PM says ‘we are going to act’ but does not say which of the options being considered will be adopted Keir Starmer has said that the government will impose a crackdown affecting teenagers using social media “very quickly” after the government’s consultation on the topic ends tonight. Speaking during a visit to a nursery in East Sussex today, Starmer said: The consultation on children and social media is closing this evening. We’ve had very, very many people being part of the process, either responding or in discussions with me and with others. I’m meeting some of the parents this afternoon. Continue reading...
Measure could ease concerns from countries – such as France – that are sceptical about bringing in more members Europe live – latest updates The EU could deny future member states veto rights for several years in an attempt to make enlargement more politically acceptable as the bloc undergoes a push to admit new countries before the end of the decade. Under plans being considered by the European Commission, prospective member states – such as Moldova and western Balkan countries – would not, on joining the EU, have the automatic right to veto foreign policy decisions or other issues agreed by unanimity, such as taxation. Continue reading...
Keir Starmer announces review after three boys were given youth rehabilitation orders for rape of two girls The court of appeal will review the non-custodial sentences given to three teenage boys for the rape of two girls, Keir Starmer has announced. The boys, two of whom were 15 and one aged 14 at the time of sentencing, were given youth rehabilitation orders after the judge in the case said he wanted to “avoid criminalising these children unnecessarily” and support their reintegration into society. Continue reading...
The content creators behind channels like Chloe VS History are using AI tools to ‘bring history to life in a really visceral way’ “I have just arrived in Tudor London, 1536,” a young woman in a green puffer jacket tells the camera. “I’m going to check in at my room in the inn, get into the market. Then, later I am meeting the actual king – yep, Henry VIII – in person.” On YouTube and other social platforms, users are flocking to watch AI-generated “history influencers”, characters that vlog their travels to historical settings. Continue reading...
I never dreamed it would be so hard to put together a playlist for my friend’s 60th For any birthday party with a zero at the end, the music is supposed to be very simple: you just pick a banger from the year the person was born and work towards to the present day on that basis. Some people are bound to be unlucky. I myself am the victim of a freak event as in 1973, no good songs were released anywhere in the world. But mostly it works on all kinds of levels, because it means that in the early part of the night it’ll be songs that your parents liked, as that’s how you came to be born in the first place, and for the music that was released last year and of which you are entirely unaware, it’ll be the end of the night, and you won’t care. This is all great until you’re making a playlist for your dear friend who is 60. Even Claude AI was whining about the sheer size of this dataset. The parents would prefer a tea the day before and no longer want to go to a party, so the whole first two decades are playing to no one. (That’s actually unfair: everyone likes the Beatles. But the number of years in which the hit was something Ernie-the-Fastest-Milkman-in-the-West-adjacent is truly shocking.) Realistically, all your favourite songs were released in the same year, which is 1989. If you took a long, hard look in the mirror, you’d admit that you haven’t kept on top of the charts for roughly 20 years, and could no more distinguish early from late Beyoncé than you could correctly identify Mesolithic from Neolithic by looking at a stone tool. The songs you genuinely like definitely did not chart, and it would be antisocial to expect people to join you in knowing all the words; instead, looking for the crowd-pleasers, there’s a whole segment in the middle when you might as well be listening to Magic FM. Continue reading...
From Paris to Mexico, Leonora Carrington’s extraordinary life is retold with intelligence and restraint, though not quite enough imagination At the age of 20, debutante Leonora Carrington ran away from London to be an artist in Paris, living with the surrealist Max Ernst, who was married and more than twice her age. But you won’t notice the uncomfortable age gap in this biopic, in which Carrington is played by Olivia Vinall, who is in her late 30s and portrays the artist for a decade or so, from Paris until Carrington settled in Mexico in the 1940s. Vinall’s performance is pleasingly spiky, fierce and uncompromising, fit for a woman who did not seek anyone’s approval – and does some heavy lifting in this otherwise tepid film. It’s adapted from a biographical novel by Elena Poniatowska. We meet Carrington arriving in Paris, where she discovers that the surrealists’ circle is another male-dominated world, with its own objectionable attitudes to women. Carrington, though, gives short shrift to men such as André Breton and Salvador Dalí, drivelling on about woman as the divine muse to be worshipped. The dialogue clunks along unconvincingly, such as one line spoken to Ernst (Alexander Scheer): “I don’t want to be your wife. I want to be your lover.” The pair move to southern France, where they seem to work productively – portrayed in slightly dull scenes – until the outbreak of the second world war in 1939, when Ernst, a German citizen, is imprisoned. Continue reading...
Our cartoonist reflects on the Gunners ending their 22-year existential crisis to become English champions again Buy a Squires cartoon | David’s favourite works of 2025 And his latest book, Chaos in the Box: get it now Continue reading...
David Sullivan understood to be less sure over Nuno Decision expected this week after relegation West Ham’s board are split on Nuno Espírito Santo’s future, opening the possibility of the manager staying after relegation from the Premier League. Nuno was called in for crisis talks on Monday and a decision is expected before the end of the week. It remains likely West Ham will part company with the Portuguese, although the situation is not as straightforward as first appeared. A source said that Daniel Kretinsky, the Czech billionaire and the club’s second-largest shareholder, wants Nuno to stay. David Sullivan, the largest shareholder, is said to be less sure. Continue reading...
Broadcaster describes Robert Kenyon, who is standing in the upcoming Makerfield byelection, as a misogynist and a ‘cowardly man’ Carol Vorderman has demanded an apology from the Reform UK candidate in the upcoming Makerfield byelection for “disgusting comments” he made about her on social media in the past. The broadcaster and former Countdown numbers expert described Robert Kenyon, who Reform have backed to face Andy Burnham in next month’s vote, as a “cowardly man” for a series of offensive posts made by the Wigan councillor that have since been deleted, along with his account. Continue reading...
Some say project Iran is a disaster, but as a get-out-of-jail-free card it’s a winner. He did say he was smart, didn’t he? How far would you go for your son? For Donald Trump, the answer is simply: “The Bahamas? That is way too far! Why can’t you just get married on the golf course we buried your mother in? Or better still, the one I’m being carted to the second I get off the reinforced toilet I’m typing this on.” And so it was that the president cordially flaked on the latest marriage of his large adult son Don Jr, which took place somewhere in the Bahamas last weekend. If the world felt somehow different to you on Sunday morning, you were right. We now live in a post-troth society. In other ways, though, the world would have felt quite samey. Those whose notional protest placard reads “IRAN DEAL WHEN?” remain fobbed off round the clock by a US administration that is always “close”, looking at a “pretty solid thing on the table” and debating “specific language in the initial document”. The Iranian government, meanwhile, is laying mines in the strait of Hormuz, expressing “resolute” support for Hezbollah and saying gnomically trolling things like how the two sides are both “very close and very far”. The president loves to imply that deals are always like this, once again confusing commercial Floridian real estate with the fanatical remnants of a dysfunctional regime in whose interest it is to play him. Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Kingfisher, owner of the DIY chain, is top FTSE 100 riser after it says it will stick to full-year profit outlook Business live – latest updates A wet and cold Easter hit sales of barbecues and garden products at the home improvement chain B&Q, but it hopes to make up lost ground during the current heatwave. B&Q owner Kingfisher, which also owns Screwfix in the UK, as well as Castorama and Brico Dépôt across six European countries, said like-for-like sales (at outlets open at least a year) in the UK and Ireland dipped 0.9% between February and April, its first quarter. Within that, B&Q sales fell 4.1% while Screwfix revenue climbed 4.1%. Continue reading...
Is the promotion to the big screen of Star Wars’ breakout Disney+ show just a delightful distraction – or exactly what the franchise needs? • This article contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu Star Wars, with its fondness for grand emotional crescendos, mythic reversals and violent turns of fate, is perhaps cinema’s purest example of space opera. Even the oft-derided prequels, those overheated tales of democracy collapsing, forbidden love and angst-ridden space monks, are intensely Wagnerian. The Mandalorian and Grogu, despite being a warm, funny, rollicking tale of outer rim adventures, ingenious aliens and surprisingly touching surrogate fatherhood, is not really on that scale. Which is probably why it’s getting such a lukewarm reaction from critics. This is a movie that zips along pleasantly, offers up plenty of cute “Baby Yoda” moments, delivers more than enough badass Mando action sequences, and even quietly reimagines what some of its most infamous alien creatures are capable of as a species. It is not so much space opera as cosmic picaresque, wandering frontier serial, intergalactic side-quest cinema. And that’s just not what we’re used to after the best part of 50 years of Star Wars on the big screen. Here’s what makes this new adventure so different from what came before. Continue reading...
I tried everything from gong baths to junk food and intermittent crying as I attempted to deal with my grief. Nothing helped – until I started tuning in to what my body was telling me I didn’t think I could survive the death of my husband, Graham. We met at university when I was 18, and for 35 years we made a great team. We both worked full-time and, while I organised our many marathon and backpacking trips abroad, and pursued my ambition of becoming an author and hypnotherapist, he supported me by taking care of most of the domestic chores and DIY. When he was seconded to Bahrain for eight months in 2003, he left me a typed, two-page instruction manual explaining how to operate the dishwasher, washing machine and TV (in fairness, it wasn’t simply a matter of pressing “on”). When, in 2017, Graham was diagnosed with asbestos-related lung cancer and given between 18 months and five years to live, the shock was profound. But, once the initial terror had subsided, we made a choice: to live in hope, not fear. We vowed to make the most of whatever time Graham had left, rather than mentally rehearse or fear his death. We both continued working, travelling, running half marathons and seeing friends as much as we could. Continue reading...
Trump campaign accelerating climate crisis as officials move migrants to detention jails and deport them from US US immigration enforcement flights are producing hundreds of thousands of metric tonnes of climate-damaging carbon emissions as officials shuttle unprecedented numbers of people to detention centers far from home and deport them to countries across the world. Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign has spurred at least an 80% increase in such flights year over year, accelerating the climate crisis by emitting massive amounts of carbon dioxide, according to data analysis shared exclusively with the Guardian. Continue reading...
In Cairo’s Faisal district, those who fled conflict at home say they face violence and uncertainty, making a voyage across the Mediterranean their only hope Words and photographs by Simon Ruisch There are an estimated 1.3 million Sudanese refugees living in Cairo. Most have fled from neighbouring Sudan after the outbreak of civil war in April 2023. Instead of the safety and security they had hoped to find, they say life in the Egyptian capital has turned into a horror story. “The situation here is so hopeless that I am now preparing for a second crossing [to Europe]. I haven’t told my mother yet as I don’t know if she would survive losing a second child,” says Nadir*, 26. Like other Sudanese people interviewed for this story, he prefers not to be identified by his real name. ‘Here in Egypt, you are confined like a criminal,’ says Nadir Continue reading...
Updates from the third day’s play at Roland Garros Players tackle heat in test of endurance | Mail Daniel Salut tout le monde et bienvenue à Roland-Garros 2026 – troisième jour! And, of course, what a troisième jour this promises to be. Standing out among stand-outs, we’ve Linda Noskova, seeded 12, facing Maria Sakkari; Cameron Norrie meets Daniel Vallejo; and Naomi Osaka takes on Laura Siegemund. Continue reading...
The former Manchester City manager is always interested in fresh challenges. Taking on another continent could be tempting as he embarks on a new chapter Where do you go after Lionel Messi, Major League Soccer? ? This is not just a question MLS will ponder, but one soccer in general has been thinking about for some time. It has led to a desperate trend of labelling every promising youngster the ‘next Messi’, but such was (and remarkably still is) the Argentinian’s quality, that there may not be another player at his level for decades. There may never be one. Continue reading...
Team hope the UPatch – at present a proof-of-concept device – will aid early detection of complications and prevent stillbirths Scientists have created a wearable ultrasound patch that can continuously monitor babies in the womb, with the hope that such devices could aid the early detection of complications during pregnancy. The team behind the work say ultrasound-based techniques in place now have drawbacks: continuous monitoring of the baby’s heart rate and contractions of the womb using current methods leads to a high rate of false alarms, while the use of more conventional handheld devices for imaging is limited to a small number of scans during pregnancy, and must be carried out by a skilled operator. Continue reading...
We want to hear how people are dealing with the hottest May temperatures on record The UK recorded its hottest ever day in May on Monday, with an all-time high of 34.8C recorded at London’s Kew Gardens. Temperatures above 33C were recorded across the south-east of England, while Wales also provisionally broke its May temperature record. The heat is expected to persist through the week, with a 35C peak forecast on Tuesday. Continue reading...
Ellen Roome, whose son, Jools Sweeney, was 14 when he died, wants a ban put in place for under-16s The mother of a teenager who believes he died in a TikTok challenge gone wrong has said that Downing Street has been too slow to move towards a social media ban for under-16s, and accused the government of “kicking it down the road”. Ellen Roome, the mother of Jools Sweeney, 14, is among the families who will meet Keir Starmer on Tuesday as a consultation into the social media ban closes this week. Continue reading...
Trumpeter Robyn Steward thought clubs weren’t for her until she encountered Fabric’s accessible upgrade – the new home for her radically inclusive, space-themed night Until May last year, trumpeter Robyn Steward had never been in a nightclub space, save for playing trumpet with Lancaster duo the Lovely Eggs at London’s Heaven, and a few nights in a university hall that doubled as a lunch room. Steward is autistic and has multiple disabilities including cerebral palsy. “Sometimes strobes can trigger migraines for me, or feel a bit overwhelming,” she says. “I feel like my body’s a bit lost.” When she wanted to see a gig at Fabric nightclub in London, she asked a friend to go with her as a carer. “I was amazed at how accessible it was,” she says. Subtle touches integrate multiple access needs into the space. “The mezzanine level meant that I didn’t have the strobes in my face. There was a rail that I could hold on to, and there was seating opposite the balcony so I could sit and watch the gig.” She also noticed Fabric’s recently upgraded sensory dancefloor, which deliberately transforms sound into tactile vibrations to better cater for the hearing impaired. “I could see that the lights were strobing and everything, but I felt safe,” Steward says. Continue reading...
Peer’s comments come as Milburn report is likely to find government has failed to tackle youth unemployment Business live – latest updates The boss of Next has sounded the alarm about a “dramatic fall” in the number of entry-level jobs in the UK and its impact on youth unemployment, saying the retailer now receives twice as many applicants for each role than two years ago. Lord Wolfson said the clothing and homeware chain, where he has been chief executive since 2001, typically received 10 applications for every job in its shops in 2024 but that number has now risen to 19. Continue reading...
US secretary of state appears to downplay warnings from Russian counterpart to move diplomats out of Kyiv Jon Henley in Paris and Sam Jones in Madrid More than 350 French towns have recorded their highest-ever temperatures for May as France and the UK set national heat records amid an extreme early-summer heat event that could see the mercury rise to 40C in parts of Spain by the end of the week. Continue reading...
Andrew Durham’s tender adaptation of Alysia Abbott’s book finds warmth, humour and heartbreak in an unconventional family unit shaped by love and loss For anyone familiar with the Bay Area in the 1970s and 80s, this offers a glorious wallow in nostalgia, from the grainy archive footage of San Francisco Gay Freedom parades to the novelty of sushi at a book launch and the new wave hairstyles. But this film is not just about the set dressing and the costumes; at the story’s core is what was then a new kind of family. A gay father raises his young daughter in San Francisco after his wife, her mother, is killed in a car accident; they live first in a squalid commune in the Haight-Ashbury neighbourhood and later move to slightly more bougie digs. The dad, Steve (Scoot McNairy), is a man with his foot only half out of the closet when the tragedy happens. He loves his daughter Alysia (Nessa Dougherty, then Coda’s Emilia Jones as a teen) deeply and turns down an offer from his ultra-straight mother-in-law (Geena Davis) to raise the little girl. Nevertheless, Steve is also a bit selfish and neglectful, likely to convince himself that he’s teaching Alysia independence when, for example, he tells her to get a bus across town instead of picking her up from school. There are echoes of the parenting techniques showcased in Marielle Heller’s adaptation of The Diary of a Teenage Girl which was set in a similar period, except that Alysia ends up a little less damaged than the heroine of that story. In fact, she turns out as independent and resilient as her father hoped she’d be, even if she never learned to ride a bicycle. Continue reading...
Williams follows her prize-winning debut with a gothically overstuffed tale of a cynical young woman in a crumbling university town Missouri Williams’s darkly absurd and wilfully grotesque debut novel, The Doloriad, concerned itself with the aftermath of a world-shattering catastrophe. Her second takes place in what feels like the beginning of one. The Vivisectors is set in an ancient and unnamed university town – we could call it Oxford or Cambridge, but let’s not – which is rapidly being overwhelmed by vegetation: avenues lined with “orange columns of flamevine and purple bougainvillea”, arches “dripping with wisteria”, the inescapable “stink of a distant magnolia”. A fraternity of mysterious gardeners seek to keep the chaotic foliage in check, but they are hamstrung by a bitter dispute with university officials. Power games and proxy battles ensue. It is a hot summer and decay is rampant: revolution is in the air. As in recent work by Sophie Mackintosh or Julia Armfield, this verdant backdrop casts an ominous glow over the action, though Williams writes with a singular brand of Ballardian ferocity – she revels in the wretched and the craven. The locus of the novel’s intensity is its narrator, Agathe, an alarmingly cynical young woman. She views everyone she meets as a tragic case, and knows that nothing lies between her and the same sad designation but her ability to see through the stories they’re telling themselves. She rejects self-expression and desire, refusing anything that might compromise her sense of separation and superiority. Her judgments are swift, conclusive and brutal. Continue reading...