The second series of this cheery Welsh cosy crime is as gentle as a pillow – and if it feels dangerously close to a spoof, that’s all part of the fun What a curious confection Death Valley is. It’s as cosy as crime drama gets and yet, thanks to its show-within-a-show concept, it manages to be oddly arch and knowing, too. Its body count challenges that of The Sopranos, but in its soothing episodic rhythms and Welsh valley quaintness, it remains as comfortable and predictable as Christmas. As we return, everything and nothing has changed. Janie Mallowan (Gwyneth Keyworth) has been promoted to detective inspector and is wondering if her seniority means she can no longer call herself “J-Dog”. She remains charming but also goofy and tactless; at one point, she complains about a teabag being left in a cuppa made for her by the wife of a recent murder victim. Continue reading...

Concern that England’s women are not being challenged fails to acknowledge what it takes for consistent excellence There are a couple of reasons why England’s latest Six Nations grand slam is worthy of glowing appreciation. The first is that consistent excellence should always receive due recognition. And the second is that England had to do far more than simply show up and tick off the kind of routine runaway victory that leaves even their most loyal fans slightly underwhelmed. A 15-point margin might not instantly suggest a full-blooded contest but France more than fulfilled their part of the bargain. The nagging concern within women’s rugby is that the Red Roses are not being sufficiently challenged. On this occasion no one could level that accusation at the determined hosts who had England’s golden girls pinned back for lengthy periods. Continue reading...

White House-backed event billed as ‘One Nation Under God’ criticized for blurring lines between church and state Thousands of people streamed onto the National Mall for a daylong prayer rally on Sunday billed as a “rededication of our country as One Nation Under God”. Against the backdrop of the Washington Monument, worship music blared from a stage that made clear the event’s Christian focus. Arched stained-glass windows, set underneath grand columns resembling a federal building, depicted the nation’s founders alongside a white cross. Continue reading...

Abu Dhabi denounces ‘dangerous escalation’ as Iran war ceasefire grows more precarious The United Arab Emirates has blamed a fire near its nuclear power plant on a drone launched by Iran or one of its proxies in what the UAE called a “dangerous escalation”. The fire was just outside the Barakah nuclear plant and caused no injuries or radiation alerts, but it came at an extremely tense moment in the sixth week of a ceasefire in the Iran war, with peace talks stalled and Donald Trump voicing impatience at the deadlock. Continue reading...

Cannes film festival: Barnaby Thompson’s documentary on the great British director is an exhilarating delve into the ebb and flow of Lean’s peerless career and sometimes complex personal life – with a grand cast of talking heads Barnaby Thompson’s thoroughly exhilarating and enjoyable documentary about movie director David Lean is proof of the old maxim – fortune favours the bold. Lean’s career feels like more than ever like a dashing military adventure; like Napoleon or the young Winston Churchill in Sudan or, indeed, TE Lawrence in his greatest film, Lawrence of Arabia. It involved brilliantly improvising strategy in hostile terrain and imperiously imposing his command over troops who had to be subdued by force of will, as well as a mastery of the theatre involved in leadership, displaying an almost hammy sense of one’s own skill in oratory and the eroticism of giving orders. Watching this documentary, you can appreciate how Peter O’Toole’s Lawrence is in many ways a comic, absurd figure – dressed up in borrowed and culturally appropriated Arab robes – but one that no one would dare mock. Perhaps Lean, in his director’s robes, could see what his subordinates wouldn’t, or couldn’t; he could see his own faults, and suffer from impostor syndrome and secret doubts. The movie repeatedly tells us that he could be impossibly bad-tempered and dictatorial on set – but there is no film or audio record of this, just Lean himself in various interviews being endlessly charming and self-deprecating. (Although I suspect that patrician accent perhaps reverted a little, at times, to something a bit rougher under duress.) Continue reading...

Southbank Centre, London Between a sci-fi concert for eggs and an interview with a bee, the scarecrow broadcasters in Philippe Quesne’s oddball performance piece make the case for art as salvation and for farms as the lifeblood of humanity Bump into one of these scarecrows at night and you’d be forgiven for running a mile. But stick around to listen to this hay-laden gang of crop-protector castaways, who no longer have crops to protect nor birds to scare thanks to the climate crisis, and you’ll see they have only good intentions. The sensorily ambitious Farm Fatale joins five scarecrows with faces of melted plastic and voices of children swallowed by machines in the artificial studio of their pirate radio station. It is set in the near future, when the air is hard to breathe and birdsong is recorded. The only people getting by are the industrial farmers capitalising on the ruin of others. When the scarecrows interview a bee, with a microphone charmingly taped to a pitchfork, the little creature is described as one of the last in Europe. Continue reading...

It was a decision that threatens to keep Nuno Espírito Santo awake for many nights to come. Why, oh why, West Ham’s manager will doubtless wonder, did he opt to start with a back three on Tyneside? Continue reading...

Reform, which won more than 50% of the local election vote, is likely to focus heavily on immigration and Brexit Andy Burnham faces a perilous race to win the Makerfield seat, his allies have warned, as he gears up to fight a byelection that could decide the long-term future of Labour and the country. The Greater Manchester mayor is likely to be confirmed as Labour’s candidate for the north-west constituency later this week, but those close to him say he faces an uphill battle to beat Reform UK. Nigel Farage’s party won more than 50% of the vote at the local elections and polling suggests Burnham is only marginally ahead. Continue reading...

Canal+ head says he will not work with hundreds of actors and directors who signed protest against Vincent Bolloré’s political sway The head of France’s biggest film producer, Canal+, has said the group will no longer work with hundreds of cinema figures who signed a petition voicing concern over the growing influence of the rightwing billionaire owner Vincent Bolloré. The open letter, published earlier this week to coincide with the opening of the Cannes film festival, was signed by more than 600 figures, including the actor-director Juliette Binoche, the director and photographer Raymond Depardon, the French-Iranian film-maker Sepideh Farsi and the director Arthur Harari, who co-wrote the Oscar-winning Anatomy of a Fall and is premiering his film The Unknown in the main competition in Cannes. Continue reading...

France 28-43 England Kildunne and Breach score twice as Red Roses triumph Dominant, impenetrable, invincible. There are so many words to describe this England team. No matter what is thrown at them, they win matches and lift trophies. The Red Roses have an almost untouchable air around them as, despite experiencing the worst injury and unavailability crisis this team has seen for a decade, they swept aside each opponent in the Women’s Six Nations to seal their eighth consecutive title and fifth grand slam in a row. With a legacy already in the bag with their 2025 World Cup win, England set out in this Women’s Six Nations to start to build a dynasty and they have certainly laid the foundations in this tournament. The Red Roses not only claimed the clean sweep after dismantling France in a sunny but windy Bordeaux but they also became the first team to win the tournament immediately after claiming the World Cup. Continue reading...

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World No 1 is first Italian to win title in 50 years 6-4, 6-4 victory completes set of ATP Masters 1000 titles Jannik Sinner continued his reign of terror over men’s tennis on the red clay courts of Europe as he effortlessly recovered from a slow start to overpower Casper Ruud, the 23rd seed, 6-4, 6-4 and become the first Italian man in 50 years to win the Italian Open. It is difficult to overstate the historic nature of this triumph. Sinner is just the second man in history to win all nine ATP Masters 1000 titles. This feat, one of the most impressive in the sport, was first achieved by Novak Djokovic in 2018 at the age of 31. Sinner has completed his set at just 24 years old, still seemingly with so much more to achieve in the sport. Continue reading...

Excluding capital would be ‘missed opportunity’, says Sadiq Khan, given existing assets and ‘world-class infrastructure’ The mayor of London has criticised plans to explore a bid for the north of England to host the Olympics, saying that excluding London would be a “missed opportunity”. Ministers have commissioned an assessment by UK Sport which could inform a bid for the international sporting event in the 2040s. If the campaign were successful, it would be the first time the Olympic Games and Paralympics were hosted in Britain since London 2012. Continue reading...

️ Updates from the final round at Aronimink Golf Club ️ Official live leaderboard | Follow us on Bluesky | Mail Scott Scottie Scheffler hasn’t had the start he wanted. The world number one started the day at -1, in a tie for 23rd, and no player has ever won a major from outside the top 20 after 54 holes. A flyer out of the blocks was almost essential, and birdie at 2 helped his cause, but his tee shot at the par-three 5th toppled into the fringe at the back of the green, and he hit a slightly hot chip coming back out. The ball rolled ten feet past, and he couldn’t make the par saver coming back. He’s now level for his round through 6, still at -1 with a third of his round – and two-thirds of the theoretically easier nine – gone. … so this is where Kitayama currently sits on the current leaderboard. A fine morning’s shift. Continue reading...

Bulgaria’s first-ever win in European song contest delivers ray of hope at turbulent time after years of political instability Bulgarians have rejoiced in their country’s first victory at the Eurovision song contest as fans welcomed home the singer whose party anthem Bangaranga proved an unexpected breakthrough hit. “Dara is yet more proof that Bulgaria can win,” declared the new prime minister, Rumen Radev, of Darina Nikolaeva Yotova, known simply as Dara. He hailed “a young artist who, thanks to her talent and professionalism, has managed to rise above all the complexities and prejudices surrounding the [Eurovision] voting process”. Continue reading...

Centre won 65 caps, with 51 alongside his brother Gavin Also selected for two British and Irish Lions tours The former Scotland rugby union centre Scott Hastings has died at the age of 61. Hastings won 65 caps for Scotland, playing 51 internationals with his full-back brother, Gavin. He was also selected for the British and Irish Lions tours of Australia in 1989 and New Zealand in 1993. Continue reading...

Labour leadership contender Wes Streeting calls Brexit a ‘catastrophic mistake’ while Andy Burnham sees ‘long-term case’ for rejoining EU Wes Streeting, who resigned as the health secretary last week and has said he will run in any contest to replace Keir Starmer as the Labour leader and prime minister, has described Brexit as a “catastrophic mistake” and said the UK should rejoin the EU. Andy Burnham, the Labour mayor of Greater Manchester, who will fight an upcoming byelection on a promise to challenge Starmer, has also said he saw a “long-term case” for rejoining – although he would not be advocating it immediately. Continue reading...

Jess Phillips’ frustration about online safety highlights the alarming reluctance to confront big tech The £950,000 fine imposed by Ofcom on a US-based suicide forum that is implicated in over 160 UK deaths marks an intensification of the regulator’s efforts to make the internet safer. Campaigners against online harms, including relatives of people who have taken their own lives, are justifiably angry that it has taken so long to get to this point. Even now, Ofcom is giving the website’s operator the chance to address “concerns” and avoid a court order that would ban access to it. But if enforcement remains a tortuous process, at least the principle is clear. It is illegal to encourage or assist a suicide in England and Wales (in Scotland, such actions could lead to prosecution as reckless endangerment or a range of other offences). A situation whereby behaviour is tolerated online, when it would carry criminal penalties if carried out in person, cannot be allowed. Continue reading...

Buoyed by his removal of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, the US president is intensifying an economic stranglehold and military menace While the world watched the pomp of Donald Trump’s trip to Beijing, the US was turning up the pressure thousands of miles away. Its oil blockade has plunged Cuba into a humanitarian crisis, sparking nationwide blackouts that have prompted rare protests, closing schools and universities and leaving hospitals battling to treat patients. Surveillance flights are circling. US media reported this weekend that federal prosecutors are preparing an indictment for Raúl Castro, the 94-year-old former president and brother of Fidel. Mr Trump has casually observed, while bragging about the kidnapping of Venezuela’s then leader Nicolás Maduro in January, that “Cuba is next”. A military assault on Havana would be vastly more fraught for the US – even without the war on Iran – and disastrous for Cubans. Washington hopes that threats and privation will be sufficient. UN experts warn that the blockade is unlawful, puts human rights at risk and may amount to collective punishment. The government admitted on Wednesday that fuel oil had run out. Tourism has collapsed. The Canadian mining company Sherritt pulled out of a joint venture and countries have axed their contracts for Cuban doctors – a vital source of income for the island, and trained medical staff for others. Havana may hope that it can stagger on. But Mr Trump is not patient. Continue reading...

Dr Lutz Oette and Anna Snowdon respond to an article by Nesrine Malik in which she calls out the primary sponsors of the calamity Nesrine Malik’s article is timely, highlighting how evidence of the United Arab Emirates’ complicity in Sudan’s war has begun to prompt calls for action to be taken (The UAE tries hard to keep its reputation spotless. But with the war in Sudan, how can it?, 13 May). What is now needed is a concerted international response. The UN and African fact-finding bodies have to date largely focused on the responsibility of Sudan’s warring parties for international law violations committed. It is time to complement this focus, by documenting and investigating the UAE’s involvement in the war with a view to establishing possible state and individual responsibility. This ranges from a failure to prevent both genocide in Darfur and international humanitarian law violations across the country to liability for the commission of international crimes. Continue reading...

Sale 33-47 Leicester Tigers run in seven tries in high-scoring encounter This emphatic bonus-point win was another forcible reminder that Leicester are on the march again, with the Tigers consummately professional, ruthlessly efficient and clinical with the chances that came their way. Whether or not they can go on to reach the Prem Rugby final and lift the trophy on 20 June remains to be seen, but that they are heading in the right direction under Geoff Parling’s guidance is undeniable. Continue reading...

Building a habit early on means it is more likely to continue in later life, writes Ruth Daniels, although Jane Hall has far from fond memories of PE in her schooldays Cath Bishop’s article captures perfectly the need for structural change and innovation to drive sustainable sport and activity for society (Too many of us were traumatised by sport at school – but it’s never too late to change, 12 May). With multiple layers of evidence pointing to the benefits of an active and healthy nation, why do we struggle as a society to ensure that it is embedded in everyone’s day-to-day lives? Experiences in childhood shape so much: if we enjoy something or are encouraged to do it then we are more likely to continue. Preschool, school, parents, media and many other things shape what we do and what we become. Continue reading...

Participation rises sharply when contribution is the default position rather than requiring active enrolment, writes James Kyle The finding that three-quarters of UK millionaires say they would be willing to pay more tax (Report, 13 May) is politically significant at a time when Labour faces growing pressure both to fund public services and to defend progressive policies against rising anti-tax populism. However, the crucial question is not what people say in surveys, but how policy converts stated willingness into actual revenue. The Treasury’s standard response is that wealthy individuals can already make voluntary payments to HMRC. Yet the sums raised remain negligible. This is entirely predictable, because behavioural research repeatedly shows that opt-in systems produce dramatically lower participation than opt-out systems – the core principle behind so-called nudge theory. Successive UK governments have already relied heavily on the latter approach in areas ranging from pension auto-enrolment to organ donation frameworks. Continue reading...

Those who played live at the Wigan Casino included Edwin Starr, Junior Walker & The All-Stars, Jackie Wilson, and more, writes Jez Waterfield Peter Bradshaw finishes his review of the film Northern Soul: Still Burning (Thumping celebration of the legendary underground club scene, 13 May) with a question: “What did the American acts themselves think of it [the Northern Soul scene of the 1970s]? Were they ever tempted (or invited) to play live at the Wigan Casino?” Well, as someone who was thrilled to attend Wigan Casino all-nighters as a teenager, I’d say they fell in love with the scene, playing Wigan and other popular venues on the northern circuit (including Manchester’s Twisted Wheel, The Torch in Stoke-on-Trent and Cleethorpes Pier). A couple of these legends even came to settle down in the Midlands and north of England. Continue reading...

Brighton’s hopes of a return to European football next season took a potentially significant turn for the worse after Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s late goal ensured another home victory for a Leeds team that continues to thrive in the latter stages of the campaign. Fabian Hürzeler’s side have been magnificent again this season and, going into the final weekend, their destiny is still in their own hands in terms of securing a second appearance in European competition. However, Brighton may look back on this afternoon in West Yorkshire as one that could prove to be a missed opportunity. Continue reading...