Machines may soon translate every conversation flawlessly. But language is more than information – it is curiosity, intimacy and cultural discovery One of my earliest assignments as a young interpreter was to provide simultaneous interpretation for the proceedings of an ecumenical council that brought together all Christian denominations. As my homework, I dutifully read scripture, the gospels, papal encyclicals and the conclusion of the first council of Nicaea. There was, however, one thing I had not foreseen. Mass was held not in the conference hall, but in the church itself, where there were no booths and the interpreter was required to stand discreetly on the altar. Here, translation alone would not suffice – the interpreter had to perform the part of the priest, with his unmistakable clerical timbre, the arms outstretched then folded in prayer, the gaze repeatedly lifted towards heaven. Continue reading...

Barenaked bell ringers, banned opera singers and mind-boggling dog-owner relationships … the art at this year’s biennale has people calling the cops She’s famous for her extreme performances and Florentina Holzinger upped the ante yet again in Venice with a postapocalyptic pavilion that opened with her suspended upside down from the clappers of a large bell. Inside, there was a woman riding a speedboat in circles, two others suspended at the top of a pole and another sitting entirely submerged in a tank. Oh, and no one was wearing any clothes. Viewers were invited to use two toilets so that their urine could be purified and pumped into the tank – but what looked like a sewage disaster in another section of the pavilion suggested that this project threatened to go dangerously awry. The whole thing was so transgressive that four cops turned up when I was watching to ask what the hell was going on. It was immediately the talk of the town. AN • Austrian pavilion, Giardini della Biennale Continue reading...

Jack Thorne’s headline-grabbing drama about toxic masculinity is the clear favourite. But might the odds be stacked against it? Here is our guide to the worthiest winners This year, the Bafta TV Awards feel relatively young at 71. After all, David Attenborough has just turned 100, and August marks the 90th anniversary of BBC television. But Sunday’s ceremony is a long-established and recognised celebration of the state of British TV – which isn’t always easy to predict. The frontrunner for this year’s awards – featuring new host Greg Davies – is Adolescence, which has 11 nominations. But its chances may be affected by the qualifying period for shows – the previous calendar year – meaning entries aired between 17 and five months ago. Given that Adolescence was dropped by Netflix on 13 March last year, some voters may conclude that it has already been honoured enough. (At last month’s separate Craft awards, it surprisingly lost the Writer category to Slow Horses.) Continue reading...

More than 190 people have been killed in such strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Pacific The US military on Friday said it struck a vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing two people and leaving one survivor in the latest attack on boats suspected of transporting narcotics. This brings the death toll from strikes on such vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific to more than 190 people since September. A video posted by the US Southern Command shows the vessel traveling through the water being hit by what appears to be a missile. The screen momentarily goes black and then shows the boat engulfed in flames. Continue reading...

At the age of 17, Simon Burstall documented the burgeoning underground rave scene of 1990s Sydney. Armed with borrowed school cameras and stealing away from home in the early hours of the morning in the family car, Simon found community and a career that would change him forever. ‘93: Punching the Light was published by Damiani in 2019. Continue reading...

US judge says halt of $100m in funds allotted by Congress for scholars, writers and research illegal and discriminatory A federal judge ruled on Thursday that the terminations of hundreds of humanities grants last year by the Trump administration’s so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) were unconstitutional and involved “blatant” discrimination. In April last year, Donald Trump’s administration terminated more than 1,400 grants, representing more than $100m in congressionally appropriated funds awarded to scholars, writers, research institutions and other humanities organizations. The terminations were part of a cost-cutting drive that billionaire Elon Musk was leading at Doge. Continue reading...

This week, Jewish Australians have spoken about how displays of hostility, discrimination and the Bondi terror attack have changed their lives and their feelings about their place in the community The narrow benches of the public gallery are filled. They have come from all over to offer their testimony, to support friends, to give and receive comfort. They come too, to listen. This, in this small, quiet room, is Australia’s attempt to reckon with the violent modern manifestation of an ancient bigotry. Continue reading...

Men were convicted in Miami federal court for plotting to kill Jovenel Moise at his Port-au-Prince home in 2021 Four south Florida men were convicted on Friday of plotting to kill Haitian president Jovenel Moise in 2021 by hiring mercenaries to assassinate him at his Port-au-Prince home, court records show. Prosecutors argued during the nine-week trial in a Miami federal court that the men assembled two dozen former Colombian soldiers and supplied them with money, guns, ammunition and tactical vests in a conspiracy to kill Moise. The 53-year-old president was shot dead in July 2021 at his private residence in the hills above Port-au-Prince, a killing that left a gaping political vacuum in the Caribbean nation and emboldened powerful gangs. Continue reading...

In the coming days I will be setting out our path to break with the status quo once and for all by building a stronger and fairer UK These were very tough election results. It hurts to lose brilliant local candidates and leaders – friends and colleagues who represent the best of the Labour party. I take responsibility for that and feel it very deeply. It is right we reflect and learn the right lessons. While the results will understandably lead to much debate about what’s changed in British politics, that should not overshadow the fact that for years voters have been deeply frustrated with the status quo – constantly hoping that things will get better and that politics will deliver real change in their lives. Keir Starmer is the UK prime minister Continue reading...

Salah’s claims about a winning culture spark reaction as City manager rows back on his perfect-finish stance Continue reading...

The 40th edition of the EFL playoffs started not so much with a bang, but with the kind of tension-filled evenings we have come to expect from the business end of the season. And at the end of a gripping evening in East Yorkshire, the respective Premier League dreams of both Hull and Millwall remains alive before rivalries being renewed in south London on Monday night. At half-time in two-legged ties like these, it is perhaps common to take stock and assess who is better placed to get the job done and reach the final. The smart answer here would be Millwall, given they head back south level at 0-0 in the tie and they have the chance to get the job done in front of their own fans. Continue reading...

Reform, Greens and pro-Gaza independents make significant gains, although no party has yet won majority Elections mapped: how Labour lost ground in different directions Latest news updates and analysis from election night The Labour party’s 14-year leadership in Birmingham has come to an end after Reform, Greens and pro-Gaza independents made significant gains in the UK’s second-largest city. No party has yet won an overall majority at Birmingham city council, one of Europe’s largest local authorities, with the results reflecting wider political fragmentation across England. Continue reading...

Head coach Álvaro Arbeloa is facing the bitterest of ends as faint hopes are set to be extinguished by fiercest rivals The vice-captain was taken to hospital for stitches having been laid out by his midfield partner. Another midfielder said he wouldn’t play any more; as if he was going to play anyway. The manager wasn’t asking for much, just that they didn’t swan out there as if wearing tuxedos, and that’s still asking too much. The centre-back hit the left-back. The winger fell out with the last coach. The captain fell out with this coach. And the superstar, already accused of not caring, swanning off to Sardinia, drives out of the training ground, past the cameras and away from the whole sorry mess, laughing his head off. Now here’s Barcelona. You think things can’t get any worse but things can always get worse. The most painful week anyone could remember, maybe the biggest, most public crisis they have ever had, concludes with Real Madrid travelling to the Camp Nou on Sunday for the clásico. If they don’t win, and few believe they can given the football they play and the faultlines that run through their dressing room, they will watch Barcelona become champions with three games left, going down as the flames go higher and history is made. It would be the first time in 94 years a meeting of sport’s great rivals decides the title – only this title has long been decided, both cause and consequence of the turmoil Madrid are in. Continue reading...

Whimsical film shows relay of animals carrying centennial card from Balmoral Castle to naturalist in London King Charles has featured in a surprise birthday tribute to David Attenborough, with a cast of wild animals helping to relay his handwritten congratulatory centenary card. The whimsical film, A Very Special Delivery, begins with the king writing his tribute in the library of Balmoral Castle. Charles, wearing an animal-themed tie featuring elephants, reflects on more than 60 years of friendship with the renowned naturalist. Continue reading...

Djokovic loses in three sets to Dino Prizmic in Rome ‘Not ideal preparation’ for French Open later this month Novak Djokovic believes he must accept the “new reality” of his continuous physical struggles in the latter part of his career as his return to competition after an injury-ravaged clay-court season ended in a second-round Italian Open loss to the young Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic, who recovered courageously from a set down to topple his idol 2-6, 6-2, 6-4. Djokovic has not competed since the Indian Wells Masters event two months ago, his only other tournament since his spectacular run to the Australian Open final. As the fourth seed in Rome, he received a first-round bye. Despite starting the match positively, the 38-year-old was outplayed by his 20-year-old opponent, who wore the Serb down physically and played bold tennis to escape with the greatest victory of his career. Continue reading...

Brooklyn Storehouse, New York City The viral star electrified Brooklyn with winking visuals, self-aware humor and a slew of special guests From the look of the crowd at PinkPantheress’s show in Brooklyn last night, you’d be forgiven for thinking that King Charles had extended his recent trip to New York. The crowd that snaked its way through a never-ending circuit of cracked asphalt and grimy water on their way to Brooklyn Storehouse wore union jacks and tartan miniskirts, which you could imagine would be in line with royal protocol for how to dress when a sovereign visits a warehouse rave. PinkPantheress is certainly royalty among a vast swath of young, terminally online people; a pop princess who is mainstream enough to clinch top billing at Coachella and perform on primetime TV, but whose taste has always leaned more niche and left-field than anything that would ever go platinum. Or would it? Pop music is always in a state of flux but we’re living through an interesting period of realignment. Chalk it up to AI backlash, a floundering music industry or fatigue with chart-gaming reindeer games, but lately a raft of musicians who’d played nice for years have seen big rewards going for broke with wildly adventurous work. Performers like Slayyyter, Zara Larsson and Jade, who’d once been siloed off as “pop’s middle class” or incarcerated in the “Khia asylum” have swung big and struck gold, and been rewarded twice over for their boldness with both critical acclaim and charting hits. PinkPantheress is something of a figurehead among these artists and one of its brightest hopes. Her show last night at Brooklyn Storehouse doubled as a flex of her star power and a mini-music festival highlighting a wave of like-minded musicians who are just as poised to break-out. Continue reading...

It’s the Royal Albert Hall birthday party for Britain’s most beloved broadcaster. Which big names will do the speeches? What will the orchestra play? And will it all be overshadowed by the great man’s TV clips? Follow along here Welcome one and all to The Guardian’s liveblog of David Attenborough’s 100 Years on Planet Earth. You will be pleased to know, as I certainly am, that this is not a century-long liveblog. Instead it exists to cover the 90-minute Albert Hall spectacular that BBC One is airing tonight. You may already be aware that today is Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday, and so this is an extremely fitting tribute. Our greatest living national treasure is the subject of what’s being billed as “a journey of exploration and discovery through the prism of Sir David’s extraordinary life and career.” In short, there will be music, there will be film, there will be recollections and, if we’re lucky, there will be cake. Continue reading...

Senior Labour MPs urge prime minister to step down within year as party suffers loss of hundreds of English council seats and humbling in Wales Election 2026 live: latest news updates Full results from England, Scotland and Wales Keir Starmer is under pressure to set out a timeline for his departure after a crushing defeat in elections across Britain prompted senior Labour MPs to call for him to step down within a year. In a disastrous set of results, Labour lost hundreds of council seats in England, many to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, which made big gains across the Midlands and the north as well as taking seats from the Tories in the South. Nigel Farage said a “truly historic shift in British politics” had occurred after Reform UK won hundreds of seats and control of more councils in England. The gains included Essex where the Tory leader, Kemi Badenoch, has her constituency and which the Conservatives held for 25 years. Plaid Cymru became the largest party in Wales, beating Reform into second place, after Labour admitted it was on course to lose control of the Senedd for the first time since devolution. Morgan, the first woman to lead the Welsh government, became the highest-profile casualty and called on Labour to “go back to being the party of the working class”. The SNP leader, John Swinney, declared victory in the Holyrood elections – though was expected to fall short of an outright majority. The Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, conceded defeat saying his party had failed to counter “national dissatisfaction” with Starmer. The Greens gained their first two directly elected mayors – in Hackney and Lewisham – although they missed out on some more ambitious targets in London, as their leader, Zack Polanski, declared Britain’s two-party politics “dead and buried”. They also won three councils: Norwich, Hastings and Waltham Forest. The Tories were on course to lose hundreds of seats – both to Reform and the Liberal Democrats – across the south of England. However, they won back the flagship Westminster council in central London, with Badenoch announcing it meant the party was “coming back”. Labour appeared to be struggling in its London stronghold, despite early indications that its vote was holding up, unexpectedly losing control of Brent. Party insiders were closely watching councils including Lambeth, Lewisham and Haringey. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer’s party lost out to Reform and the Greens, with no respite in Scotland, Wales or England. These maps show the scale of the historic results Election 2026 live: latest news updates Full results from England, Scotland and Wales Labour has suffered heavy losses across England, Scotland and Wales, losing ground to opponents on the left and the right in a fragmented political system. The graphics below show where Labour’s losses were most severe, and how the electoral landscape has changed as a result. Continue reading...

Reform makes gains in Labour’s working-class heartlands while Greens chip away at party’s progressive base Keir Starmer hates to lose. Unsurprisingly, he refused to walk away and end his premiership as Labour’s local election losses began to trickle in on Friday morning. Upon entering Downing Street in July 2024 after leading Labour to a historic general election victory, Starmer promised the public that his government would “fight every day until you believe again”. Now, Starmer is faced with the uncomfortable truth that the frustrated yet united coalition that brought him into No 10 hoping for change is completely fractured and its discontent cannot be dismissed as early midterm blues. Continue reading...

US president posts on Truth Social ceasefire will include suspension of all ‘kinetic activity’ and prisoner swaps Donald Trump has announced on social media that there will be a three-day ceasefire in the war between Russia and Ukraine from 9 to 11 May. The US president said the ceasefire would include a suspension of all “kinetic activity” and a prisoner swap of 1,000 prisoners from each country. Continue reading...

England captain took new ball along with two victims in 11 overs in Championship comeback for Durham against Worcestershire To little fanfare, Ben Stokes has slipped out of the shorter formats. His last one-day international was at the 2023 World Cup, his last Twenty20 international helped England win its equivalent a year earlier. His most recent white-ball match of any description came during the Hundred in 2024, a tournament he has since shouldered arms to. Red-ball cricket is the thing that gets the England captain’s juices flowing these days and had he not fractured his cheekbone in the nets back in February, the plan was to be available for Durham from the start of the season. Fair play, given the additional money he could earn by diversifying in his final years. Continue reading...

Former Chelsea forward is thriving on the south coast and targeting victory over Liverpool in the Women’s FA Cup Fran Kirby knows what she brings. She always has. The Brighton forward is not young for a footballer but, at 32, she’s not old either and, injury free, is reminding people she still has it. “I know I am not the same player that I was when I was 25, I’m not naive,” she says. “That’s not who I am anymore, but I know what I can bring and that is creativity, the passes that other people won’t try. I’ve always said it: I will always try a pass, even if it doesn’t come off. That’s how I play. I play with risk. Sometimes it doesn’t work, sometimes it does.” That eye for a pass is regularly on display. A recent standout was Kirby’s assist for Kiko Seike in Brighton’s thrilling 3-2 win over Manchester City. The obvious move was to play a pass into Seike’s feet; instead Kirby squeezed the ball between two defenders, taking them out of the action, and into space for her Japanese teammate to collect and fire in. It was vintage Kirby and, after her Chelsea career was blighted by injuries and pericarditis (inflammation of the heart lining), it is wonderful to see a woman who earned 77 caps for England playing at such a level. Continue reading...

Our correspondents look at how the clubs – who meet on Saturday – got where they are and what must happen next Liverpool: Not at all. Hindsight offers a few portents, such as the extent of last summer’s upheaval and Arne Slot’s insistence that it was a necessary response to Liverpool’s form towards the end of last season. It was strange to hear a title-winning coach in effect play down his team’s achievement. There was also the tragic death of Diogo Jota to deal with. Only Jota’s teammates and colleagues know the toll that has taken on them individually. But when the transfer window closed on 1 September with the £125m signing of Alexander Isak, taking the summer spend to almost £450m and expectations through the roof, the question asked was whether Liverpool would clean up given the resources at Slot’s disposal. Continue reading...

The club chair said the move to the London Stadium showed they were not a ‘tinpot club’ but now relegation threat looms When David Sullivan was pressed on why West Ham bothered to move to the London Stadium, the lack of substance to his argument offered a window into the club’s dysfunction. “I just think we feel like a big club,” Sullivan said in an interview with the Guardian in December 2017. “Not a tinpot club. When players come to look at West Ham, they look at where you play.” Look deeper, though. Analysing the club chair’s answer nine years on, the conclusion is that this is an owner whose desire to win is cancelled out by his listlessness. Feeling like a big club, after all, is not the same as being a big club. It is a decade since West Ham departed from Upton Park, their tinpot home, and told their fans that doing so would take them to the next level. “A world-class stadium with a world-class team,” was the infamous sell from Karren Brady, the recently departed vice-chair, to which the best retort may be that line in the club’s recent accounts “forecasting a liquidity shortfall in summer 2026”, as well as the “severe but plausible scenario” of relegation causing an even bigger financial crisis three years after victory in the Conference League was followed by the £105m sale of Declan Rice to Arsenal. Continue reading...