Councils spend heavily on grisly yet ineffective methods. Why won’t they consider a proven, low-cost and humane strategy? By some estimates there are almost 3 million pigeons residing in London, which has the highest pigeon population in the country. Known as “rats with wings”, “flying ashtrays” and “gutter birds”, pigeons do not have popular sentiment on their side. And cities in the UK have an extensive history of attempted pigeon pest control – having tried everything short of an exorcism to remove them – to no avail. London’s best-known victory in the war against pigeons was self-declared, after an operation in Trafalgar Square in the early 2000s. Ken Livingstone’s city government flew two Harris hawks around the area to “deter” pigeons – although the hawks went further than that, killing 121 pigeons in what ended up being a years-long bloodbath. The blitz cost the city £226,000. Wildlife activists deemed it an act of unimaginable cruelty. And it did little to permanently cut down pigeon populations. Last year in Manchester at least 81 pigeons were shot and killed by pest control services – employed by Northern Trains – in early morning offensives at Manchester Victoria station. The event is known to some as the Manchester Victoria pigeon massacre. Sydney Lobe is a freelance writer based between Vancouver and London Continue reading...

Our lungs have evolved to heal from damage, but some smokers will suffer irreversible effects It used to be thought that the lungs couldn’t regenerate,” says Dr Charlotte Dean, head of the lung development and disease group at Imperial College London. “But we know now that’s not the case. Broadly speaking, they can repair when you quit smoking.” Smoking is in effect damaging your lungs, Dean says, and the lungs have a substantial capacity to heal themselves. They have evolved to cope with pollution or getting infected by bacteria or viruses. “Because they’re so vital – you can’t survive without your lungs – they needed to have this capacity,” she says. Continue reading...

Arne Slot is fuming, Mikel Arteta’s big risk pays off and Josh Dasilva enjoys an emotional return for Brentford Arne Slot was seething as he lamented the decision to allow Manchester United’s second goal to stand despite claims of handball by Benjamin Sesko. “The curve on the ball changed so there must have been a contact,” argued the Liverpool head coach. “But it’s no surprise to anyone that if there is a VAR intervention then the decision goes against us. It’s happened to us all season.” As PGMO confirmed at the time, however, there “was no conclusive evidence that Sesko handled the ball before scoring”. Slot was stretching it to pin Liverpool’s latest defeat on poor refereeing. United’s movement pulled the visitors apart in the first half and, without the injured Mohamed Salah, Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak, the threat from Liverpool was nonexistent until capitalising on two errors early in the second half. Defeat stemmed from an anaemic first-half performance, nothing else. Andy Hunter Match report: Manchester United 3-2 Liverpool Match report: Arsenal 3-0 Fulham Match report: Newcastle 3-1 Brighton Match report: Aston Villa 1-2 Tottenham Match report: Brentford 3-0 West Ham Match report: Leeds 3-1 Burnley Continue reading...

Inspired in part by Zohran Mamdani’s NY mayorship, Rostam Batmanglij’s gorgeous new album fuses Americana with sounds of the Middle East. So why isn’t his mum happy? The first song Rostam Batmanglij ever learned to play on guitar was Chuck Berry’s Johnny B Goode, the quintessentially American rock’n’roll hit about being an American rock’n’roll star. “It doesn’t get more American than that,” he says, with a smile. The 42-year-old superproducer (Frank Ocean, Charli xcx, Carly Rae Jepsen) and former Vampire Weekend member is sitting across from me in a coworking cafe in London, trying to explain the fixation he’s always had with US culture. “My brother was born in France, my parents were born in Iran,” he says. “But I was in my mum’s womb when I first came to America. My position is different. So what is my relationship to the American flag? What is my relationship to American citizenship?” Continue reading...

Jimmy Wales remembers a toxic internet even before social media and says AI is ‘not a disaster’ for the free – and freely edited - online encyclopaedia Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Wikipedia’s founder, Jimmy Wales, has branded the Australian social media ban an “unmitigated disaster” and an “embarrassment” that is teaching kids to accept surveillance from tech companies when they go online. The online encyclopaedia that anyone can edit was born in a world before social media, in 2001. But Wales told Guardian Australia that many of the ills of social media existed even in the earlier stages of the internet. Continue reading...

Any interference with US operation in Hormuz will be ‘dealt with forcefully’, Trump says; Iran warns US navy against entering strait Trump says US navy will ‘guide’ trapped ships from strait of Hormuz amid ‘very positive’ talks with Iran The head of the Iranian military’s unified command has said US or any other foreign armed forces will be attacked if they enter the strait of Hormuz. The command warned US forces to stay out of the strait and said its forces would “respond harshly” to any threat, telling commercial ships and oil tankers to refrain from any movement in the absence of coordination with Iran’s military. We have repeatedly said the security of the Strait of Hormuz is in our hands and that the safe passage of vessels needs to be coordinated with the armed forces. We warn that any foreign armed forces, especially the aggressive US army, will be attacked if they intend to approach and enter the Strait of Hormuz.” Continue reading...

Visit will be the first time a North Korean women’s football team has competed on southern soil since the 2014 Incheon Asian Games A North Korean women’s football club will travel to South Korea this month, marking the first visit by a northern sports delegation in nearly eight years, at a time of near-total estrangement between the two Koreas. Naegohyang Women’s FC, based in North Korea’s capital Pyongyang, will face South Korea’s Suwon FC Women at Suwon sports complex, on 20 May for the semi-finals of the AFC Women’s Champions League. Continue reading...

A landmark new account of the 1979 revolution sets current events in context As Wordsworth found in Paris after 1789, revolutions are deeply enthralling. There is nothing so bold, so self-sacrificing, so brave, so cruel as a revolutionary crowd. What’s more, revolutions have shaped the modern world. The European Union has been transformed by the overthrow of Marxism-Leninism in eastern Europe, while the near-revolution in Tiananmen Square in 1989 feeds the neuroses of the Chinese Communist party to this day. Yet in some ways it was a revolution 10 years earlier that has been even more formative for our times: the overthrow of the shah in Iran. That, indeed, was a genuine revolutionary archetype on the 1789 model: barricades in the streets, crowds armed with old hunting rifles and kitchen knives facing up to the tanks (British-made, naturally); palaces, barracks and secret police headquarters stormed and sacked, the uniforms of the shah’s supposed “Immortals” lying on the ground, abandoned in utter panic. I even came across the ultimate revolutionary image: the body of an unfortunate cop hanging from a lamp-post. Squeamishness back at the BBC in London meant the shot wasn’t used. Continue reading...

Exclusive: amid unrest, President William Ruto promised to give all Kenyans access to healthcare. But the algorithm favours the rich, an investigation has found An AI system used to predict how much Kenyans can afford to pay for access to healthcare, has systemically driven up costs for the poor, an investigation has found. The healthcare system being rolled out across the country, a key electoral promise of President William Ruto, was launched in October 2024 and intended to replace Kenya’s decades-old national insurance system. Continue reading...

After decades in the shadows, the residents of this historic quarter came together to launch local businesses and make the area an attractive proposition once more My favourite way to enter Rione Sanità is by elevator: descending from a bridge into cobblestoned streets buzzing with mopeds and flanked by opulent but decaying 18th-century palazzi. Through the grand doorways of these once noble palaces are courtyards where bakers, butchers, cobblers and the odd contraband cigarette vendor do business. Continue reading...

Charges set out in a new contract for Aver Healthcare’s homes appear to contradict advice from the regulator I hold power of attorney for my aunt who is in a care home run by Avery Healthcare. Avery recently sent relatives its new contract, which states that care home fees are payable for 14 days after a resident’s death, and levies an upfront £595 charge for “dilapidations” (damage or wear and tear). These charges contradict advice given by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and are probably unenforceable. Continue reading...

Christian Mortensen takes up arms as the 14th-century kingmaker Timur but could do with a stronger force behind him and a better beard in front The western-produced Greco-Judeo-Roman epic has been with us since early cinema, while the Chinese film industry kept the eastern end up with a string of recent historical pictures. But what about the lands in between? Apart from a smattering of pictures about Genghis Khan, including John Wayne’s regrettable appearance in 1956’s The Conqueror, the Mongol hordes have not exactly ravaged the box office. So it’s refreshing to see Rise of the Conqueror sally forth, with Christian Mortensen in the saddle as the 14th-century Turkic-Mongol chieftain Timur. This is basically Gladiator with added throat-singing. Man-at-arms Timur is a kingmaker caught between his native Barlas tribe, which includes his testy brother-in-law Hussayn (Mahesh Jadu) who’s eager to reclaim his family’s rule in Samarkand; on the other side is occupying Mongol warmonger Tugluk (Maruf Otajonov), who appreciates him for his khan-do attitude. Tugluk pegs Timur to advise his son, Ilias (Joshua Jo), to whom he has entrusted the city. But this feckless scion doesn’t appreciate the babysitter; after he poisons Timur, the latter is forced into exile with the Zoroastrian raiders he once hunted. Continue reading...

In 1953, Dave Sharkey, a former professional boxer, and his wife, Ann, founded a photographic studio in Oxford Street, London. The studio promised prints ‘ready in 10 minutes’ long before anyone else in the city could provide such a quick turnaround. Conveniently located near the US embassy and Selfridges, the studio, which was eventually taken over by the couple’s son Philip, became a bustling crossroads for artists, actors, musicians and athletes alike, all looking to get their passport photos taken. Muhammad Ali, Bianca and Mick Jagger, David Hockney, Tilda Swinton and many more sat for their passport photo. Passport Photo Service, published by Phaidon Press, features more than 300 celebrity portraits from the 1950s to the 2010s. Continue reading...

Isabel Walker has worked as a journalist, writer and co-founded her own charity, but a chance encounter led to her fourth career, in colour analysis – and she has no regrets Isabel Walker was taking her adult daughter out for her 36th birthday. She had wanted to do “something unusual and special”, so first Walker accompanied her to get her colours analysed. While the specialist draped swatches over her shoulders and assessed the best fit for her skin tone, Walker kept chipping in, “because I know a bit about colour analysis. At one stage I was a beauty editor for a magazine.” Finally, the analyst turned to her. “She said: ‘You should be doing this kind of work.’ I said: ‘Nonsense. I’m far too old. I’m 72.’ But she wouldn’t let it go. She said: ‘You’re born to do this.’” Continue reading...

The Paddington star narrates an eerie adaptation of an Arthur Conan Doyle classic. Plus a worrying series about the US tech company at the heart of the NHS Continue reading...

Jill Halfpenny and Sally Lindsay star in the watchable four-parter, Number One Fan. Plus practice makes perfect in Virgin Island. Here’s what to watch this evening 9pm, Channel 5 Jill Halfpenny and Sally Lindsay star in a silly but oh-so-watchable thriller, which runs through the week. Lucy Logan (Halfpenny) is the nation’s favourite daytime telly host with a seemingly perfect life. But when she is mugged, superfan Donna (Lindsay) comes to the rescue – and soon she keeps popping up everywhere Lucy turns. Soapy twists ensue. Hollie Richardson Continue reading...

Japanese leader Sanae Takaichi has called for discussions to revise the constitution, saying it should ‘reflect the demands of the times’ Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has called for “advanced discussions” on revising the pacifist constitution, as large demonstrations were held nationwide to oppose any changes to the country’s supreme law. Speaking during an official visit to Vietnam, Takaichi said the constitution, which was written by US occupation forces after the second world war, “should periodically be updated to reflect the demands of the times”. Continue reading...

Study warns women face job losses and increased unpaid care duties as debt and conflict-driven turbulence force spending cuts Women are hit hardest when the debt burden in developing countries rises, a trend expected to worsen as the war in the Middle East continues, UN research shows. A report by experts from the UN Development Programme (UNDP), based on data from 85 countries gathered across three decades, shows women are disproportionately affected when debt repayments increase significantly. Continue reading...

José Luis Rey Vila’s powerful sketches of street battles and wearied soldiers brought the conflict to the world. A new show in Barcelona celebrates his overlooked legacy Pablo Picasso may be the artist most famously associated with the Spanish civil war, but as the rifles fired in revolutionary Catalonia, it was those on the frontlines who first captured the conflict. One of the most important was José Luis Rey Vila, whose sketches brought the rhythms of war to life in bold, blocky lines with splashes of intense colour. Full of urgency and movement, many of his sketches document anarchist militias engaged in street battles; others depict more sanguine scenes after the fighting stopped. In charcoal and watercolours, Rey Vila produced arresting portraits of red-capped volunteers, nurses tending the wounded, and the women of the milicianas raising their fists on the move. His work travelled far at exhibits and in widely reproduced booklets, raising international awareness before Picasso’s cubist horrors relayed the destruction of Guernica to the world. Continue reading...

War has combined with battered economy to leave Tehran wondering how hardline it can afford to be Iran may not be choking like a stuffed pig as Donald Trump predicted, but its economy is in serious difficulty as a combination of a massive war-damages bill, inflation, currency devaluation, unemployment and a contraction in oil revenues combine to leave the political elite worrying how hardline they can afford to be with their US negotiators. One estimate circulating in Iran’s media suggests the damage to the economy from the US-Israeli attacks is nine times the value of the Iranian budget last year. The UN Development Programme has estimated that 4.1 million more Iranians could fall into poverty. Continue reading...

Both nations are tarred by irreconcilable crises that could unravel democracy itself – sanity and stability have never felt further from reach A feature of living at the end of an era is that some events in the present already feel like future artefacts – things you expect to see in a school history book, or a documentary many years from now. Here is King Charles’s 2026 state visit to the United States, right between the chapters on the war on Iran and the global energy crisis. Here is an image of the entire constellation of Trumpland, dining on spring-herbed ravioli and dover sole. Look at this interesting antiquity of the time: the gold plates, the universal sign of a regime at the peak of excess. And there you see the foreign dignitary, making a speech that at the time felt like bold truth-telling, but as we all now know was little more than naive theatre while the whole world teetered on the precipice. The cast of characters behind the era-ending crisis were present, helpfully concentrated in one place to illustrate to those in the future how it came to this, and by whose hands. The money men, the Lord Haw-Haws, the nepo babies, the quislings. Seven guests from Fox News, seven members of the Trump family, Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook and – a little treat for golf-loving Trump – the Masters champion, Rory McIlroy, who the president made stand up to show off, breaking away from his state address to say: “Congratulations! Very proud of you.” If you wanted a snapshot of the forces that underpin the Trump administration, indifferent to its colossal violations, here it was – billionaire-funded corporate media, big tech, private equity and stars just happy to be so close to so much power. Nesrine Malik is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

The rise of multisensory installations like Frameless are an inspiring way for children to interact with art – but do they risk making the real thing seem less exciting? You know Hieronymus Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights? That psychedelic triptych chock-a-block with creatures real and imagined and the monstrosities of hell? Well, my toddler and I are in it. To be precise, we’re slap-bang in the middle of the cosmic central panel, which is projected on to the wide walls around us, as well as the ceiling and the floor. There are naked men and women riding bareback on ducks and deer and horses. Camels and cattle. Butterflies and birds. Pale legs lolling from a shell. This is our first trip to Frameless, an immersive art experience near Marble Arch in London that bills itself as a place “where art breaks free”. Call me a traditionalist, but digital art isn’t usually my thing. I enjoyed David Hockney at the Lightroom, where I also took my son to see the dinosaurs – the day we went, the audience was almost exclusively made up of tots and their adults. But I prefer paintings to be still rather than animated. I like to concentrate on a canvas rather than watch it deconstruct and dissolve. I want art to be meaningful and long-lasting. Tangible. Real. Continue reading...

Mexican spring soup followed by black bean and three-cheese quesadilla I have always loved the evident (though not proven) link between how foodie a country is and its love of soups. In Mexico, where nose-to-tail eating is a given, broths maintain a steadying presence in any self-respecting cantina, and soups are commonplace on most menus. We don’t eat a crazy amount of meat at home, but having homemade stock in the freezer is an ingenious fast track to flavour and goodness. Here, whether your stock is chicken or vegetable, homemade or shop-bought, the joy is in the gentle spicing, a scattering of herbs, zingy tomatillos and some lovely spring leaves. Continue reading...

New government accused of ‘performative justice’ and making deals with suspects in 2013 Tadamon massacres Ahmad al-Homsi is a deep sleeper, but when he was woken last month and told that Amjad Youssef, a Syrian intelligence officer who killed civilians in the 2013 Tadamon massacres, had been arrested, he bolted out of bed. He ran into the street to find other people already celebrating the news. “We stayed out for almost three or four days celebrating. People from neighbouring areas sent camels, sheep, livestock for us to slaughter and distribute them to people. The tears of joy didn’t stop,” said al-Homsi, a 33-year-old activist with the Tadamon Coordination Committee, which documented the atrocities in the Damascus neighbourhood. Continue reading...

Ynys Môn (Anglesey): Their breeding numbers in Wales are so low they could be extinct here in a decade. That makes each sighting all the more precious The RSPB’s Cors Ddyga reserve is truly bioluxuriant. I am lucky to live nearby and explore it often, but one particular recent visit left us thrilled by its riches, and also posed the tricky question: was there a highlight among so many unforgettable wildlife encounters? One candidate must be our dusk arrival, by way of a deep-set old lane which drops with natural purpose to the broad marsh below. As we descended, moschatel gave way to meadowsweet. Emerging then from the shadowy track to the sunset brilliance of the reeds, we felt like players emerging from the tunnel into a stadium of light. Continue reading...