After making a spectacular punt on racing and bloodstock, the football super-agent will be hoping for a swift return There was an unexpected, jarring moment in the winner’s enclosure at Newmarket last week as Kevin Philippart de Foy, the principal trainer for the football super-agent Kia Joorabchian’s Amo Racing operation, prepared to discuss his win with Sovereign Spell in the opening race on Craven Stakes day. The familiar “huddle” of reporters was ready to hear what might come next for the three-year-old, but first, the trainer had a question of his own: was anyone there to report for the Racing Post? Amo Racing and the British turf’s trade paper, it seems, are not currently on speaking terms, for reasons best known to themselves. Continue reading...

⚽️ Premier League updates from the 8pm BST kick-off ⚽️ Latest table | Premier League review | Email Michael What was a bad weekend for Tottenham Hotspur could get a whole lot worse at Selhurst Park. Spurs could and probably should have beaten Brighton to leapfrog West Ham in the relegation but a late, late equaliser for the south-coast side – compounded by wins for Leeds and Nottingham Forest – have left Tottenham staring down the barrel with just four games to go. West Ham – with a game in hand – will stay 17th with a victory this evening but would put themselves four points clear of Spurs in 18th, an important margin given the east Londoners’ inferior goal difference. The Hammers are on something of a tear recently, revitalised under Nuno Espírito Santo, and since 17 January have the fifth best points tally in the Premier League. That they are still in the mire shows how far they had previously fallen. Continue reading...

Continue reading...

Readers respond to the Guardian’s revelation that Peter Mandelson failed developed vetting for his US ambassador post The emerging account of Peter Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador raises a question not of process, but of judgment (Revealed: Mandelson failed vetting but Foreign Office overruled decision, 16 April). The prime minister was warned repeatedly. Briefings in November and December 2024 flagged reputational risks, including well-documented associations and potential exposure if the appointment went wrong. Keir Starmer’s national security adviser raised concerns directly. Yet the appointment proceeded at pace. Security vetting did not introduce uncertainty; it confirmed it. Developed vetting, even when expedited, typically requires several weeks. Factoring in the Christmas slowdown, the effective assessment window was little more than a fortnight. A refusal reached on that timescale is unlikely to reflect marginal doubt; it suggests concerns identified early and clearly. Yet by 6 January, Mandelson was already operating with a security pass marked for developed vetting access. The system was behaving as if clearance were assured before the decision had been taken. Continue reading...

Readers react to the speech Simon Tisdall has suggested King Charles should make to Congress when he visits the US Thank you for Simon Tisdall’s well-crafted article incorporating an alternative draft speech for delivery by King Charles to the US Congress later this month (Protocol be damned: here’s what King Charles should say on his visit to the US, 12 April). While many readers would agree with the gist of Tisdall’s draft, I and many others would also welcome the inclusion of even sharper, targeted criticism of key individuals in the current US administration, including Donald Trump. Such direct confrontation appears to be the only tactic that gives Trump even the slightest pause for thought in relation to his most recent ludicrous statement or action. Continue reading...

Prof Kim Solga responds to an article by an A-level student who wonders how attitudes will change if students aren’t taught the reality of British colonial history Astrid Barltrop makes a powerful case for why the British history curriculum is long overdue for a proper reckoning with the reality of empire and its ongoing legacy (How will attitudes change if students like me aren’t taught the truth about British colonial history?, 16 April). As a Canadian arriving to teach drama at a Russell Group university in 2012, I was staggered at how little students knew of Indigenous people’s history and the contemporary struggle for reconciliation in former settler colonies such as Canada. Continue reading...

Trig points | Learning with Yes Minister | A swipe at government | Flyer failure | Public toilets Your report (Campaigners seek listed status for historic trig points that mapped Britain, 16 April) didn’t mention the Vanessa trig point – Vanessa being a corruption of the Venesta company, which made cardboard tubes into which the concrete for the pillars was poured. These were designed for less accessible places, mostly in the Scottish Highlands and Islands. I was never less than half exhausted when I met one. Margaret Squires St Andrews, Fife • Who knew Yes Minister was a documentary (Letters, 19 April)? My friend Graham Fortune did. He was a New Zealand public servant and diplomat. On their first day working for the public service, he would tell new recruits to watch the programme as an essential part of their training. Penelope Horner Whitchurch, Hampshire Continue reading...

Coach comes out of five-man shortlist to land role Will aim to help England lift Rugby League World Cup The former Leeds Rhinos coach Brian McDermott will be named as Shaun Wane’s successor as head coach of the England men’s national team later this week. McDermott, the most successful coach in Super League history having guided Leeds Rhinos to eight major honours during his time with the club, has seen off interest from the likes of Sam Burgess and the current Rhinos coach, Brad Arthur, to land the honour of taking England to this autumn’s Rugby League World Cup in Australia. Continue reading...

The 7 May elections in Great Britain promise to be a rout for Labour and the Tories. If you need to vote tactically to stop Nigel Farage’s party, make sure you trust your neighbours If there’s one thing I love more than being canvassed at local election time, it’s being canvassed when I’m at someone else’s house. I promise those people the earth. Sure, my friend whose house it is will definitely vote Lib Dem, I tell them; I once saw him make a chicken salad to take on a protest march. When a Green campaigner came to my sister’s front door, I confidently promised her a hard yes from both the adult kids, a definitely-maybe from my brother-in-law and the shoo-in of my sister. Given that there are three councillors in her ward, that was between nine and 12 more votes than the Greens had had a second before. Continue reading...

Rose signs three-year deal that starts in the summer His previous clubs include Borussia Dortmund Bournemouth have confirmed that Marco Rose will replace Andoni Iraola as their head coach this summer. Iraola is stepping away at the end of his contract and Rose has signed a three-year contract to take his first Premier League club manager’s job. Bournemouth said: “The 49-year-old arrives on the south coast with a wealth of experience at the highest level of European football, having managed Red Bull Salzburg, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Borussia Dortmund, and RB Leipzig. Continue reading...

Oil and gas prices have jumped again as shipping through the strait of Hormuz came to a virtual standstill after Iran closed the waterway over the US blockade and Donald Trump announced an Iranian cargo ship had been seized trying to get past. Tehran has accused Washington of violating the fragile ceasefire agreement. With uncertainty over a second round of peace talks, fears continue to grow about the scale of the energy shock caused by the war. Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian’s energy correspondent Jillian Ambrose Continue reading...

Cutting UPFs from our grocery list was expensive, laborious and time-consuming Grocery shopping looks different these days. On Saturday mornings, instead of the local supermarket, I’m at the farmers’ market, loading up on fish, meat, apples, cheese and berries – enough for a family of four. But it’s not a cheap excursion; our weekly grocery spend is now higher than it was when we decided to try to cut ultra-processed foods (UPFs) from our diet five years ago. In 2021, we spent $158.63 on cereal; in 2025, the total was $34.34. Our yoghurt costs went from $260.29 in 2021 to $24.27 in 2025. We no longer buy protein bars, which cost us $261.04 in 2021. Our peak expenditure on frozen chicken tenders was in 2020, when we spent $159.76. For the past two years we haven’t bought any. Butter more than quadrupled between 2021 and 2025, to $234.22. The total in the sugar column went from $9.47 to $83.10 (I did a lot more baking last year). The biggest leap was for fruit and vegetables: $2,578.32 in 2021 became $5,706.36 last year. In 2021, we started buying meat that was humanely raised by farmers and ranchers using regenerative agriculture practices. We spent a lot in this category, almost $2,500 on raw beef and chicken (the previous year, we spent about $1,500). The following year, 2022, we dropped our meat expenditure down to about $1,000 by eating a lot less of it, and more dried beans. Continue reading...

In run-up to May local elections, the Green party is reaching people who may not normally attend a political speech It was a Sunday evening at one of Leeds’ biggest nightclubs, hot and humid, like walking into a jungle. Dancers pulsated shoulder to shoulder along with the music, riding the optimism of a good night out to come. But the 2,000-plus crowd gathered at Beaver Works were not only there to enjoy house music and abandon themselves to whatever the evening held, they were there to support the local branch of their favourite political party. Continue reading...

Circuit of approximately 18km to finish on the Mall GB’s Cat Ferguson among favourites for yellow jersey London will provide the backdrop for a landmark moment in cycling history as it hosts the first team time trial in the women’s Tour de France next year. The best riders in the women’s peloton will race against the clock, as teams, on a central London circuit of approximately 18km, passing the Houses of Parliament, London Eye and Tower Bridge, and culminating in a finish on the Mall. Continue reading...

Tice’s image on X was almost certainly generated or altered using AI, according to Peryton Intelligence In a picture of a blue-skyed day in Birmingham, a diverse group of Reform supporters gathered with placards and cheesy grins to knock on doors for their party. Richard Tice, the party’s deputy leader, posted the picture as evidence of the activists’ commitment through thick and thin. “That is what resilience looks like,” he wrote. “This is what belief looks like.” Continue reading...

Bets placed on Middle East conflict has led to US firm experiencing big increase in volume Polymarket, the online prediction platform that hosts bets on events such as the Iran war, is in talks to raise $400m (£296m) at a valuation of up to $15bn. The company has gained notoriety in recent months over wagers placed on the Middle East conflict, including on the timing of US-Israel strikes against Iran, and on a US-Iran ceasefire, some of which appeared to bear signs of insider trading. Continue reading...

Manchester City eked a win by the slimmest of margins on Sunday, setting up a season finale that will be determined by nerves Sign up for the World Behind The Cup newsletter It was probably Arsenal’s best performance in two months, but that will be scant consolation. Manchester City’s win on Sunday leaves Pep Guardiola’s side in control of the title race; they will go top of the Premier League on goal difference if they beat Burnley at Turf Moor on Wednesday. Both sides will then have five games to play. Sunday’s game was decided by desperately fine margins. What prevented Eberechi Eze’s whipped shot from just outside the box going in? An inch? Half of one? Gabriel also struck the woodwork, while Kai Havertz headed a great chance a fraction over the crossbar in injury time. It was a defeat that has handed City the advantage in the title race, but it could very easily have been a battling draw to preserve Arsenal’s lead and, perhaps more importantly, restore morale. This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look from the Guardian US at the game in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Have a question for Jonathan? Email soccerwithjw@theguardian.com, and he’ll answer the best in a future edition Continue reading...

Mercedes principal confident F1 will find way forward Changes have come in for heavy criticism this year The Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is confident Formula One will find a constructive way forward in an approach of using a “scalpel rather than a baseball bat”, as the sport’s leaders meets on Monday to agree changes to the new regulations which have come in for considerable criticism over the opening three races this year. Technical and sporting considerations have been discussed twice since the last round in Japan and on Monday the senior representatives, including the FIA, team principals and their CEOs, the power-unit manufacturers and F1’s CEO Stefano Domenicali met to agree the changes, which remain subject to ratification by the world motorsport council. It is expected this will be in time for the next round in Miami on 3 May. Continue reading...

Morris pursued dual passions of zoology and surrealist art, presenting BBC documentaries and hosting exhibitions The zoologist Desmond Morris, perhaps best known for his book the Naked Ape and his work on the ITV programme Zoo Time, has died aged 98. Morris’s son Jason paid tribute to him after his death on Sunday, praising his many professional achievements as well as his role as a father and grandfather. Continue reading...

Fish swam further and dispersed more widely after exposure to environmental levels of drug and main metabolite Traces of cocaine that pollute rivers and lakes may accumulate in the brains of salmon and disrupt their behaviour, according to researchers who warn of unknown consequences for fish populations. Juvenile Atlantic salmon that were artificially exposed to the drug and its main breakdown product swam further and dispersed more widely across a lake, suggesting the substances can affect where the fish go, what they eat and how vulnerable they are to predators. Continue reading...

In the summer of 1971, I left behind my comfortable family home with a tent, rations and a Women’s Weekly cutting of Princess Caroline of Monaco Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email At 15 I proved the maxim: “hire a teen while they still know everything”. That summer of 1971, I judged the world and concluded that civilisation was meh, and surely doomed. So with the zeal of the truly clueless I resolved to try living off the land, and left behind my comfortable family home and smirking parents. Continue reading...

Study shows signature changes more pronounced in people with genetic risk, raising hopes for new therapies Changes to microbes that live in the gut can identify people at greater risk of Parkinson’s disease long before symptoms develop, according to work that also raises hopes for new therapies. Researchers discovered signature changes in the gut microbiome that are more pronounced in people with a genetic risk for Parkinson’s and even more stark in those diagnosed with the disease. Continue reading...

Social media users have been extolling the virtues of going to bed early and giving yourself lots to do there before you drift off. But should our beds just be reserved for sleep and sex? Name: Bedtime stacking. Age: Of the moment. Continue reading...

PM tells MPs he was wrong to appoint Peter Mandelson ambassador to US in his update to parliament Judgment day for PM over Mandelson scandal At his press conference Nigel Farage was asked about reports saying that Keir Starmer knew about the security concerns about Peter Mandelson that led to him failing his security vetting interview. That was a reference to the Telegraph splash, which says: Senior Whitehall sources told The Telegraph that the UKSV [UK Security Vetting] findings largely restated security risks that had already been drawn to Sir Keir’s attention. One senior source with knowledge of the process said: “The reality is that Starmer had already been warned about the major risks and he had waved them away.” Sources have told The Independent that MI6 failed to clear the Labour peer largely because of concerns over his business links to China. However, there were also worries that his past links to the disgraced financier and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein “would compromise him”. It’s impossible for the prime minister to say the warning lights weren’t flashing. And if you were prime minister and there were news reports last September that your ambassadorial choice had failed vetting, you would have thought perhaps he might have had some curiosity to try to find out whether this had really happened or not. I just find the whole thing totally incredible. Incredible. There is no way the prime minister couldn’t have known. The Labour backbenchers are not yet of a mood to get rid of their prime minister, although after 7 May they just might be. Continue reading...

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