From passionate romantasy novels to premium television dramas, culture is bringing the agency, desires and interior lives of women to the fore. It’s proving good for business, but is this a permanent revolution? Do you voraciously read the pages of steamy romantasy bestsellers by Sarah J Maas or Rebecca Yarros? Or flood your group chat with breathless recaps of the latest goings-on in TV series such as Heated Rivalry or Bridgerton? Or even immerse yourself in the divisive and challenging cinematic worlds of Emerald Fennell? If so, you surely can’t have failed to notice that in pop culture, the female gaze – storytelling that highlights the meandering, textured, sublimely messy inner worlds and wants of women – is enjoying an explosion. On TV, you can see it everywhere, in the interior lives and desires taken up by Big Little Lies, Sirens or Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington’s Little Fires Everywhere. Romantasy harbours it in the shape of powerful maidens and sex in fae (fairy) realms, while Fennell’s Wuthering Heights and Promising Young Woman are marketed with the promise of converting women’s experiences into dark beauty on the big screen. Continue reading...

All good? Busy day? Small talk is a social good with a bad reputation. We dread it, but it’s vital for human connection Hi there, how’re you? How’s it going? You alright? All good? As any Briton knows, none of these questions is an inquiry into your emotional state, the material conditions of your life or your opinion on anything. Respond positively – “all good so far, touch wood” is nice – then move on to the purpose of the interaction: “I’m returning an Amazon package?” Bidisha is a broadcaster, critic and journalist for BBC, Channel 4 and Sky News Continue reading...

Deputy leader ran shell companies that reportedly did not pay tax on profits from 2020 to 2022, during which time his firm donated £1.1m to party Richard Tice allegedly failed to pay almost £100,000 in corporation tax to the benefit of his investment company, which in turn made donations to Reform UK, it has been reported. In response to the report in the Sunday Times, the deputy leader of Reform UK posted a lengthy statement on X, in which he said: “A long career with multiple businesses is bound to feature some errors. Naturally I am always happy to put things right and if numbers need rechecking, of course I will pay what is owed – be that more or less.” Continue reading...

Holiday park firms say such bookings are on the rise because of impact of Iran war on aviation Holiday companies have predicted a surge in bookings for UK summer breaks after a jump in interest from Britons fearful of flight cancellations linked to the Iran war. Summer bookings are expected to rise in the coming weeks amid warnings of possible jet fuel shortages and resulting cancellations by airlines across Europe. Continue reading...

The Charlatans frontman plays Kate Bush deep cuts in his car and loves a bit of Abba, but which scary industrial noiseniks soundtrack his sexy time? The first single I bought I remember seeking out Long Haired Lover from Liverpool by Little Jimmy Osmond when I was six. I bought it from Rumbelows on Northwich High Street – it sold washing machines, TVs, blenders and the Top 40 7-inch singles at the back. The song I inexplicably know every lyric to I’ve long been obsessed by Steve Ignorant from Crass. I’ve had various stalls at record markets over the years, and at one, this guy came up and said: “Do you really know the lyrics to all Crass songs?” He tried to catch me out by singing Do They Owe Us a Living?, but I knew them from start to finish. Continue reading...

⚽ Today’s games | Latest tables | Premier League top scorers ⚽ Follow us on Bluesky | And you can get in touch with Tom If you want to get in touch about anything and everything from the weekend’s football, you can via matchday.live@guardian.co.uk or in the comments section below the line. At the Bridge, Liam Rosenior admitted that Chelsea have a mountain to climb after a 1-0 defeat by Manchester United put another dent in their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League. Continue reading...

The vice-president has endured his most humiliating – and damaging – week as his boss’s fall guy. How much more can Maga’s great hope take? For a would-be president, JD Vance has an unfortunate habit of getting into fights he cannot win. Three losing battles in the past week – with Iranian negotiators, Hungarian voters and Pope Leo – brought censure, humiliation and mockery raining down on his head. None were of Vance’s choosing. All were fought vicariously on Donald Trump’s behalf. The vice-president is paying a high price for sycophantic loyalty to his boss. His poll ratings are plunging. His Maga succession hopes falter. He suffers by association – although his own inflammatory statements and misjudgments often make matters worse. Yet amid growing doubts about Trump’s mental health and fitness to govern, Vance remains the White House’s next-in-line. Simon Tisdall is a Guardian foreign affairs commentator Continue reading...

Exclusive: George Robertson calls on officials to identify the ‘fit and willing’ in UK’s 95,000-strong strategic reserve The Ministry of Defence has lost track of military veterans they intend to recall at a time of national danger, according to a key government adviser. About 95,000 former soldiers and officers are in the strategic reserve but it is claimed that officials have failed to maintain a full record of their contact details. Continue reading...

Filings suggest manufacturers’ lending arms have massively underestimated bill from FCA’s £9.1bn redress scheme Carmakers are under pressure to drum up £3bn to cover payouts for motor finance scandal victims after failing to adequately prepare for a UK-wide compensation scheme that is due to begin this summer. Company filings show the lending arms of big vehicle manufacturers including Ford, BMW, Stellantis and Volkswagen may have massively underestimated the final costs of the financial regulator’s £9.1bn redress scheme. Continue reading...

The opera – about the hijacking of a cruise by the PLF who murder a Jewish American wheelchair user – has been subject to protests and accused of romanticising terrorism. Why was the film-maker so desperate to stage it? In a rehearsal room perched above the labyrinthine backstage of Florence’s starkly contemporary Maggio Musicale Fiorentino theatre, Luca Guadagnino is showing the women of the chorus how to make a second-act entrance. Dressed in a slouchy cardigan and slacks, the Italian director runs forward and stops short at a line of tape indicating the rim of the stage. A little out of breath, he turns past stretching dancers to conductor Lawrence Renes and asks if he minds the sound of stamping feet. “I never mind when we hear them talk, walk, breathe,” Renes says. “It’s live theatre.” Better known for films like After the Hunt, Challengers and Call Me By Your Name, Guadagnino still sometimes punctuates stage rehearsals with instinctive cries of “Cut!” and “Action!”. But today he is directing an opera. It’s his second ever and his first in more than 15 years – and a highly controversial one to boot. The Death of Klinghoffer, a 1991 opera with music by John Adams and libretto by Alice Goodman, has sparked accusations of antisemitism whenever and wherever it has been performed. It depicts the 1985 hijacking of the cruise ship Achille Lauro by the Palestinian Liberation Front, their murder of disabled Jewish American tourist Leon Klinghoffer, and the grief and rage of his wife, Marilyn. The story is placed in a historical, even mythic, context. Continue reading...

Breakthrough prize in Life Sciences awarded to team who developed Luxturna therapy, which helped a patient see their child’s face for the first time A married couple who met over a dissected brain and went on to create the first approved gene therapy for blindness have been awarded one of the most lucrative prizes in science. Molecular biologist Jean Bennett and ophthalmologist Albert Maguire share the $3m (£2.2m) Breakthrough prize for life sciences with physician Katherine High for the 25-year-long project, during which the couple adopted a pair of dogs they had treated for blindness. Continue reading...

Staff at outlets critical of Tehran have faced chilling intimidation and violence, amid calls for greater protection and support Iranian journalists working in London say they fear for their lives after a recent spate of threats and physical attacks, which they blame on a Tehran regime intent on silencing Persian-language news media such as BBC Persian and Iran International. On Wednesday, the London offices of Iran International, a news channel that opposes the regime in Tehran, were the target of an attempted arson attack, with an “ignited container” thrown into the car park of a neighbouring building, according to the Metropolitan police. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Former Scottish Labour leader says she feels more scared as a lesbian today and calls for a kinder debate on transgender issues Kezia Dugdale, the former leader of Scottish Labour, says she is now “quite scared” as a lesbian in Britain and has started to feel nervous holding her wife’s hand in public. Speaking to the Guardian in Edinburgh on the announcement of her appointment as the chair of Stonewall, the LGBTQ+ charity, she said it was “completely possible” gay rights in the UK could be eroded with the rise of rightwing populism. Continue reading...

From a beachside bothy to a Highland bunkhouse and lochside inn, here are some of Scotland’s bonniest boltholes With its cheery, cherry-red tin roof, you can’t miss the sturdy stone bothy on the Ben Damph estate. The family-owned 5,868-hectare (14,500-acre) estate nudges up to Loch Torridon, and the bothy, constructed from the ruins of an old black house (a traditional thatched home), has views over the loch to the mountains beyond. Restored by a team of stonemasons, it has two rooms (each sleeping two) warmed by log burners. The furniture has been made from the estate’s timber by a local cabinet maker. Between the two rooms is a “sitooterie” with picture windows framing views over to Ben Alligin. There’s no electricity, but there is running water and a gas-powered hot shower next to the bothy; a compost loo is in the garden. Sleeps 4, from £342.50 for two nights, bendamph.com Continue reading...

As excitement mounts for the 2026 event on 26 April fraudsters are cashing in by trying to persuade disappointed hopefuls they can run after all You didn’t get a place for the London marathon on the ballot and had given up on the hope of taking part this year. But then someone in a discussion group on your running app posts that they are injured and are selling their place. After contacting them on WhatsApp, they say they can transfer the place once you pay £79 via bank transfer, and give your full name and email address. Continue reading...

Barack Obama and Helen Mirren contribute to Queen Elizabeth II: Her Story, Our Century. Plus: David Attenborough’s delightful tour of British backyards continues. Here’s what to watch this evening 9pm, BBC One Continue reading...

The Victoria Cross recipient faces five charges of war crime murder over allegations he killed unarmed civilians during his service with the Australian SAS in Afghanistan Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Alleged war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith says he has “never run from a fight in my life” as he denied war crime murder charges relating to the shooting deaths of five unarmed civilians. In his first public comments since being arrested on 7 April, Roberts-Smith spoke to the media from the Gold Coast, where he has been bailed ahead of a possible trial. Continue reading...

Your history of being picked on at school has a lot do with your feelings of being ‘faulty’. Getting involved in a group of mixed ages would help avoid memories of childhood I’m in my late 30s and have a beautiful two-year-old boy and a supportive husband. But when I take my son out I feel like a rejected teenager again, surrounded by groups taking their kids out together. I had friends when I was younger, but moved schools as a teenager and was badly bullied. It affected my confidence to the point I was painfully shy through most of university. I thought I was ugly, stupid, unlikable and found it hard to make friends. Then I moved to London, where it was also hard to make friends. Continue reading...

This place is about so much more than just a portobello mushroom in a white bap masquerading as dinner Holy Carrot has, cough, taken root in Spitalfields, east London. It’s the second sprouting from this plant-based restaurant with a name that’s especially hard to sell to meat-loving friends. “Please come with me to a vegan restaurant,” one might say. “It’s not one of those pious places, honest! Oh, um, the name? Holy Carrot.” In fairness, though, it’s generally tricky to cajole meaty people to venture anywhere vegan or even vegetarian, because there’s always a sense that your steak addict acquaintance is enduring their meal “as an experiment”, and despite quite charitably being “willing to be convinced”. Sigh … it’s exhausting. Still, chef Daniel Watkins’ first Holy Carrot restaurant over in Notting Hill has made its name over the past couple of years as a place where you can take a mixed group without someone throwing a tantrum about the dearth of pork chops. Watkins’ preference for live-fire cooking and fermentation led to the likes of roast aubergine with koji mole, smoked tofu stracciatella with rhubarb nam jim, artichoke schnitzel with pickles and curry sauce and sweet potato with corn miso butter. Take your miso-Marmite koji bread, scoop it though some smoked mushroom chilli ragu, then take a sip of your black walnut gimlet to put a sparkle in your eye, or even just a Holy Carrot 0% spritz with no-waste carrot molasses. Continue reading...

As the zoo celebrates its 200th birthday, photographer David Levene captures the people keeping their (sometimes very dangerous) patients healthy and happy. Introduction: Patrick Barkham • Some images may be upsetting to young audiences How do you shift a sedated rhino? Can a dormouse be drugged? What happens to a lion with an unusually small ear canal? How does the world’s longest venomous snake respond to treatment? Continue reading...

Winning robot records faster time than Jacob Kiplimo’s world record More than 100 robots run in parallel tracks to avoid collisions with humans Dozens of Chinese-made humanoid robots showed off their fast-improving athleticism as they whizzed past human runners in a half-marathon race in Beijing on Sunday, having lagged far behind a year earlier. The race’s inaugural edition last year was riddled with mishaps, as many robots struggled to get off the starting line, and most were unable to finish. Continue reading...

Troops frequently use substances to help cope with untreated PTSD and anxiety, producing a negative spiral Seven years clean, Oleksandr believed he had left addiction behind. Then, a year into fighting Russia, the Ukrainian soldier was prescribed painkillers for a shoulder injury. Under the strain of war, he relapsed and quickly began using stronger illicit opioids. “From that moment, I was fighting two wars – one inside myself and one with Russia,” he said, speaking at a rehabilitation facility in Kyiv. Oleksandr relapsed into addiction after treatment for a shoulder injury sustained during fighting. Continue reading...

Yes, we should all cut our loved ones some slack. But asking me to listen attentively to my husband’s football chat – and mirror it back to him – is definitely a step too far How do you tell the difference between a sign from the universe and a coincidence? It’s been a challenging couple of weeks in my house, because my husband has been Going Through Something. In other words, Arsenal FC have been up to their old tricks. He’s their most ardent fan, a cheap seats season ticket holder (he can only see half the pitch). I stay out of it, mainly, viewing it as a vaguely amusing masochistic hobby, which probably bodes well for me in a general sense since he remains devoted even though they almost always disappoint, if not devastate him. Recently, he has been particularly despondent. Yet again, Arsenal were on the brink of triumph, and then started playing as if they were an out of shape pub five-a-side team mistakenly welcomed on to the pitch, like that man who was waiting in the BBC reception for a job interview and ended up live on air. The Guardian’s latest match report compares this season to “watching somebody have their toenails very slowly peeled off with a set of pruning secateurs”. Continue reading...

Xavier Giannoli says criticism that Les Rayons et les Ombres invites sympathy for characters is ‘profoundly dishonest’ The director of a box office hit film about Nazi collaboration and its Oscar-winning star have described criticisms they have whitewashed wartime atrocities as dishonest and “a scandal”. Xavier Giannoli and the actor Jean Dujardin were responding to a bitter row that has divided French historians over the film Les Rayons et les Ombres (Rays and Shadows), which recounts the story of the wartime press baron Jean Luchaire. Continue reading...

In joint statement, the three countries call for lasting solution to crisis, without explicitly mentioning the US and its oil blockade Mexico, Spain and Brazil have voiced concern about the “dramatic situation” in Cuba, which has faced months of pressure from US president Donald Trump, with the trio urging “sincere and respectful dialogue”. Without explicitly mentioning the US, the three leftist-led countries expressed on Saturday “deep concern regarding the grave humanitarian crisis that the people of Cuba are enduring, and call for the adoption of necessary measures to alleviate this situation”. Continue reading...