Democrats accuse DHS of ‘kneecapping’ programs that help speed registered travelers through security lines The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is suspending the TSA PreCheck and Global Entry airport security programs as a partial government shutdown continues. The programs are designed to help speed registered travelers through security lines. Suspending them could cause headaches for passengers. Continue reading...

Natalie Dormer and Mia McKenna-Bruce star in The Lady, which tells the story of Jane Andrews. Plus: your golden ticket to the Baftas! Here’s what to watch this evening 9pm, ITV1 Continue reading...

With construction overwhelmingly male, Refuge says tradeswomen help survivors of abuse feel safer One of the main challenges in maintaining the 64 homes for domestic abuse survivors run by Refuge is the reliance on a male-dominated workforce of electricians, plumbers and decorators. “The presence of men can be distressing and could trigger past traumas for our survivors,” said Lisa Cantwell-Hope, the head of property services at the charity. “Male contractors need an escort to make our survivors feel more comfortable, and we always put a notice out to all our residents saying there will be a male presence in the building today. So it can be challenging and takes up more time.” Continue reading...

Nigel Farage’s man in Gorton and Denton has a huge public platform, and a taste for culture war. What happens when he concerns himself with bin collections? On a bracingly cold February night in Levenshulme, a black Volkswagen people-carrier draws up outside a little parish church, around which a small crowd has begun to gather. From behind the car’s darkened windows steps the Reform candidate for the Gorton and Denton byelection, dressed in the trademark gilet that makes him look less like a politician and more like a man who has come straight from a grouse shoot. As he enters the church where the electoral hustings will take place, a leaflet is thrust into his hand, which as he will later discover with a horrified grimace, is a flyer for the local branch of the Communist League, bearing policies such as “amnesty for all immigrants” and “defend Cuba’s socialist revolution”. But then, when you are trying to attract the attention of someone as elusive as Prof Matt Goodwin, you have to seize your opportunities whenever they arise. Over recent weeks the former academic and rightwing firebrand has been a curiously intangible presence in the constituency whose representation he is seeking: perpetually detectable but not remotely approachable, always visible without ever really being seen. Continue reading...

Birthrates have fallen since Russia’s invasion but some have held on to hope and are bringing up children despite risks Four years ago Russian troops were a few kilometres away from Leleka maternity hospital, beyond a pine forest and a lake. Vladimir Putin’s plan to conquer Ukraine – wrapping it into a new Russian empire – began just down the road. They were meant to seize Kyiv and topple Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s pro-western government. To the Kremlin’s surprise, Ukraine fought back. A Russian armoured column was destroyed in nearby Bucha. For five weeks a battle raged. Maternity staff treated wounded Ukrainian soldiers. Then, in March 2022, Russian troops pulled out of the Kyiv region. They left behind the bodies of hundreds of civilians they had killed, including fleeing families gunned down in their cars. Continue reading...

This is one of those places where I say: use it or lose it. Some hot dining spots seem to expand almost the moment they open, but east London’s Vietnamese stalwart Sông Quê has waited almost 25 years to spawn a little sister, Sông Quê Phở Bar. The new offshoot sits on Commercial Street, a mile or so down the road, and serves a tiny menu focusing on phở, as well as a smattering of the original cafe’s small plates in the form of summer rolls, green papaya salad, grilled lamb chops and savoury banh khot cupcakes. Quite why Sông Quê, with its regular weekend queues and well-known name, took so long to branch out, however, is unknown. Still, why rush things? After all, the road to restaurant ruin is paved with premature brand roll-outs, and even if managers think they’re superhuman, they cannot be in two – or three or four – sites all at the same time. Plus, the big question with an institution such as the OG Sông Quê is: can you really recreate the magic elsewhere? Continue reading...

Overdependence on chatbots is a growing problem, and though your boyfriend’s ADHD may be a factor, he needs to find the root of his anxiety My boyfriend of eight years, who is 44, has ADHD and runs his own business. He’s always struggled with admin and mundane tasks, but AI has revolutionised how he works. Now I’m worried he can’t seem to do anything without AI. He is a heavy ChatGPT user and uses it even when there’s a better non-AI alternative (eg he’ll ask it for train times rather than using Trainline, even though it’s less accurate). He just got his ChatGPT Wrapped and he’s in the top 0.3% of users worldwide. I worry about his ability to think independently, as well as the environmental impact. I know it’s a useful tool for him at work, but he uses it for everything in life. Continue reading...

The politician was 18 when she and her mum were hauled off to a police station for the killing of the man she’d considered an uncle. What happened next would shape her future. She talks Labour’s woes, making mistakes, and why it’s finally time to share her own traumatic story • Read an extract from Naz Shah’s memoir here Naz Shah found it thrilling when she was arrested on suspicion of murder. “I’ll be honest with you, I had fun. It was the most excitement I’d ever had in my flipping life. I’d never been to a police station before. I was 18 and wet behind the ears. I was this really sheltered kid who’d been arrested. And I was like, they’ve got it wrong, so in my head it was all going to be over soon,” the MP for Bradford West says. “They took my clothes and gave me this white suit to wear, and I was saying, ‘Ooh, I look foxy in this, don’t I? Can you imagine taking me on a date in this?’ I was having a right laugh with the police officers. Honestly, I was so naive.” Shah’s beloved “Uncle” Azam had died unexpectedly in April 1992. An autopsy revealed that he had been poisoned with arsenic. Shah and her mother, Zoora, who spoke little English, had cooked the previous night’s supper. They were arrested and taken to different police stations. Shah was released. Zoora admitted that she had made the dessert that contained the arsenic. After a month-long trial, she was convicted of Azam’s murder in December 1993 and sentenced to 20 years in jail. Continue reading...

Major chains agree to halve default sweetness, but street vendors and cafes remain outside sugar tax rules A crowd of customers, holding phones aloft, watch intently as Auntie Nid mixes up her bestseller: an iced Thai tea. Condensed milk is poured into a glass, followed by three heaped tablespoons of sugar, and then freshly strained tea. The end product – a deep orange, creamy treat – is poured into a plastic bag filled with ice. Continue reading...

Former coach says player was ‘complete joy’ Teammates pay tribute after Moore’s death Former NFL wide receiver Rondale Moore died on Saturday at the age of 25, his former college coach, Jeff Brohm, has confirmed. “Rondale Moore was a complete joy to coach,” Brohm, who coached Moore at Purdue, said in a statement. “The ultimate competitor that wouldn’t back down from any challenge. Rondale had a work ethic unmatched by anyone. A great teammate that would come through in any situation. We all loved Rondale, we loved his smile and competitive edge that always wanted to please everyone he came in contact with. We offer all of our thoughts and prayers to Rondale and his family, we love him very much.” In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. 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...

Ukraine foreign ministry says ultimatums should be sent to the Kremlin, not Kyiv; one dead, 15 wounded in Lviv in ‘act of terror’: What we know on day 1,460 Ukraine’s foreign ministry has condemned what it describes as “ultimatums and blackmail” by Hungary and Slovakia on Saturday, after both governments threatened to stop electricity supplies to Ukraine unless Kyiv restarts flows of Russian oil. Hungary has also threatened to block a €90bn Ukrainian war loan. Shipments of Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia have been cut off since 27 January, when Kyiv says a Russian drone strike hit pipeline equipment in western Ukraine. Hungary and Slovakia both accuse Ukraine of delaying the restart, without evidence. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement the country “rejects and condemns the ultimatums and blackmail by the governments of Hungary and the Slovak Republic regarding energy supplies between our countries”. “Ultimatums should be sent to the Kremlin, and certainly not to Kyiv.” Slovakia and Hungary are the only two EU countries that still rely on significant amounts of Russian oil shipped via the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline over Ukraine. The issue has become one of the angriest disputes yet between Ukraine and two neighbours that are members of the EU and Nato but whose leaders have bucked the largely pro-Ukrainian consensus in Europe to cultivate ties with Moscow. The Slovak leader, Robert Fico, has accused Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy of acting “maliciously” towards his country. Explosions in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv have killed a policewoman and wounded at least 15 people overnight in what local authorities on Sunday called an “act of terror”. The blasts occurred just after police responded to a report of a break-in at a shop in the city centre at about 12:30 am, according to officials. A first explosion struck as the initial patrol arrived, followed by a second blast moments later when another crew reached the scene. “This is definitely an act of terror,” the Lviv mayor, Andriy Sadovy, said in a Facebook post. “We have 15 people currently receiving medical aid, some of them are in very serious condition. One policewoman died.” Former British prime minister Boris Johnson says the UK and its European allies should immediately deploy noncombat troops to Ukraine to show the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, that western nations are committed to the nation’s freedom and independence. Speaking ahead of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Johnson told the BBC that the troops should be sent to peaceful regions in non-fighting roles. The comments from Johnson, who was one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters as Britain’s leader during the first months of the conflict, were contained in excerpts of an interview that will be broadcast on Sunday. A strike by Ukraine against a major missile factory deep inside Russia wounded 11 people, officials in Russia’s Udmurt Republics said on Saturday. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s General Staff confirmed it used Ukrainian-made FP-5 “Flamingo” cruise missiles against the Votkinsk plant. Unofficial Russian Telegram channels also pointed to that site. Russia suspended flights at airports in and near the region. Ukraine also reported a strike on a gas plant in Samara, Russia. About 2,000 people marched in Paris on Saturday, according to police, to show their support for Ukraine days before the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion. Demonstrators marching through the French capital chanted: “We support Ukraine against Putin, who is killing it”, and “Frozen Russian assets must be confiscated, they belong to Ukraine”. European parliament member Raphael Glucksmann told Agence France-Presse there was “massive” support for Ukraine in France which “has not wavered since the first day of the full-scale invasion”. “On the other hand, in the French political class, sounds of giving up are starting to emerge. On both the far left and the far right, voices of capitulation are getting louder,” he said. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says “real opportunities to end war with dignity still exist”, calling for another round of talks, and hinting at a fresh leaders’ meeting. After he was debriefed on this week’s peace talks with Russia and the US in Geneva, Zelenskyy called for another round of talks to be held “very soon, as early as this February”. He said “Ukraine’s responses to the most difficult questions ahead of the next meeting are ready,” and that they still want to raise some issues at the leaders’ level with Trump and Putin. “It is the leaders’ format that could prove decisive in many respects, and Ukraine is ready for such a format,” he said. Continue reading...

Arab and Islamic governments issue joint statement denouncing the comments made on Tucker Carlson podcast Arab and Islamic countries jointly condemned remarks by the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who suggested Israel had a biblical right to a vast swath of the Middle East. Huckabee, a former Baptist minister and a fervent Israel supporter, was speaking on the podcast of Tucker Carlson. Continue reading...

Six additional skiers survived tragedy in Sierra Nevadas near Lake Tahoe, a popular winter sport destination ‘They were mothers, wives, friends’: how a ski trip turned deadly in the California mountains Officials announced on Saturday that the bodies of all nine missing skiers who were killed in a devastating avalanche in California had been recovered, following days of search efforts. The avalanche happened in the Sierra Nevada mountains in northern California near Lake Tahoe, a popular skiing and winter sport destination. No more people are left missing after Tuesday’s deadly avalanche. Continue reading...

Select committee says ‘late’ decision to overturn exclusion of fans ‘did little more than inflame tensions’ The government’s response to West Midlands police’s ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans was “clumsy”, “late” and “did little more than inflame tensions”, a group of MPs has found. A report by the home affairs select committee, published on Sunday, analysed the original decision to ban away fans from a Europa League fixture with Aston Villa in November, as well as the advice that led to it. Continue reading...

‘Intelligence-based, selective operations’ carried out against Pakistani Taliban camps, says information ministry Pakistan carried out strikes along the border with Afghanistan on Saturday night, stating it was targeting hideouts of Pakistani militants it blames for recent attacks inside the country. Islamabad did not say in precisely which areas the strikes were carried out or provide other details. There was no immediate comment from Kabul, and reports on social media suggested the strikes were carried out inside Afghanistan. Continue reading...

American given rousing reception by crowd in Milan Alysa Liu and Mikhail Shaidorov among other performers Alysa Liu had the opportunity to cherish skating on the same Olympic ice where she won two gold medals one more time. Ilia Malinin had the chance to replace some disappointing memories with much better ones. The two Americans were among more than 40 Olympic figure skaters who took part in the traditional exhibition gala on Saturday night, which not only serves to wrap up the program but to celebrate the entire sport. Continue reading...

Fofana’s first of two bookings was for fouling Hannibal Burnley: ‘There is no place for this in our society’ Hannibal Mejbri and Wesley Fofana have both been racially abused on Instagram in the wake of the former’s Burnley side drawing 1-1 at Chelsea after the latter was sent off. Hannibal, who was fouled for the first of the two yellow cards that led to Fofana’s dismissal, posted the abuse he had received via a direct message on Instagram and wrote: “It’s 2026 and there still ppl like that … Educate yourself and your kids pls.” Fofana likewise posted the abuse he received. Continue reading...

White paper proposes changing criteria under which schools get funding to support the most disadvantaged students Plans to halve the attainment gap between the poorest pupils in England and their more affluent peers will be set out by the government on Monday. The schools white paper will detail proposals to change the criteria under which schools receive funding to support the most disadvantaged students. Continue reading...

Manchester City are timing their title run-in perfectly, to give Pep Guardiola a fine chance of a seventh title in a decade and to break Arsenal’s hearts yet again. For fans of each team squeaky posterior time is officially entered. For the neutral the final 11 matches for City and the Gunners promise to be a cannot-miss spectacle. Continue reading...

This BBC take on the warm, funny books renders various characters totally cheerless. It works fine as a drama, but the humour of the novels is sadly missing Any fan of Marian Keyes (and we are legion, as her 23 books, 30-year career and millions of sales attest) can give you a potted but passionate account of why (most often) she loves her. Keyes captures life as it is truly lived. It is lived as part of a family (Keyes is mercilessly attuned to the specific cadences and attitudes of a large, Irish Catholic one, but she is adept at rendering it universally relatable). We live as part of a couple, part of an office, part of a community (wanted or – if you are, for example, an addict, a woman having fertility treatment, or a domestic violence victim – unwanted). Or as a sister, a daughter, a polished professional, or a hot mess (the last two by no means mutually exclusive). In Keyes’ version, all life’s highs are burnished and its lows made bearable by the human capacity for finding the humour in everything. Her books – once dismissed as “chick lit”, “romcoms” or AN Other of the sniffy labels people have attached to novels written by women, largely for women, about largely female experiences (though I think we are starting to move out of that tiresomely reductive era) – hold all these elements in perfect balance. Continue reading...

Colón’s music combined jazz, rock and salsa, incorporating rhythms from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Brazil and Africa American salsa legend Willie Colón, the pioneering trombonist, vocalist and composer, died on Saturday at age 75, his family said in a statement. “While we grieve his absence, we also rejoice in the timeless gift of his music and the cherished memories he created that will live on forever,” the family said on Colón’s Facebook page. Continue reading...

Great Britain 6-9 Canada Mouat’s side take silver after falling short in last end Sometimes the silvers you win feel more like the golds you lose. After an excruciatingly tense three-hour final, there’s no doubt which way Bruce Mouat and the British men’s curling team will see this one. They were beaten 9-6 by Canada, in a game that took several twists and turns on its way to the very last stone of the 10th end. It is their second Olympic silver medal, after the one they won when they lost to Sweden in Beijing in 2022. After 10 days of competition, the Olympic title is still the one thing in the sport that this world champion team haven’t won, and that will sting. The British rink had the better start. They forced Canada to settle for one from the 1st end, even though they had last stone advantage. But Grant Hardie is a gnarly competitor and he and his team worked their way into a 4-3 lead at halfway with a couple of double take-outs in the 3rd and 5th ends. In the 4th, when Britain had the hammer, they were made to play the same clearing shot four times in a row, before Hardie finally nailed it. Then Mouat missed with his penultimate stone, which clipped his own guard on its way home. Continue reading...

German director İlker Çatak’s Turkey-set film tackling creeping authoritarianism gave the jury ‘chills’ Yellow Letters, a drama set in Turkey about creeping authoritarianism, has won the Golden Bear top prize at the Berlin film festival, after a 10-day event overshadowed by a row over politics in cinema. The film by German director İlker Çatak, born in Berlin to Turkish immigrants, tells the story of two luminaries of the Ankara theatre scene whose marriage comes under severe strain when they lose their jobs after falling out of political favour. Its title comes from the colour of the official dismissal notices. Continue reading...

Tottenham have rolled the dice and an injury-ravaged side’s anxiety may only get worse as West Ham close the gap When did the reality dawn? Perhaps it was towards the end of the first half of West Ham’s game at Chelsea at the end of January with the away side leading 2-0. Or perhaps it was when West Ham took the lead against Manchester United 10 days later. As it turned out, West Ham won neither fixture; had they done so they would have had five points more and so been level with Tottenham going into this weekend. And then Tottenham’s proximity to relegation could not have been denied. West Ham’s revival means this isn’t like last season, when a win at Ipswich at the end of February took Tottenham to 33 points and as good as confirmed their continued presence in the Premier League, allowing Ange Postecoglou to focus on Europe. Were Spurs to pull off something extremely unlikely and beat Arsenal on Sunday, they would move to 32 and, for all the glee their fans would feel, nobody would feel secure. Continue reading...

When it comes to the back end of May and West Ham United are reflecting on the season that was, there is every chance that this soggy Saturday will go down as a missed opportunity that proved crucial in their survival plight. Victory here would have raised the possibility of Nuno Espírito Santo’s side ending the weekend out of the relegation zone for the first time since early December. In keeping with those of recent weeks, much of the performance was befitting of another three points. But, thanks to a couple of smart Djordje Petrovic saves and some profligacy in front of goal, they had to make do with a draw – an expected goals (xG) total of 2.87 from 20 shots yielding a blank in the only column that matters. Continue reading...