They blew up a van full of banknotes. They sold high-end Ukrainian vodka to Selfridges. Now art duo Hilary Powell and Dan Edelstyn are auctioning their past works – to launch their most ambitious project to date This Saturday, artists Hilary Powell and Dan Edelstyn are auctioning off their work from the past decade and a half. The reason? To help fund a community-led renewable power station in Nigel Farage’s Clacton constituency. Former YBA Gavin Turk will be wielding the gavel and the couple hope to raise at least £250,000 for the project. The big-ticket item going under the hammer will be the remnants of a gold Ford Transit van containing £1.2m in fake banknotes that the pair blew up in London’s Docklands in 2019 as the climax – or money shot, if you will – of Bank Job, a film about their attempts to fight toxic debt culture with art, a battle that involved printing cash to wipe out more than £1m debt. Continue reading...

Addicted to your devices? According to experts, not all screen time is created equal. Here are some healthier ways to spend time online The average UK adult spends around 7.5 hours a day on a screen, whether that’s a phone, laptop, games console or TV. That figure may even be conservative, particularly for those whose jobs require them to be online. As concern around screen time mounts, the instinctive response has been to demonise it. The reality, however, is more nuanced. As the Guardian’s video games editor and author of Super Nintendo: How One Japanese Company Helped the World Have Fun, Keza MacDonald, recently put it: “Not all screen time is created equal.” Spending an hour learning a language on Duolingo is not the same as flicking through dozens of short-form videos on TikTok. Video-calling a friend is not equivalent to trolling someone on Facebook. The difference lies in how consciously we engage. Continue reading...

From infections and allergies to brain diseases and autoimmune disorders, a wave of trials offers hope Clinical trials of immunotherapies have rocketed in the past decade as researchers have turned their understanding of the body’s defences into powerful new treatments. Leading the pack are cancer therapies, but researchers have other conditions in their sights, from infections and allergies to brain diseases and autoimmune disorders. Here, we explore how these therapies work. Continue reading...

Does Puerto Rican star’s debut collection for Zara spell the end of short shorts? Men can breathe a huge sigh of relief this week, thanks to Bad Bunny, whose debut collection for fast fashion company Zara includes a pair of shockingly normal mid-thigh shorts. While for the last few years, short-shorts have threatened to make every day a leg day, the sight of the Puerto Rican star wearing shorts that come comfortably to within a few inches of the knee will signal a welcome shift for many. Continue reading...

Jane Fonda, Bruce Springsteen and Joe Biden are among the names paying tribute to host of cancelled late-night show Share your favorite memories from The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Celebrities, politicians and New Yorkers have paid their respects to Stephen Colbert as the Late Show aired its final episode on Thursday. The long-running chatshow, which started back in 1993, was cancelled last year by CBS, purportedly because of a financial decision. But many believed it was a result of the network’s increasing closenesss with Donald Trump who Colbert regularly criticised. Continue reading...

41-year-old died after hospitalization for severe illness Earnhardt, Hamlin and Gordon pay tribute Fans honor driver by donating to IVF foundation Longtime teammates, former rivals and others around the sports world have joined the wave of condolences over the sudden death of Nascar driver Kyle Busch on Thursday. Busch, a two-time Cup Series champion who was the winningest driver across the sport’s three series in history, died at 41 after being hospitalized earlier Thursday with a severe illness. No cause of death has been announced. Continue reading...

London mayor accused of ‘putting politics above public safety’ for rejecting deal to use AI in intelligence analysis UK politics live – latest updates Palantir has accused Sadiq Khan of “putting politics above public safety” after the London mayor blocked its £50m contract with the Metropolitan police in a move that has also led to tensions inside Labour over its involvement with the US tech company. Louis Mosley, who heads Palantir in the UK and Europe, accused Khan of politicising procurement after he rejected a two-year deal for Scotland Yard to use AI to process intelligence in criminal investigations, as first revealed by the Guardian. Mosley said: “What Londoners value is not being mugged, not being raped by a serving police officer.” Continue reading...

Cannes film festival: Lukas Dhont’s first world war-set gay romance is a heartfelt examination of cowardice and lives lived in secret amid the brutality of battle The word of the title is not used at any time in this film, but the relevance is clear. On the western front in the first world war, Belgian soldiers get permission to form a theatrical troupe, often in drag, to entertain their comrades when they are behind the lines and raise their morale (not entirely unlike the now despised 70s BBC TV comedy It Ain’t Half Hot Mum). The director is Lukas Dhont who explored gay and transgender issues in movies such as Girl and Close, and this story of a gay affair in the army is heartfelt and well acted, if rather earnestly researched. The motley “band of rejects”, evidently excused frontline combat duty for various reasons, is led by Francis (Valentin Campagne), a tailor in civilian life who has now ecstatically flowered in the new role the war has given him. He is exuberant, mischievous, imaginative and genuinely committed to his theatrical art. The resulting entertainments look professionally accomplished. (Did these first world war gang shows really have people playing flute and clarinet?) One stolidly handsome, shy soldier called Pierre (Emmanuel Macchia) is fascinated by these theatrical types and by Francis himself; he deliberately stabs his own hand with a bayonet on the field of battle so he can join their group. Continue reading...

The BBC series and its breakout teen stars have been lauded as a much-needed antidote to crueller, more toxic entertainment As he takes a break from searching for walnuts in the ancient forest of Arslanbob, western Kyrgyzstan, 19-year-old Kush Burman reflects on his relationship with his travelling companion and best friend, Jo Diop. “I think it’s only in the past couple of days that I’ve realised how much I value having Jo here,” he says, his eyes wet with tears. “I just really appreciate the fact that Jo’s always up for sort of looking after me, in a way. I don’t think Jo will understand, like, the difference it makes. Continue reading...

Ken Martin faces calls to resign as botched handling of postmortem of 2024 race calls leadership into question What’s in the Democrats’ 2024 election autopsy report, and what isn’t Sign up for the Breaking News US email Ken Martin, the Democratic National Committee’s party chair, delayed releasing the DNC autopsy report, a 192-page analysis on the party’s 2024 election loss, for months – now that he has released the controversial report, he is facing mounting questions and a lack of confidence in his leadership. David Hogg, the former DNC vice-chair, called on Martin to resign on Thursday. In a statement, Hogg wrote: “This autopsy and the months-long debate about even releasing the report, is a demoralizing joke … Ken Martin should resign, and the DNC should select a new leader who demonstrates competence, creativity, moral clarity, and a relentless commitment to actually changing the broken Democratic Party brand.” “Colbert is finally finished at CBS. Amazing that he lasted so long! No talent, no ratings, no life. He was like a dead person. You could take any person off of the street and they would be better than this total jerk. Thank goodness he’s finally gone!” Continue reading...

Pep Guardiola took over from Manuel Pellegrini in 2016. Here we chart the trophy-laden decade that followed … It was confirmed on 1 February that Pep Guardiola would be heading to east Manchester to try his hand at English football. Behind the scenes, plenty went on to create a squad suited to him but, in truth, it was a season of transition as the new head coach investigated who could fit into his system and what needed to change. It was soon apparent how influential the era-defining Kevin De Bruyne would be for Guardiola, as his class in midfield shone. City showed promise but finished third in the Premier League and were knocked out by Monaco in the Champions League last 16 as the new head coach began without a trophy. Continue reading...

What does a surge in ocean temperatures, compounded with El Niño, bode for the summer? An enormous marine heatwave off the US west coast is ringing alarm bells among ocean and atmospheric scientists as new data shows its ecological and environmental effects are intensifying. The unusual area of warm water has persisted since peaking in size during September 2025 and still stretches thousands of miles from the California coastline – more than halfway across the Pacific – affecting a vast triangle-shaped region of oceanic habitats from Hawaii to British Columbia and southward to Mexico. Continue reading...

Authorities are cracking down on rights activists fighting for Indigenous people threatened by authoritarianism, extractivism and climate breakdown The operation began at 9am Moscow time, but took place across all of Russia’s 11 time zones. Almost simultaneously, agents of the federal security service (FSB) raided the homes and workplaces of 17 Indigenous rights activists. Officers carried out searches, confiscated laptops and phones, and arrested and interrogated activists about participation in international forums. Most were let go; many have since left the country. Others remain in Russia, but will no longer speak up. Continue reading...

As this year’s Cannes ordinaire draws to a close, our chief critic examines what went wrong and predicts the who’ll take home the prizes – including the fabled Braddies The 2026 Cannes film festival comes to an end with an uneasy consensus that this has very much not been a vintage year. It’s a Cannes ordinaire. There has even been some dark muttering from older veterans about comparing 2026 to the dreaded 2003 Cannes, the year of Vincent Gallo’s epically embarrassing erotic road movie The Brown Bunny. Continue reading...

Hundreds of people protested outside Ireland's parliament on Thursday to express outrage at the death of a Congolese-born man after he was restrained outside a Dublin department store last week in an incident that has shocked Ireland. Yves Sakila was detained by security guards on one of the capital's busiest shopping streets on 15 May in connection with an alleged shoplifting incident, police said. He became unresponsive at the scene and was later pronounced dead. A video of the incident widely shared days later on social media showed Sakila being pinned to the ground by five men for almost five minutes as bystanders watched. Two of the men held his face to the ground and at one point one of them appeared to kneel on his head or neck for a few seconds. The incident has revived memories of George Floyd, a Black Minneapolis man killed by a police officer who kneeled on his neck for several minutes during an arrest in May 2020. Floyd's death triggered the Black Lives Matter movement in the US and sparked protests around the world against police brutality and racism. Continue reading...

The voice of some of Sister Sledge’s biggest hits is touring again, and will take on your questions Lost in Music, He’s the Greatest Dancer, Thinking of You and We Are Family – many artists would long for just one of these songs at any time in their career, but for Sister Sledge they all appeared on a single side of one of their albums. As she brings these and the rest of the disco group’s still-sensational catalogue to the Electric Paradise festival this summer, Kathy Sledge will be joining us to answer your questions. Kathy is one of four Sledge sisters along with Debbie, Joni and Kim, who formed the group as children in the mid-1960s, picking up gigs at churches and local events in their home city of Philadelphia as the Sledge Sisters. After flipping the name around, they got a record deal and their first chart success came in the UK in 1973, with the Top 20 hit Mama Never Told Me. Continue reading...

Temperatures expected to reach as high as 33C in southern England or Midlands on Monday Britain braces for long, hot traffic queues amid extra border checks Amber heat health alerts have been issued for the bank holiday weekend as record-breaking May temperatures as high as 33C (91F) are expected in parts of the UK. The alerts – which indicate a possible risk to life as well as potential damage to properties, significant travel delays and power cuts – were announced for the East Midlands, West Midlands, the east of England, London and the south-east, and will be in effect from 2pm on Friday until 5pm on Wednesday. Continue reading...

British army is 80-90% short of drones as military exercise aims to build on European defence startegy Deep in Charing Cross underground station, in the disused terminus of the Jubilee line, a secret Nato command bunker has this week been discreetly at work. Dozens of mostly British soldiers were engaged in a war game defending Estonia from a Russian invasion in 2030, unbeknownst to commuters and tourists bustling above. The secret chambers are behind two sets of normally locked, metal double doors. A red glow at the bottom of the escalator beyond is the first sign of troops below; next are mocked up newspaper covers pasted over ageing adverts. A British Nato force has deployed to Estonia they blare, in response to a Russian massing of troops on the border. Continue reading...

Judge says it is ‘disappointing’ there will have to be retrial of prisoners accused over Lostprophets singer’s death The jury in the trial of two prisoners accused of murdering the paedophile Lostprophets frontman, Ian Watkins, has been discharged for legal reasons. The disgraced singer was stabbed to death in his cell at high-security HMP Wakefield by Rico Gedel, 25. Watkins was serving a 29-year sentence for child sexual offences. Continue reading...

Targeting of foreign activists drew global outrage from governments that have not acted on violence against Palestinian detainees Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has made abuse of detained Palestinians something of a macabre calling card, celebrating cruelty publicly and often on video. During his time in office, violence including rape, extreme hunger and humiliation have been normalised in Israeli jails. Rights groups say detention centres have become “torture camps” for Palestinians. Continue reading...

US social media firms acting on orders from Middle East kingdom accused of being ‘instruments of repression’ Major US social media companies including Meta’s Facebook and Instagram platforms have blocked the accounts of Saudi Arabian dissidents so they are no longer visible inside the kingdom, following orders by Saudi authorities. Those affected include Abdullah Alaoudh, a US-based activist and vocal critic of Saudi human rights violations, and Omar Abdulaziz, a Canada and UK-based activist who worked closely with Jamal Khashoggi before the journalist’s murder by Saudi agents in 2018. Continue reading...

Forgive me if I’m not congratulating officers for investigating Andrew now – instead of, say, many years ago when they were with him in Jeffrey Epstein’s house How noble that Thames Valley police has let it be known that its misconduct-in-public-office investigation into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is also considering potential offences including corruption and sexual misconduct. On Friday, it made a public appeal for potential victims and witnesses to come forward. Obviously, the best time for the police to have started quietly asking questions was shortly after Metropolitan police officers – Andrew’s close protection detail – ferried him back from a London nightclub to a house with some other friends in their 40s, and one young-looking 17-year-old girl. Then waited outside till he decided it was time to come home. But as the saying goes: the second-best time is now. No wait, the second-best time was probably when Andrew paid a reported £12m to settle out of court with Virginia Giuffre, despite maintaining he had no recollection of meeting her. (He denies any wrongdoing.) Ach no, the second-best time was when leaked emails suggest the former prince passed his Met close protection officer Giuffre’s birthdate and US social security number and asked him to carry out checks on her. Sorry, wrong again, the second-best time was a full 12 years ago, when Giuffre alleged that she was sex trafficked to and assaulted by Andrew on that night mentioned above, as well as on two other occasions. Marina Hyde’s new book, What a Time to be Alive!, is out in September (Guardian Faber Publishing, £20). To support the Guardian, order your signed copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply. Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist 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...

His starring role in Richard Gadd’s brutal toxic masculinity series is a far cry from his days as Billy Elliot. The actor opens up about gruelling shoots, dancing on toilets – and why he can’t ever just chill out Not many actors are relieved when they have to film an eye-poppingly explicit sex scene, but that was the case with Jamie Bell on Half Man. His role involved chemsex in saunas, dogging in car parks and illicit quickies in library loos. “Honestly, I was so grateful to be shooting that stuff and not fucking 16-page dialogue scenes, where you’re emoting and it’s so intense,” says Bell. “On days when my character had to have sex with random people, I’d think: ‘Thank God!’ Frankly, it came as a welcome reprieve.” Richard Gadd’s first TV show since the Emmy-gobbling global Netflix hit Baby Reindeer, Half Man chronicles the combustible, codependent relationship between two “brothers from another lover”. Niall (Bell) is bookish, bullied and closeted. Ruben (Gadd) is the swaggeringly violent ex-con son of his mother’s girlfriend. The six-part drama – which reaches its devastating finale next week – traces the inseparable duo’s toxic relationship across three decades. Continue reading...

A lower-ABV highball that brings together cherry cola, red wine and Italy’s favourite bitter artichoke aperitif Our highball menu at Circle 13 champions lower-ABV pours for relaxed evenings of petanque. This one’s a favourite at our park takeovers, as well as a nod to the Basque-inspired pintxo kitchen at our first permanent site in east London. Marc Sarton Du Jonchay, Circle 13, London E2 Continue reading...

Forward has had a difficult final season at Anfield but his outbursts are born of the same hunger that has fired a generational talent and all-time great Mohamed Salah loves to hear stories about Steven Gerrard and Sir Kenny Dalglish from Liverpool fans who work at the training ground. He can recite his predecessors’ numbers and achievements, having spent the past nine years in pursuit of both, but what really captivates him are tales of how they became legends in the eyes of the Kop. Salah has always longed to be in that company. While that makes his recent public criticisms all the more unfortunate, it does not diminish his phenomenal achievement in reaching that goal. There is acrimony at the end of Salah’s Liverpool career as there was a degree of antipathy at the start. He will be celebrated for the relentless brilliance in between. Continue reading...