Hungary’s prime minister made the claim as accusations mount that he is using a dispute with Ukraine for political gain in the run-up to elections next month Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has accused Ukrainians of plotting to attack his family, as an increasingly bitter standoff between Kyiv and Budapest continues. Orbán and his allies appear to be using the dispute for maximum political gain, before the election due next month that could bring an end to the 16-year rule of his nationalist government. Orbán released a video on Wednesday night purporting to show him speaking to his daughters on the phone. “I’m sure you’ll see on the news that the Ukrainians have threatened not only me but you as well,” he said, apparently emotional. “My kids and my grandkids … We have to take this seriously but we must not be scared,” he added. Continue reading...

Brent thinks Amy’s habit is unhygienic, but she says his argument doesn’t hold water. Trouble’s brewing – and you decide who’s in the right • Find out how to get a disagreement settled or become a juror Amy says that boiling water kills germs so it’s hygienic, but one time I found a hair in my mug Pouring the water away is a waste, and I can use up my recycled water before Brent returns from work Continue reading...

All the managers since Pochettino have drained life from the club, which appears interested in anything but football now Sad news coming out of Tottenham this week: Ryan Norys’s talk at the South by Southwest festival on Friday will no longer take place. The club’s chief revenue officer, who has overseen a 40% rise in commercial revenue over the past three years, was due to speak on “how Tottenham is evolving beyond football to become a global cultural brand”. And given the rich seam of cultural content Spurs have been providing the world over recent weeks, you have to say it’s been a stunningly successful initiative. Alas, when Norys posted an advertisement for the event on his LinkedIn page this week, Spurs fans exploded with anger, forcing the talk to be cancelled. Fortunately, those still interested to see how Tottenham are evolving beyond football can simply observe their recent performances on the pitch. Igor Tudor’s Tottenham Hotspur: proudly evolving beyond defending. Beyond possession. Beyond goalkeeping. Beyond tactics, beyond teamwork, beyond competence, beyond the basic bipedal human ability to stand up straight. And – who knows? – perhaps even beyond the Premier League. Continue reading...

The presenter of hit series Talk Easy has pioneered a style of candid chat that has seen the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow and Salman Rushdie squirming in their seats – so far only one guest has stormed out Most episodes of Sam Fragoso’s interview podcast Talk Easy begin with a disarmingly simple question: “How are you doing today?” It primes his high-profile guests – Patti Smith, Gwyneth Paltrow, Salman Rushdie – to be met where they’re at, and sets the stage for what has, over the decade since it began, become a masterclass in interviewing, a singular property in a market so waterlogged that people commonly joke that microphones should be taxed. Fragoso, 31, eschews the gimmicks and pally celebrity chat of many podcasts. With its crackly jazz theme and commitment to depth, Talk Easy oozes class; in 2020, Fragoso pressed a vinyl record of his interview with US writer Fran Lebowitz. Describing himself as where underground journalist Nardwuar (disarmingly well researched) meets NPR legend Terry Gross (sensitive, direct) meets late talkshow host Dick Cavett (intellectual, sophisticated), he is a freakishly intuitive listener. “The way you construct the narrative of my life is so true that it’s just a little startling,” actor Michelle Williams told him in 2023. In December, the Obamas signed Talk Easy to their production company. Continue reading...

The fact that the PM is a pragmatist, light on ideology, could allow him to forge now essential links with other parties Even before Labour took power, since the first whispers that Keir Starmer wasn’t the Corbyn-in-a-tie candidate his leadership bid had promised, the same argument has been going on among Labour members. Should Starmer be trying harder to include the left flank of the movement? Perhaps he should, at the very least, stop trying to expel them. The same question informs orientation towards the general voter: should apparatchiks worry less about the threat from Reform and more about the threat from the Greens? What the hell was going on with that “island of strangers” speech? Was Shabana Mahmood brought in on a promise of attacking migrants from every direction, or are at least some of her manoeuvres a surprise? Morgan McSweeney’s animus towards the left had an almost mythic quality, the man trying to keep the cave cosy by putting out the fire; how did he come to be so indispensable that it was only after the downfall of his ally Peter Mandelson that anyone wondered what his politics actually were? Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

King’s Head theatre, London Masculinity is not in a good way in this trio of short plays – the first of 10 presented in two venues – which deal in violence, misanthropy and murder Neil LaBute does not appear to have much hope for humanity. It is not just that the US playwright’s characters in this trio of short plays are cruel and uncaring, but that their total lack of remorse flattens the interest of their stories. LaBute is pinned as a provocateur, but his trilogy doesn’t feel risky so much as misanthropically sour. Best known for In the Company of Men and The Shape of Things, LaBute has 10 plays presented in three chapters in America the Beautiful, a split-venue UK premiere staged between the King’s Head and Greenwich theatre. America the Beautiful: Chapter 1 is at King’s Head theatre, London, until 14 March. Chapter 2 is at King’s Head, 16-21 March. Chapter 3 is at Greenwich theatre, London, 31 March-4 April. Continue reading...

The Harlequins fly-half will win his 50th cap against France but it still appears the head coach lacks faith in him When Steve Borthwick is summoned to Twickenham to explain what will be England’s worst Six Nations campaign should they lose to France on Saturday, to effectively fight for his job, he would be well advised to give the Rugby Football Union’s strategic plan another read. Released in January, the RFU made clear Borthwick’s aim “is not only to consistently win senior international competitions, but to do so in a way that inspires future generations”. He has failed on both counts but it is the second charge – that England have been thoroughly uninspiring – he must sufficiently answer if he is remain in place for next year’s World Cup. Continue reading...

It may not have a flashy high concept like the other nominees but Joachim Trier’s family saga is satisfyingly grownup film-making, and beats them all as a showcase for great performance This is a best picture race full of ambitious ideas and big swings. A Trump-baiting sanctuary city saga. A continent-crossing Jewish picaresque fantasy. A Brazilian B-movie-tinged paranoid period thriller. A loopy alien-invasion conspiracy headtrip. A giant, roaring motorsport epic. Monsters. Vampires. Railroad-building. Shakespeare. And, erm, a drama about an actor’s daddy issues. But if Sentimental Value seems to you the least essential of this years’s nominees, then, well, you don’t know Sentimental Value. From that familiar-sounding subject matter, the film’s Danish-Norwegian co-writer and director, Joachim Trier, has crafted something grand and sprawling: a family saga spiralling across decades and generations, spliced with a movie about moviemaking. It’s a film that churns and roils emotionally like Bergman, but – as with Trier’s last one, The Worst Person in the World – tears into heavy themes with a springiness, even a playfulness. And no other Oscar nominee provides such a showcase for performance, with four meaty parts for its terrific leads – all also Oscar-nominated – to chomp on. Continue reading...

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news Oil price tops $100 again as Iran strikes economic targets across Middle East The latest escalation in the Iran war has hit Asia-Pacific stock markets, with Europe expected to fall at the open too. In Tokyo, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index has fallen by 1.3% today, as has Australia’s S&P ASX 200 index. “The Strait of Hormuz is a fertiliser chokepoint. Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Iran together supply a substantial share of the world’s traded urea and phosphates, and virtually all of it transits Hormuz.” Continue reading...

Payment of 2% at employee-owned partnership follows sales increase to £13.4bn The owner of John Lewis and Waitrose has paid an annual bonus to workers for the first time in four years after underlying profits rose by 6%. The retail group’s employees – which it calls partners – will receive a 2% bonus after it recorded an increase in sales and profits. Continue reading...

Peter O’Toole, Burt Lancaster and Denholm Elliott are all present and correct for watchable return to colonial clash in South Africa This 1979 film is effectively the stolid prequel to the massively successful Zulu from 15 years earlier, the stiff-upper-lip bloodbath that showcased vivid performances from Stanley Baker and Michael Caine. That was about the battle of Rorke’s Drift between the British army and the Zulus; Zulu Dawn is about the disastrous rout that preceded it: the battle of Isandlwana. The combat scenes are impressively staged, but almost the entire film seems like a second-unit director’s sequence, the battle itself is one very extended, classy B-roll with none of the internal drama, confrontation and light and shade that had made Zulu so potent. Zulu Dawn was received with hardly more than a shrug at the time, though it inspired a bizarre urban myth that there was a scene showing a British soldier gruesomely killed with three spears to the neck, one after the other – supposedly greeted in cinemas all over the country with facetious shouts of “One hundred and eighty!” (Sadly there is no such scene.) Continue reading...

Health justice charity Medact says data-sharing potential could be used for UK version of US immigration raids Palantir’s NHS contract opens the door to the Big Brother-style data-sharing that Reform UK would use for a version of US immigration raids, health bosses have been told. Palantir Technologies – the data analytics company founded by Peter Thiel and Alex Karp – won a £330m NHS England contract to deliver the Federated Data Platform in 2023. Continue reading...

A former New Labour minister tackles the question of our times with rigour and verve – but blindspots remain At first glance, the former New Labour minister Liam Byrne is not the ideal person to explain the rise of rightwing populism in Britain and beyond, and how it might be stopped. At the end of Gordon Brown’s government in 2010, Byrne infamously wrote a one-line letter to whoever would succeed him as chief secretary to the Treasury: “I’m afraid there is no money.” Both friendly advice and an inside joke, these words were used for years by the Tories and Lib Dems to justify their austerity policies – and were arguably one of the causes of the modern disillusionment with conventional politicians. This loss of faith, and the damage to society and public services from austerity, have fuelled populism ever since. Byrne’s short but ambitious book is, in a sense, his attempt to make amends. Yet some of the arguments and evidence he presents, in quick, confident sentences which fit his past reputation as a clever but impatient minister, are unlikely to persuade many people that he is thinking afresh. He often cites and echoes centrist authorities such as the Tony Blair Institute and Keir Starmer’s former advisers Claire Ainsley and Deborah Mattinson, who have all long said that the way to defeat populism is to respect its supporters, however rightwing. Given that Reform UK has surged ahead in the polls, while Labour is regarded by most populist voters with contempt, this deference seems a dead end. Continue reading...

Over the past 21 years, Village Ways has been leading low-impact tours of remote communities in the foothills of the Himalayas, supporting traditional ways of life and offering a rare glimpse of pristine landscapes and wildlife Kathdhara village is a riot of colour as the early evening light turns the clouds the rosy hue of Himalayan salt. Bright red chillies lie drying in front of cornflower blue doorways. The pink of a sari and the orange of marigolds pop against a backdrop of verdant terraced fields, where cabbages grow in perfect rows like a picture from a Peter Rabbit book. Just 22 families live in this remote hamlet in Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary, in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, north-east India. As we stroll with our guide, Deepak, taking in views of the layered hills and soaring, snow-capped Panchachuli peaks beyond, we are welcomed by villagers tending homes and gardens, strings of Diwali fairy lights adding extra sparkle to the scene. I’m here to explore the foothills of the Himalayas and sample village life on a walking holiday with Village Ways, a pioneer of responsible, community-based tourism in India, which is celebrating its 21st anniversary this year. Dreamed up by Manisha and Himanshu Pande, the couple who run the Khali Estate, a small hotel in the reserve, the goal is to help address urban migration and support traditional rural life through low-impact tourism. Village Ways launched in 2005 with just five villages in the reserve, which guests hike between, and now more than 30 villages are involved in different parts of the country, from Madhya Pradesh to Kerala. Continue reading...

Health minister Zubir Ahmed says new definition of anti-Muslim hostility could be a turning point as he tells of Islamophobic abuse Zubir Ahmed, a health minister, tries not to read the comments under his social media feeds, but sometimes curiosity gets the better of him. After performing a transplant on Christmas Day, the vascular surgeon scanned a post about the operation. Continue reading...

Cheeky and rebellious, the Netherlands’ own brand of ‘ludiek’ zaniness thrived in the 1960s protest era. Now, the New Dutch Naivety movement is bringing it back with songs about chocolate, good transport and no-smoking policies Imagine a song about the noisy centre of Amsterdam turning magically into chocolate, prompting children to go wild and eat it. The edifice then melts away, once you get the train from Amsterdam Lelylaan to Haarlemmermeer. This is the story of Amsterdam is opeens van chocolade (“Amsterdam is suddenly chocolate”), a song written by the young alt-pop musician, Thor Kissing. It is an example of a cheeky and rebellious aspect of 20th-century Dutch popular culture, ludiek (“playfulness”), which may be on the rise again. Kissing is a central figure in a new project that tries to capture what ludiek music means in the 21st century: two compilation albums called Nieuwe Nederlandse Naïviteit (“New Dutch Naivety”), promoting a disparate bunch of contemporary alternative Dutch-language pop artists. In October 2024, the first volume was launched in a spartan youth centre in an out-of-the-way Zaandam suburb. Volume two is set for release this March, in “hip” Amsterdam. Continue reading...

Marking the 30th anniversary of the school atrocity, those who pushed to get the weapons outlawed tell their stories. Plus: Spring Clean – Keep, Chuck Or Cash In? Here’s what to watch this evening 9pm, BBC Two A former PE teacher talks with startling calmness as she opens this documentary by recalling 13 March 1996, the day a gunman entered a Dunblane primary school gym and rapidly fired at the adults and children there. It remains the deadliest firearms atrocity in the UK. Parents of the victims, TV presenter Lorraine Kelly, the former prime minister Tony Blair and others help to tell the story of the campaign that followed to outlaw private handguns. “There’s an assumption that this horrific thing happened and guns were banned,” says Kelly. “It didn’t happen like that.” Hollie Richardson Continue reading...

Test yourself on topical news trivia, pop culture and general knowledge every Thursday. How will you fare? There comes a time in life when you have to consider whether you are the enticing wriggly worm of knowledge or the carp of ignorance, blissfully unaware that you are about to get hoiked out of the lake. And that time is on Thursdays, when 15 questions on topical headlines, pop culture and general knowledge await you. As ever, we do not give prizes, but we always like to hear how you got on in the comments. Allons-y! The Thursday news quiz, No 238 Continue reading...

There are rules and world leaders must insist they are honoured in practice and in spirit. After this atrocity in Iran, a more effective tribunal for crimes against children is essential The killing of a reported 168 people, primarily schoolgirls, in the bombing of the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab in Iran has shaken to its very core the conscience of the world. The attack, carried out nearly two weeks ago when classes were under way, reduced the school building to rubble. Parents who had sent their daughters to school discovered minutes later that classrooms had become mass graves. Gordon Brown is the UN’s special envoy for global education and was UK prime minister from 2007 to 2010 Continue reading...

Home Office targets 150 families whose asylum claims were refused and offers them up to £40,000 to leave or face forcible removal Families who received notices asking them to agree to return to their home countries are begging the Home Office to give them more time to make a decision that will significantly affect their children’s futures. The Home Office has targeted 150 families whose asylum claims were refused and given them just seven days to make the decision, which would uproot their children from schools and adopted communities. Those who refuse to leave voluntarily may be forcibly removed in handcuffs, including children. Continue reading...

Former PM says schools ‘deserve same moral status as hospitals’ after 168 schoolgirls killed in US-Israel war on Iran Gordon Brown: ‘Children killed, a school turned into a graveyard: even in wartime, we can’t accept this’ A school turned into a graveyard Minab school bombing: a visual guide Gordon Brown has called for the creation of an international criminal court for crimes against children, saying “no child should ever become collateral damage in a conflict”. Writing for the Guardian, the former prime minister drew on the tomahawk missile strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh school at the start of the Iran conflict, which killed 168 schoolgirls, to argue that “schools deserve the same moral status as hospitals – protected places – and the same protection under international law”. Continue reading...

Countries across the continent have spent more than $2bn on Chinese tracking technology that is not ‘necessary or proportionate’, new report finds The rapid expansion of AI-powered mass-surveillance systems across Africa is violating citizens’ right to privacy and having a chilling effect on society, according to experts on human rights and emerging technologies. At least $2bn (£1.5bn) has been spent by 11 African governments on Chinese-built surveillance technology that recognises faces and monitors movements, according to a new report by the Institute of Development Studies, which warns that national security is being used to justify implementing these systems with little regulation. Continue reading...

Irish artists, British indie legends and US stars such as Tom Waits also contribute, with Springsteen writing essay about the ‘bottomless humanity’ of the late Pogues frontman Bruce Springsteen has written an essay celebrating the “flashing, alive and historically rich” songwriting of the late Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan, as an all-star covers album is announced featuring Springsteen, Kate Moss, Johnny Depp and others. Springsteen’s cover of A Rainy Night in Soho is out now, the first song to be released from 20th Century Paddy: The Songs of Shane MacGowan, which is out 13 November. Many, unsurprisingly, led difficult lives not easily bound by the shackles of convention. They were natural rebels unable to stifle or heed the impulses that led them to their glory and personal hardships. Great art is by nature lawless. We do not get to choose our obsessions. We do not get to dictate our blessings or our transgressions. It’s a little joke the gods play on us. Shane’s voice was so deeply real, profane and honest, his writing so flashing, alive and historically rich its genesis appeared as a mystery to all including, I believe, its creator. The dangerous joy, the glee and courage, the humour in the face of fate, the wild ramble of a life driven towards the artistic heavens and the daily balm of self-obliteration. Shane was all naked bottomless humanity. Threatening to force us to ask ourselves if we were living deeply, authentically. He was raw, hilarious, no apologies and profound. His soul was filled with the transgressive and ecstatic properties of the saints. I don’t know who’ll be listening to my music in 100 years but I know they’ll be listening to Shane’s. Continue reading...

Charity criticises new measures that would make it harder for inquests to pass verdict of unlawful killing Men whose abusive behaviour drives women to take their own lives are more likely to get away with their crimes because of proposed law changes, justice campaigners say. Ministers want to make it harder for inquests to pass verdicts of unlawful killing, which have been crucial in getting justice for women who committed suicide after suffering abuse. Continue reading...

Make use of every inch of parmesan or other grana-type cheeses with this most simple and lovely of risottos Parmigiano reggiano, grana padano, lodigiano, trentingrana and the other members of the grana-type cheese family (there are many, and all are worth seeking out) are far from cheap. Which is why it is important to use every last bit, including the rind with the last few millimetres of cheese still attached. That functions as a sort of highly flavoured and fatty stock cube that can be added to soups and stews. The best place to keep your precious rinds is in a plastic bag or airtight container in the freezer, which also preserves flavour and stops them drying out, until they’re pulled out and added directly to whatever needs a boost, or to make one of the nicest, most delicately flavoured and cheesy broths, which in turn makes a lovely risotto. I have written about risotto many times here, with each version a new favourite, and providing lessons in a dish that, regardless of how much I learn and practise, I am always chasing: the right proportions of rice to broth, as well as a pleasing consistency and texture. I know I am not alone in this, and was reassured by a friend from Bergamo, in Lombardy, who told me that, despite having made thousands of risotti, he feels much the same, that every pan is an adventure and personal challenge, and that he wouldn’t have it any other way. This is his recipe, which he describes as the simplest of risotti and a layered celebration of grana cheese. Continue reading...