcken who have, in recent years, been able to rely on the support of major men’s club, or the rejuvenated Malmö FF side, but geographical issues which have put a strain on club finances. Continue reading...

Trump plans to start anti-mine operations as part of a wider attempt to open the strait, but the clearance is laborious and dangerous Middle East crisis – live updates Donald Trump has said he plans to begin anti-mine operations in the strait of Hormuz as part of a wider attempt to reopen the waterway, which has in effect been closed to marine traffic by Iran since the US and Israel launched their war in late February. Continue reading...

PM summons senior figures from Meta, TikTok, Google and X and says social media is ‘putting our children at risk’ Keir Starmer has told social media bosses “things can’t go on like this” in a Downing Street meeting over internet safety. The prime minister summoned senior figures at Meta, TikTok, Google and X to No 10 on Thursday morning as his government considers imposing new restrictions on platforms, including an Australia-style ban for under-16s. Meta owns Facebook and Instagram, and Google owns YouTube. Continue reading...

Retrial ordered in case of Benjamin Field, found guilty in 2019 of murdering Peter Farquhar, 69, in Buckinghamshire A former church warden who was jailed for life for the murder of a university lecturer has had his conviction quashed at the court of appeal. Benjamin Field was jailed for at least 36 years in 2019 after being found guilty of murdering 69-year-old Peter Farquhar in Maids Moreton, Buckinghamshire. Continue reading...

Newcastle face Bournemouth on Saturday with the manager under increasing pressure at St James’ Park Eddie Howe has reason to believe that April really is the cruellest month. This time last year Newcastle’s manager was hospitalised with pneumonia and, 12 months later, he can barely switch on a radio or glance at a newspaper without receiving yet another reminder he is “under pressure”. Continue reading...

Brightly coloured yam, long enjoyed in east Asia, has been appearing in drinks, desserts – and, of course, TikTok feeds Bright purple coffees and cocktails made with a root vegetable called ube have hit the high street in the UK after the yam’s striking hue caused a sensation on social media. Many are calling ube the “new matcha”, and it has a nutty, creamy, sweet taste, like a mix between coconut and vanilla. Ube coloured and flavoured drinks became popular in the US last year, after an earlier boom in Australia. Farmers in the Philippines, where the root vegetable is often sourced, have been struggling to meet demand. Continue reading...

Leader of leftwing Economic Freedom Fighters was convicted last year for firing rifle in the air at 2018 rally The South African leftwing politician Julius Malema has been sentenced to five years in prison for firing a rifle in the air at a political rally in 2018. Lawyers for the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters, South Africa’s fourth largest political party, immediately sought leave to appeal. Legal arguments are ongoing. Continue reading...

Supporters everywhere will be watching Sunday’s big game against Manchester City, united by nerves My father is a Liverpool fan. When he was watching a game I saw an advertisement for the Premier League broadcast and saw Thierry Henry scoring a goal and that was it. Continue reading...

The truth is, we were all just jealous To Lena Dunham, I need to say that I’m sorry. I’m sure she’ll never read this, since she doesn’t seem like the kind of person who Googles herself. If I was Lena, I certainly wouldn’t. The internet is full of mockery, sarcasm and outright cruelty. I’ve been part of the problem, too. Lena and I were starting off our careers at the same time, those halcyon days of the 2010s, when people still subscribed to cable TV and social media was just a fun new tool to post random thoughts and photos of your brunch. Now, if you post a photo of a meal, people will scream at you for bragging that you can afford food. Fourteen years since HBO’s Girls turned Dunham from an indie film darling into a mainstream superstar, the writer/director is now releasing a memoir that reflects on her time in the cultural crosshairs. The headline of a New York Times interview reads: “Lena Dunham Is Still Trying to Figure Out Why People Hated Her So Much.” Continue reading...