Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon Prospero is reimagined as a conductor in this superbly orchestrated version of Shakespeare’s tragicomedy Kenneth Branagh is said to have played 35 Shakespearean parts, albeit back in the day. Seeing him speaking in verse these days is something of an event, all the more so when he is making a return to the Royal Shakespeare Company after more than 30 years to take on, for the first time, Shakespeare’s magician, deposed duke and tyrant occupier. Even the king turned up for it some days ago. Branagh’s Prospero initially follows in the vein of his fast and feverish King Lear, performed in the West End in 2023. He seems to be speeding through the part rather than inhabiting it, too puckish, almost larky, rather underwhelming. It is the show itself that casts its spell through its enchanting sights, sounds and ensemble accomplishments. Richard Eyre, directing his first Shakespeare play at Stratford, does a stupendous job of bringing an overt sense of performance to the production. Continue reading...

Anne Keast-Butler will also warn of narrowing window to stay ahead of China in ‘new era of radical uncertainty’ Russia is relentlessly targeting Britain’s infrastructure and democracy while there is only a narrowing technological window to stay ahead of a fast-developing China, the head of the spy agency GCHQ will warn in a lecture on Wednesday. Anne Keast-Butler, giving an inaugural annual lecture, will say that the UK is caught in a “new era of radical uncertainty” and that “the risk of miscalculation” is as high as she has ever seen it as hacker attacks from the two states continue. Continue reading...

Two penalty shootout triumphs in the playoffs sent the Czechs to a first World Cup in 20 years and an experienced side look capable of progress This article is part of the Guardian’s 2026 World Cup Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 48 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from three countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 11 June. Continue reading...

‘Gender attractiveness gap’ appears across cultures and over centuries but difference fades away with age Women’s faces are rated as more attractive than men’s, even by other women, but the perceived gap declines with age and all but vanishes by the time people reach their 80s, researchers have said. The work appears to confirm the existence of a “gender attractiveness gap”, an observation reflected in centuries of language that present women as “the fairer sex”, “das schöne Geschlecht”, “le beau sexe”, and far more beyond Europe. Continue reading...

Experts say climate change linked to 10% rise in salmonella antibiotic resistance genes between 1940 and 2023 The climate crisis is accelerating a global increase in antibiotic resistance that poses a serious threat to human health, experts have said as figures show a rise in salmonella antibiotic resistant genes. Antibiotic resistance is one of the fastest-growing threats to global health. It can affect people of any age in any country and already kills more than 1 million people a year, according to estimates. Continue reading...

In highly unusual intervention, ex-PM says his party’s ‘almost infinite capacity for self-delusion’ makes it likely to lose next election Analysis: Tony Blair’s essay on Labour failings gets full marks for being unhelpful Tony Blair has accused Keir Starmer, Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting of putting Labour’s future at risk by abandoning the centre ground, warning that the party’s “almost infinite capacity for self-delusion” means it is likely to lose the next election. In a scathing 5,700-word attack on the prime minister and his would-be successors published on Tuesday night, Blair argued that the party’s agenda should move firmly to the right, calling for the government to crack down on welfare spending, abandon net zero goals and support Donald Trump. Continue reading...

This 20-episode take on the second world war, helmed by the Saving Private Ryan star, is a vast creation. But it still manages to wind up feeling basic – despite its great archive footage World War II with Tom Hanks opens with a sales pitch, for World War II, by Tom Hanks. “The second world war,” says he, eyeballing us in medium closeup with calm paternal authority, “is the largest event in human history. No part of the globe is unaffected. The second world war changed everything. For all of us.” Hanks is the narrator and is at the beginning and end of each of the 20 instalments, the on-screen master of ceremonies for a series that is up there with the largest documentaries in human history. Its 20-episode run invites comparisons with ITV’s monumental 1973 classic The World at War, which sprawled across 26 episodes. The new series persists in telling us that we are, together, tackling the big one. After Hanks’s introductory spiel, there is a montage that recurs at the start of subsequent episodes, with contributors underlining how massive the war’s impact was. World War II with Tom Hanks aired on Sky History and is available on Now. Continue reading...

Three lunar landings are planned for this year in preparation for the construction of a $20bn moon base Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Nasa announced on Tuesday ambitious plans for three uncrewed lunar missions this year to kickstart construction of a $20bn moon base, and said it had chosen Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin, ahead of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, to conduct the first. The revelation by Nasa’s administrator, Jared Isaacman, at a press conference in Washington DC marked the first detailed public explanation of how and when the moon base will be built. Continue reading...

Two-time Ballon d’Or winner leaves club after 14 years London City one of many clubs interested in midfielder Barcelona have announced the exit of their talismanic captain, Alèxia Putellas, after the expiration of the two-time Ballon d’Or winner’s contract at the end of the season. The 32-year-old, who was born in Mollet del Vallès, just north of Barcelona, spent 14 years at the Catalan club making 507 appearances and scoring a record 233 goals after joining from Levante in 2012 aged 18. Continue reading...

Gauff was filmed letting off steam in private area French Open champion begins defence with 6-4, 6-0 win Coco Gauff said she did not receive an apology or response from the Australian Open after she was broadcast letting off steam by breaking a racket in a private area after her quarter-final loss in January. “I mean, I didn’t get anything from my email that I know of,” Gauff said, smiling. “I know that WTA sent something, but obviously they’re different from the grand slams, just them wanting to reiterate and that they are going to talk to the slams about different private areas and things like that.” Continue reading...

Palace were demoted to Conference League by Uefa Wednesday night’s final in Leipzig is Glasner’s last game Oliver Glasner has urged Crystal Palace to win the Conference League final so they can take up the Europa League place denied them this season after they fell foul of Uefa’s multi-club ownership rules. Last year’s FA Cup winners were demoted to the Conference League after Uefa deemed John Textor had a controlling interest in Palace and Lyon, who had also qualified for the secondary competition. The south London club will face Rayo Vallecano in Leipzig on Wednesday night at the end of their first European campaign in Glasner’s last match. Continue reading...

Police officer in charge says budget could reach £19.3m and nearly 100 more investigators are needed The police criminal inquiry into the Post Office Horizon IT scandal faces a five-year delay unless it is handed millions in extra funding and nearly 100 more staff, according to the chief officer in charge. The Metropolitan police commander Stephen Clayman said he needed to nearly double the number of investigators to 210 to meet a deadline of late next year or early 2028 for submitting files to prosecutors. Continue reading...

Analysis of party’s proposed cuts also suggests it would get rid of two-thirds of psychologists who support prison staff A Reform UK plan to cut the size of the civil service would involve sacking more planning officers than exist and getting rid of at least two-thirds of the psychologists who support prison officers’ welfare, it has emerged. The policy paper, led by the Reform MP Danny Kruger and published in December, promises to save more than £5bn a year by cutting civil service roles, with the full-time-equivalent (FTE) headcount falling by 13%. Continue reading...

While the event’s movers and shakers are rich and smart, they don’t come across as caring deeply about sport I woke up in Las Vegas on Monday to an avalanche of messages from people across elite sport asking about the Enhanced Games. Some wanted to know what it was really like. Most, though, wanted to dance on its grave. So much for the organisers’ promises that we would witness multiple world records. So much for their ridiculous claim to be the “Super Bowl of athletics, swimming and weightlifting!” Hubris meet nemesis. Continue reading...

Three people have been arrested on suspicion of murder after shooting outside One Four One in the city centre A woman shot dead outside a bar in Sheffield was an innocent bystander, police say. Officers were called to the scene outside the One Four One bar on West Street in in the city centre at 2.45am on Monday after reports of a shooting. Continue reading...

Historical events like Spanish Inquisition show the ‘velocity’ at which rumours move to conviction, says Celebrity Traitors contestant History might explain why Faithfuls find it so difficult to root out Traitors in the hit BBC show, suggests one member of the Celebrity Traitors cohort, who were record-breakingly bad at the game. The roundtable – where contestants discuss who should be cast out – was somewhat “frightening” because of the “velocity in which something goes from a suspicion to belief, to faith, to condemnation”, said the broadcaster and historian David Olusoga. Continue reading...

Who was the best player, and why is it not Harry Kane? Which loanee is already a superstar? And who bottled it? A hearty pat on the back to Hoffenheim, the unexpected and unfancied top-four gatecrashers who ultimately couldn’t quite hold on. This season has been all about Bayern, though, and not just in the normal they-always-win-it way. To call them the most beloved Bayern team in a generation would be overcooking it – the club will never be universally loved, and fair enough – but Vincent Kompany’s team were not just a behemoth but an absolute joy to watch, not only irresistible but endlessly entertaining, with Harry Kane and Michael Olise as ingenious as they were consistent. So much of the club’s change of image, as a team at least, is down to Kompany, a humble and emotionally intelligent coach who gives Bayern all the regal flow of their best teams down the years – but with added humility. Continue reading...

Lawsuit filed last year by the ACLU accused Ball State University of violating Suzanne Swierc’s free speech rights A woman fired by an Indiana university over her Facebook post criticizing far-right commentator Charlie Kirk after he was killed will receive $225,000 to settle a lawsuit that accused her former employer of violating her free speech rights, the woman’s attorneys said Tuesday. The American Civil Liberties Union announced the settlement in a federal lawsuit it filed last year on behalf of Suzanne Swierc against Ball State University president Geoffrey Mearns. Continue reading...

‘Not the version of Phil Foden we saw two years ago’ Chief executive says game being damaged by demands Phil Foden and Cole Palmer missed out on this summer’s World Cup because they have been overworked, according to the chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association. Maheta Molango was speaking as new data showed that seven of the 10 players involved in the most games across Europe’s top leagues this season were at English clubs. Continue reading...

Water cannon also used at rally addressed by Özgür Özel who has been dismissed from office despite being elected Riot police in Turkey have fired teargas and water cannon to break up a rally called by ousted opposition leader Özgür Özel, days after a court dismissed him from office. The protest in Izmir on Tuesday came two days after riot police battered their way into the main opposition CHP’s headquarters in the capital, Ankara, firing teargas and beating party members before throwing them out, Özel told AFP on Sunday. Continue reading...

After his death aged 95, we look back at a remarkable catalogue of work that stretches from vivacious mid-50s sets to his evocative performance after 9/11 • News: Sonny Rollins, colossus of jazz saxophone, dies aged 95 A 30-year-old Sonny Rollins had already made his unique mark with Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk by the time this 1956 session was cut, just a year after bebop sax revolutionary Charlie Parker’s death – but hooking up with his contemporary and admirer John Coltrane happened by chance on the two-tenor blues chase of this album’s title. In a vivacious set with the Miles Davis rhythm section of the time (Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, Philly Joe Jones on drums), the leader’s already unquenchable inventiveness is in full flow on Paul’s Pal, and The Most Beautiful Girl in the World. Continue reading...

Russell Group university promises students, from chemical engineering to classics, ‘meaningful real-world experience’ A leading UK university is promising work placements to all undergraduates – regardless of their degree – to better equip them for the challenges of the current job market. In what appears to be a first for a large Russell Group institution, the University of Manchester is planning to offer “meaningful real-world experience” to all students, from classics to chemical engineering. Continue reading...

With concerns about childhood obesity and screen use sky-high, cuts to primary PE are an unforced error With remarkably poor timing, days before closing a consultation on children’s social media use, the government announced last week that it is cutting an annual £320m sports premium for primary schools in England. A new scheme worth £193m will cover secondaries too, and resurrect a previous model whereby outside clubs and coaches play a bigger role. But primary school leaders are understandably unhappy, particularly about the haste with which this is being done. Bodies including Sport England are more supportive, unsurprisingly since their role is set to grow. There will be advantages, particularly for older pupils who do not already participate in a busy round of extracurricular activities, in having the chance to make links with outside teams or clubs. But the reduction in dedicated funding for primary-school sports seems wrong-headed at a time when childhood obesity is viewed by experts as one of biggest public health challenges facing the country, and concerns about the mental and physical impacts of screen use are sky-high. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

The chancellor can point to growth and lower inflation, but weak job data, flat living standards and uncertain productivity are no reason to cheer In October 1991, the then chancellor Norman Lamont said he thought he saw some “green shoots” of recovery. He was ridiculed, as Britain was in the midst of a deep recession that it would not clamber out of until the following summer. Insouciant in the face of the scorn heaped upon him, Mr Lamont defended himself robustly, even long after the event – not least by writing letters to this newspaper. Despite this valiant defence, “green shootism” became notorious because it suggested a ruling class that was congratulating itself well before ordinary people felt a recovery. This has not stopped politicians since 2010 from claiming that Britain was bouncing back from the series of shocks it has experienced. After austerity had produced economic stagnation, George Osborne, the Tory chancellor in 2013, seized on a few quarters of growth to claim Britain was “turning a corner”. Just months before the 2024 general election, Rishi Sunak, the Conservative prime minister, said that the country was starting to see the “green shoots” of recovery. Voters resoundingly rejected that claim when Labour was elected in a landslide. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Tehran condemns ‘definitive violation’ but announces no specific reprisals as negotiations near decisive stage Middle East crisis – live updates A proposed peace agreement between Iran and the US seemed to still be in prospect on Tuesday despite US bombings of Iranian targets – the first military action by Washington since the 8 April ceasefire. The Iranian foreign ministry denounced the US attack – aimed at missile launchers and efforts to lay fresh mines in the strait of Hormuz – as “an act of bad faith” and “a definitive violation of the ceasefire”, adding that it would not leave aggression unanswered. But it conspicuously did not pull out of the talks that were continuing under the joint mediation of Pakistan and Qatar. Continue reading...