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The Guardian

Vladimir Putin agrees to 30-day halt to attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid (mer., 19 mars 2025)
Russian leader refuses to commit to a full month-long truce after high-stakes phone call with Donald Trump Europe live – latest updates Vladimir Putin has agreed to a limited ceasefire that would stop Russia targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure after a high-stakes phone call with Donald Trump. But the Russian leader declined to commit to a 30-day full ceasefire, a plan pitched by Trump that Ukraine agreed to last week, denting the US president’s hope of bringing a quick end to hostilities. The Kremlin said Putin demanded that the west halt all military aid to Kyiv before it could implement such a plan. Continue reading...
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Up to 1.2m disabled people will lose thousands in UK welfare overhaul, experts warn (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, laid out plans for £5bn savings but faces rebellion from some Labour MPs Up to 1.2 million people with disabilities will lose thousands of pounds under the government’s welfare overhaul, experts have said, as campaigners warn the plan will exacerbate the country’s mental health crisis and push more children into poverty. Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, laid out her long-awaited changes to the benefits system on Tuesday, announcing a set of measures aimed at getting more people into work and saving £5bn by reducing disability payments. Continue reading...
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Nasa astronauts back on Earth after being stuck months on ISS: ‘grins, ear to ear’ (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore back safely with American Nicholas Hague and Russian Aleksandr Gorbunov Two Nasa astronauts stuck onboard the International Space Station (ISS) since June 2024 finally arrived back on Earth on Tuesday evening, more than nine months after the failure of Boeing’s pioneering Starliner capsule scuppered their originally scheduled week-long mission. A SpaceX Dragon capsule containing four astronauts, including Starliner’s test pilots Sunita Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore, splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Tallahassee, at 5.57pm ET (9.57pm GMT) after a 17-hour descent. Continue reading...
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Gareth Southgate rails against ‘callous toxic influencers’ in Dimbleby Lecture (Wed, 19 Mar 2025)
Ex-England manager worried by impact on young men Southgate: ‘We need leaders to set the right tone’ Sir Gareth Southgate has expressed his concern that “callous, manipulative and toxic influencers” are taking the place of traditional father figures in society and contributing to mental health issues among young men. The former England manager also questioned whether “winning a trophy is the only marker of success” after losing in successive European Championship finals, as he delivered the prestigious Richard Dimbleby Lecture on Tuesday. Continue reading...
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Trump releases thousands of pages on John F Kennedy assassination (Wed, 19 Mar 2025)
Experts doubt new trove of information will change underlying facts in case of 35th president’s death The Trump administration on Tuesday released thousands of pages of files concerning the assassination of John F Kennedy, the 35th president who was shot dead in Dallas, Texas, in November 1963. “So people have been waiting decades for this,” Donald Trump told reporters on Monday while visiting the Kennedy Center, “and I’ve instructed my people that are responsible, lots of different people, put together by [director of national intelligence] Tulsi Gabbard, and that’s going to be released tomorrow.” Continue reading...
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Smoking rates in parts of England rise for first time since 2006, study shows (Wed, 19 Mar 2025)
South-west sees biggest jump, up 17% between 2020 and 2024, while rate in southern England increases by 10% Smoking rates in parts of England have increased for the first time in nearly two decades, according to research. Academics at University College London examined smoking data for more than 350,000 adults in England over an 18-year period. They found that while the proportion of adults who smoke cigarettes, pipes, cigars or other forms of tobacco fell from 25.3% of the population in 2006 to 16.5% in 2024, progress since 2020 has flatlined and in some areas smoking rates are increasing again. Continue reading...
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Single-use plastic waste on UK and Channel Island beaches ‘up by 9.5% last year’ (Wed, 19 Mar 2025)
Litter such as crisp packets and bottle tops are polluting the coast at the rate of nearly two items a sq metre, conservation charity report finds Single-use plastic waste increased on UK and Channel Island beaches last year with items such as crisp packets and bottle tops polluting the coast at the rate of almost two items a sq metre, according to data from beach cleanups. The amount of plastic waste collected on beaches rose by 9.5% in 2024, compared with 2023, and more than three-quarters of a million pieces of waste were picked up by volunteers, according to evidence from the State of our Beaches report by the Marine Conservation Society. Continue reading...
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GB Energy needs full £8.3bn of funding or it will disappoint, government told (Wed, 19 Mar 2025)
Thinktank’s warning follow reports that Labour is considering cuts to budget of company it set up to drive renewable power The government risks “disappointing voters” hoping for cheaper energy bills in the next decade if it cuts the £8.3bn budget for GB Energy, a thinktank has warned. Researchers at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) found that the publicly owned energy company – set up by Labour to drive renewable energy and cut household bills – will need to be fully funded if it hopes to build enough clean energy projects to meet 5% of the country’s electricity needs by the 2030s. Continue reading...
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Urgent action needed to harness tidal power in Severn estuary, say experts (Wed, 19 Mar 2025)
Commission launched in 2022 says lagoon project, not full barrage, should be backed by UK and Welsh governments Urgent action is needed to harness the UK’s potential for tidal range energy in the Severn estuary but smaller lagoon models should be pursued over a larger dam-like barrage, a panel of experts has said. The Severn Estuary Commission said that harnessing the energy of the tides in the estuary could deliver predictable, renewable electricity that would work independent of weather conditions. Continue reading...
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Netanyahu warns Israel’s renewed Gaza offensive ‘is only the beginning’ (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Israeli PM says attacks will continue until Hamas is destroyed and hostages freed, as airstrikes kill hundreds The wave of deadly airstrikes that shattered the pause in hostilities in Gaza is “only the beginning”, Benjamin Netanyahu has warned, also promising that the new offensive would continue until Israel achieved all of its war aims – destroying Hamas and freeing all hostages held by the militant group. Any further ceasefire negotiations would take place “under fire”, the Israeli prime minister said in a televised address on Tuesday night, his first after Israel launched attacks that killed more than 400 people in the devastated Palestinian territory, in the bloodiest single day of violence since the first months of the war in 2023. Continue reading...
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Bentley could pass costs of US tariffs to buyers due to drop in Chinese demand (Wed, 19 Mar 2025)
The threat of tariffs from Donald Trump is hanging over the manufacturer, its chief executive says The boss of Bentley has warned the carmaker would pass on the costs of threatened US tariffs to buyers, as the British luxury car brand reported a drop in profits because of weaker demand from China. The brand, owned by Germany’s Volkswagen, on Wednesday reported an operating profit of €373m (£314m) in 2024, the fourth-highest in the company’s 105-year history. However, that was down more than a third from €589m the year before. Continue reading...
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Israeli strikes latest bloody chapter in war of extraordinary civilian casualties (Wed, 19 Mar 2025)
International rules of combat to deter impact on noncombatants have been loosened or ignored – and other regimes may follow It is a casualty rate that would have unimaginable before the start of the Israel-Hamas war. More than 400 Palestinians have been reported killed after 10 hours of resumed Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday, including, according to one early report, at least six members of one family in an attack on a car east of Khan Younis. Though it is too soon to determine how many noncombatants died in attacks that Israel says were directed at Hamas military commanders and political officials (casualty totals from Gaza’s health ministry do not distinguish combatants from the uninvolved), the likelihood is that civilians will have been killed in large numbers. Continue reading...
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‘The prison system is insanely broken’: a climate activist on his experience in jail (Wed, 19 Mar 2025)
George Simonson says you learn about society by seeing how it treats its prisoners – and jail has strengthened his belief that change is crucial George Simonson, 24, from London, had recently graduated in mechanical engineering from the University of Edinburgh when he was given a 24-month custodial sentence for climbing a gantry over the M25 in 2022. He was also found guilty of criminal damage and sentenced to a further six-week custodial sentence for spraying paint on a wall of Exeter University in 2023. He sent this letter from prison before he was released in January. I remember the day I was sentenced like it was yesterday. I was filled with anxiety the entire time. It’s a strange situation to be in, not knowing whether or not you’d have your liberty at the end of the day, or for how long it might be taken away. My mind was racing and I had no idea how to operate. Continue reading...
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Despite poor polling and local election fears, Tories find reasons to be cheerful (Wed, 19 Mar 2025)
There is one very tangible reason for the current outbreak of good spirits: Conservatives know things could be worse Their party is flatlining in the polls, largely lacking in policies and on the verge of a heavy kicking in the local elections. And yet in Westminster, many Conservatives seem almost cheery. What exactly is going on? Critics – including some Tories – may argue this is wishful thinking and displacement activity by MPs and shadow ministers who cannot accept that Kemi Badenoch is not up to the job of leading a party in existential trouble. Continue reading...
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George Orwell and me: Richard Blair on life with his extraordinary father (Wed, 19 Mar 2025)
The literary giant’s only child reflects on his father’s devotion in their days together in rural Scotland, his early death, his genius as a writer – and his reputation as a womaniser Richard Blair didn’t have the easiest start in life. At three weeks old, he was adopted. Nine months later, his adoptive mother, Eileen, died at 39, after an allergic reaction to the anaesthetic she was given for a hysterectomy. Family and friends expected Blair’s father, Eric, to un-adopt him. Fortunately, Eric, better known as George Orwell, was an unusually hands-on dad for the 1940s. Orwell and Eileen had wanted children for years, but he was sterile and it is likely that she was infertile as a result of uterine cancer. Having finally agreed to adopt after their struggle, Orwell was not going to give up on his son. “The thing he wanted most in life was to have children,” says Blair. “And now I was his family.” Continue reading...
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Five ways to help manage lower back pain (Wed, 19 Mar 2025)
A comprehensive worldwide report has said most treatments are ineffective. Here are some ways to resolve the pain, recommended by Nice and the NHS Only 10% of non-surgical treatments for back problems kill pain, says review Millions of people live with lower back pain, either for a short or long time – 60% of UK adults will get it at some point. But knowing what to do to try to relieve the symptoms can be difficult. And a new global review of the evidence is negative about most of the available treatments. However, there are a number of treatments that medical bodies, such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) and the NHS, say do relieve pain. Continue reading...
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‘The colour of my skin didn’t matter’: exhibition shines light on black artists in postwar Paris (Wed, 19 Mar 2025)
Pompidou Centre show featuring 150 artists of African heritage is the last before the gallery shuts for five years For many black artists and intellectuals, postwar Paris was a cosmopolitan hub. While colonisation, racism and segregation cast a shadow over their countries of origin, the City of Light appeared then a more liberated place where they were free to mix, study, work and create. Now, a new exhibition – the last major event at Paris’s Pompidou Centre before it closes for a five-year renovation in September – explores the “unrecognised and fundamental” contribution these artists made to the French capital and how it influenced them. Continue reading...
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Romantasy, Bridgerton, audio porn apps: it’s a great time for horny ladies (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
For fans, sexy, female-centered entertainment is a welcome escape from reality How much do you spend on health and wellness a month? When it was released in late January, Onyx Storm – the third book in Rebecca Yarros’s The Empyrean series – became the fastest selling adult novel in 20 years. It sold more than 2.7m copies in its first week, according to the New York Times. Across the US, fans lined up in the cold outside of Target stores to nab special edition copies. In the UK, there were midnight-release parties where attendees wore costumes, made friendship bracelets and applied dragon-themed temporary tattoos. The Empyrean series is a prime example of romantasy – a genre that blends high fantasy and romance. It follows the cadet Violet Sorrengail as she trains to be a dragon rider. Fast-paced and detailed, the books boast mythical creatures and magic. There’s also a lot of sex. On more than one occasion, sturdy wooden furniture is broken during vigorous bouts of lovemaking. Violet climaxes every time with her generous lover, Xaden. Violet and Xaden’s dragons are mates – and they have sex too. Continue reading...
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Liz Kendall’s stages of welfare cuts: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance | John Crace (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Slashing £5bn of benefits is not generally what Labour MPs get into politics for, but Liz at least tried to enjoy herself UK politics live – latest updates Call it a process of radicalisation. It’s a fair bet that when Liz Kendall was elected to parliament in 2010, she never imagined that one day she would be giving a statement to the Commons as work and pensions secretary that included a £5bn cut to the welfare budget. It’s not generally the type of thing that Labour members get into politics for. But time, ambition and pragmatism all play their part. And, on Tuesday, that moment arrived for Liz. We were at the tail end of the five stages of grief. The denial. This wasn’t really happening to her. The anger when she realised it was really happening to her. There was no way of avoiding her destiny. The bargaining. Perhaps she could spin this as a good thing. Yes, that was it. Cuts were a moral force for good. She would be helping people in ways they didn’t know they needed helping. Depression. Who wouldn’t stare into the abyss given her choices? Finally, acceptance. It was what it was. A shitty job but someone had to do it. So she might as well try to enjoy herself. Continue reading...
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‘This is your mission’: why one Brazilian doctor is training to be a shaman (Wed, 19 Mar 2025)
Adana Omágua Kambeba fought to become one of the country’s first Indigenous woman doctors. Now she wants to bring the worlds of traditional and western medicine closer – and help Amazonian communities in the process Adana Omágua Kambeba was still a little girl when adults started coming to her for advice, asking how to deal with their problems. She liked to speak to plants and to smoke, puzzling the elders. No one had taught her that – it came naturally. When she reached adulthood, her grandmother told her that of all her grandchildren, Adana had inherited a place in the lineage of healers and shamans of the Kambeba group, also known as Omágua, “the people of the water”, which has communities in the Brazilian and Peruvian Amazon. Continue reading...
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Leaving Neverland 2: Surviving Michael Jackson review – the shocking exposé of the megastar is a hard act to follow (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Dan Reed’s world-rocking 2019 documentary detailed the experiences of survivors Wade Robson and James Safechuck – perhaps too definitively for this sequel to have anything new to say. If only it had waited for their trial … Leaving Neverland, Dan Reed’s 2019 film, which laid out accusations that the singer Michael Jackson sexually abused children, is among the most impactful and important documentaries of the past 10 years; the view of one of the 20th century’s biggest stars irreversibly changed, as rumour and innuendo were replaced by a detailed narrative that was hard for all but Jackson’s most committed fans to doubt. As well as altering Jackson’s reputation for ever, Leaving Neverland offered a wider look at how abusers groom their victims, why those victims can choose to protect their abuser, and how and why the parents of victims might fail to protect their child. It was also about the extremes of fame. His celebrity allowed Jackson to bewitch young fans, and disarm families who would otherwise have balked at an adult stranger befriending their child. It gave him the drivers, bodyguards, hotel suites and mansions he needed to spend time with young boys. (Nobody denies that a series of children were alone with him for long periods, and shared his bed, although his estate strongly denies all allegations of sexual abuse.) And his fame gave him the power to settle lawsuits. It helped Jackson deflect public suspicion too, since it was just about plausible for his eccentrically childlike persona to include being seen with a string of pre-pubescent companions. The mega-famous can hide in plain sight. Continue reading...
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The incredible shrinking airlines: can anyone actually be comfortable in a 17-inch seat? (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
There are many good reasons to quit flying – primarily, of course, the climate crisis. And the lack of legroom suggests airlines are actually trying to squeeze us out ... Name: Tiny seats. Age: If you look at pictures of the Wright brothers’ first flights in 1903, it looks as if they had plenty of legroom. It’s been downhill ever since. Continue reading...
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What does Maga-land look like? Let me show you America's unbeautiful suburban sprawl | Alexander Hurst (Wed, 19 Mar 2025)
I drove 2,000 miles with a French friend across my home country – and saw the endless nowhere land that is the crucible of Trumpism In 1941 Dorothy Thompson, an American journalist who reported from Germany in the lead-up to the second world war, wrote an essay for Harper’s about the personality types most likely to be attracted to Nazism, headlined “Who Goes Nazi?” “Those who haven’t anything in them to tell them what they like and what they don’t – whether it is breeding, or happiness, or wisdom, or a code, however old-fashioned or however modern, go Nazi,” Thompson wrote. Talia Lavin, a US writer, recently gave Thompson’s idea an update on Substack with an essay of her own: “Who Goes Maga?” Alexander Hurst is a Guardian Europe correspondent Continue reading...
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Imagine if all those who are silent about the terrible evil being committed in Gaza spoke up | Owen Jones (Wed, 19 Mar 2025)
No crime in history has been so well documented by its victims. And yet inaction and censorship reign Israel’s genocide was only on pause: for Palestinians woken on Monday night by a vicious wave of airstrikes, the resumption was no less shocking. More than 400 people – many of them children – were slaughtered in a matter of hours, in an assault that reportedly received the “green light” from Donald Trump. This mayhem was swiftly followed by evacuation orders – that is, forced displacement – raising the possibility of renewed ground operations. Israel’s excuse? A confected claim that Hamas hasn’t observed the terms of January’s so-called ceasefire agreement – the terms of which Israel itself has broken over and over again. In the wake of the attacks, CNN reported that Israel’s onslaught threw “doubt on the fragile ceasefire”. Orwellian doesn’t even begin to describe such framing. As it is, there was no “ceasefire”: not if your definition is firing ceasing. A single Israeli has been reported to have died in Gaza during the “ceasefire”: a contractor killed by the Israeli army, who mistook him for a Palestinian. A reported 150 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza during this “ceasefire”, and dozens others butchered in the West Bank. Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
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Turning on the lights is a luxury in my family. These benefit changes will push us even closer to the edge | Brian (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
For years we have cut back, and back again. My benefits will now be frozen, but there’s nothing left to sacrifice Brian takes part in Changing Realities, a collaboration between almost 200 parents and carers on a low income, researchers at the University of York and Child Poverty Action Group The run-up to today’s announcement of disability benefit cuts has been upsetting, leaving me feeling there is a devastating fight for survival ahead. It seems likely that disabled people and those unable to work will be pushed even further into hardship. I am a single father and get personal independence payments (Pip). I have mental health issues and was diagnosed with autism towards the end of the Covid pandemic. I also receive universal credit, getting the limited capability for work-related activity element, which, we now know, will be cut for new claimants and frozen for existing ones like me. As inflation continues to rise, the freeze will mean that my income falls and I’m left struggling even harder to make ends meet. I already live on the edge of existence with the amount of money I have to survive on after paying unavoidable expenses. Every day is a new challenge – not knowing what food I can afford to buy, and is also more expensive in the local shops I have to use because I can’t afford to travel to larger supermarkets. Brian takes part in Changing Realities, a collaboration between almost 200 parents and carers on a low income, researchers at the University of York and Child Poverty Action Group Continue reading...
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Pete Songi on Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin’s phone call – cartoon (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
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Regulators must not go soft on Thames Water now (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
With six bids on the table, the company’s reference to ‘support and accommodations’ sounds like a plea for special treatment Who wants to invest in Thames Water? Six parties have made proposals, said the company on Tuesday, adding that it hopes to have a financial restructuring deal on the table by the end of June. Five of the six plans involve write-downs for holders of the senior class A debt. Then came the vague – but crucial – bit. Most of the proposals “are conditional on further, and varying, regulatory support and accommodations being achieved”. What does that mean? The company will not explain what form of “support and accommodations” it has in mind, but a natural reading says this is a plea for special treatment. Continue reading...
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Netanyahu will never accept peace. Where will his perpetual war lead next? | Simon Tisdall (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Israel, backed by a capricious Donald Trump, never intended to honour the ceasefire. These airstrikes mark a dire new phase in the conflict The first and last rule of Benjamin Netanyahu’s doctrine of perpetual warfare is brutally to the point: peace cannot and must not be allowed to last. As indiscriminate, deadly fire once again descends upon the defenceless people of Gaza, unleashed on the orders of Israel’s bellicose prime minister, an anguished cry is heard. Is the precious two-month-long ceasefire with Hamas definitively over? To which comes the dismaying answer: it barely matters. This truce, now shattering into a million pieces, was but a brief, deceptive pause in a war that never stops. It doesn’t stop because Netanyahu is sustained in office by the unceasing state of national emergency that he and his supporters have nurtured and prolonged since the 7 October 2023 terrorist attacks. The war doesn’t stop because Netanyahu’s overarching aim – the destruction of Palestinian hopes of nationhood – is doomed to fail. It does not stop because those, inside Israel and abroad, who criticise Israeli government actions face being dismissed and abused for supposedly acting not in good faith and out of alarm at the human toll, but from antisemitic motives. Continue reading...
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For Palestinians, this was never a ceasefire | Dalia Hartuqa (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Even before this brutal attack, Israel has acted with impunity – safe in the knowledge that yet again, its allies will do nothing In less than 24 hours, heavy Israeli bombardment on the Gaza Strip has killed more than 4oo Palestinians, according to Palestinian health authorities, marking the end of a ceasefire that was announced in name only between Hamas and Israel on 15 January and took effect four days later. Even after months of negotiations led by the US, Qatar and Egypt, those observing Palestinian-Israeli affairs knew the ceasefire never really meant Israel ceased its fire on the besieged coastal territory. Between 22 January and 11 March, at least 700 Palestinians were either killed by the Israeli military or their bodies were retrieved from areas medics could not previously access, according to ministry of health in Gaza as reported by United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. In the past two months, Israel has also reneged on the terms of the truce, refusing to allow tents and trailers for people to seek shelter from the freezing cold that led to the death of several people, mainly babies, health officials say. 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...
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Donald Trump: the president making anywhere but America great again | Marina Hyde (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
The US stock market is spooked and his henchmogul’s companies are floundering. Has the great dealmaker been building up … the wrong nation? Naturally I assumed the feeling would pass, but one whole week after the US president turned the lawn of the White House into a crappy car dealership, I keep finding myself feeling … optimistic. I know, I know. But if anything, I find myself feeling a little bit more optimistic every day – and sometimes a lot more. Not for America, which keeps electing him, but for the rest of the world. It really would take a heart of stone for governments from Beijing to Delhi to Warsaw to look at the clip of this old guy trying to sell his friend’s electric cars and not think: “Ooooooooh, that is very, very bad vibes. Still, it’s good for us!” In China they have ironically nicknamed Trump “the nation builder”, meaning he is doing an incredible, bigly impressive job of bolstering the Chinese nation. Not to be disrespectful to that ancient golf bore holding the little piece of paper listing his car salesman talking points and gibbering “everything is computer”… but can this guy even organise an oligarchy? He’s certainly making his precious stock market run, stricken, in the direction of the nearest bathroom. Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
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The Guardian view on Israel breaking the ceasefire: destroying hope along with lives | Editorial (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Benjamin Netanyahu is kept in place by an endless war, at a terrible cost to Palestinians and hostages In shattering the two-month ceasefire that had brought a fragile peace and relief to Gaza, Israel has also smashed the faint hopes that a resolution might just remain within reach. This was one of the deadliest days since the early months of the conflict, sparked by the lethal Hamas raid of 7 October 2023. Israel says it was attacking “terror targets”, but health authorities in Gaza say that 174 children and 89 women were among the more than 400 dead. Evacuation orders issued by the military suggest that a renewed ground offensive may be on its way for traumatised and repeatedly displaced Palestinians. Benjamin Netanyahu warned that it was “only the beginning” and the military issued new evacuation orders to traumatised and repeatedly displaced Palestinians. Families of the remaining Israeli hostages are terrified and angry too, attacking the government for choosing to give up on them. Horror is piling upon horror. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed since the war began, and the numbers grew even during the ceasefire, many due to Israel’s blocking of aid. The British foreign secretary, David Lammy, belatedly acknowledged that as a breach of international law on Monday – only for the prime minister’s spokesperson to rebuke him. A UN report last week said that Israel’s attacks on women’s healthcare in Gaza amounted to “genocidal acts”, and that security forces had used sexual violence as a weapon of war to “dominate and destroy the Palestinian people”. A previous UN commission found that “relentless and deliberate attacks” on medical personnel and facilities amounted to war crimes. 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...
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The Guardian view on benefit cuts: these harmful changes must be fought | Editorial (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Reform of a flawed social security system is needed. But reducing payments to disabled claimants will only increase hardship With self-imposed fiscal rules leaving it little room for manoeuvre, the government has made its choice: no to more borrowing, tax rises or the wealth tax suggested by some of its own MPs – and yes to cutting disability benefits. Speaking in the House of Commons, Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, did her best to talk up the £1bn funding she has secured to help people back into work. But the bleak reality is that £5bn of cuts to disability and incapacity benefits are expected to leave up to 1 million people worse off. Dress it up as they might – by blaming the Tories for everything that has gone wrong with the system, and warning that the trajectory of rising claims is unsustainable – this is a wrong and cruel decision that ministers should live to regret. A possible freeze in the level of personal independence payments (Pips) paid to disabled people was dropped after protests. A means test has also not materialised, so the entitlement remains universal. But the criteria for claims are being tightened, at the same time as a separate assessment process for the health element of universal credit is scrapped. For those who don’t meet the new Pip criteria, there could be a £3,500 annual loss of income from next year (more details will come from the Office for Budget Responsibility). For many thousands of vulnerable households, this will be a life-changing loss of income. 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...
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The human cost of yet another NHS reorganisation | Letters (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
NHS England’s abolition makes us reflect on disastrous 2012 reforms, writes Dr Michael Cohen, while Jeremy Wainman decries the dismantling of a skilled workforce, Nigel Turner explains the reorganisation cycle, and Martin Shaw invites the health secretary to visit his local hospital As the Labour party plans yet another costly NHS reorganisation, we should reflect on the former health secretary Andrew Lansley’s disastrous and expensive reforms in 2012 (Keir Starmer scraps NHS England to put health service ‘into democratic control’, 13 March). I worked as an NHS GP and hospital specialist for 25 years. Those of us working in the service could see where many of the major problems lay, but rather than listening to those working at the coalface, David Cameron seemed to be seduced by Lansley’s ideas. The disastrous effects of the reorganisation were seen most clearly when the Covid pandemic struck, with respect to provision of personal protective equipment and the test-and-trace debacle. Effective public health pathways had been changed and there was no joined-up thinking whatsoever. Continue reading...
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Seeing off the threat from Reform in Runcorn byelection | Letters (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Phil Tate and Keeley Cavendish on what Labour needs to do to take on Nigel Farage’s party Voters who are attracted to Reform UK – the poorer ones, not the millionaires who control the party – are concerned about the cost of living and immigration and its effects on employment, GP appointments, etc (‘I like Nigel Farage’: Runcorn and Helsby byelection could be big test for Starmer, 15 March). Some have decided to take a punt on Reform UK as they feel they have nothing to lose and it is the only party offering an alternative. That alternative should be Labour, but with its refusal to discuss immigration in a meaningful way, its apparent desire to recreate austerity, to cut benefits for ill and disabled people, having already cut the winter fuel allowance, and its refusal to raise money by cutting tax allowances for the rich, the party seems to have ruled itself out. Continue reading...
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‘Second star on the jersey’: Dan Burn tunes in to Tuchel’s England vision (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Newcastle defender believes new head coach has made an instant impact on the squad with focus on 2026 World Cup Thomas Tuchel ushered in a fresh dawn with England by spelling out to the players that it was purely about winning the 2026 World Cup. The head coach delivered an inspirational address at St George’s Park on ­Monday, according to Dan Burn, who is a part of the squad for the first time, stressing that the time together would be short and every day counted. Continue reading...
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Slegers pitches for better conditions as Wright labels Madrid surface ‘disgrace’ (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Heavy rain left Real Madrid’s pitch almost unplayable Hosts beat Arsenal 2-0 in first leg of WCL quarter-final The Arsenal manager, Renée Slegers, said that improving pitch conditions is “the next step for women’s football” after the state of the playing surface at the Estadio Alfredo di Stéfano drew strong criticism during Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat against Real Madrid in the first leg of their Women’s Champions League quarter-final. A combination of heavy rain in Madrid and a stadium unsuitable for such an occasion made for a pitch that was almost unplayable. Continue reading...
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‘Forever a hero to our city’: Eddie Howe to be awarded freedom of Newcastle (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Manager joins Shearer, Robson and Milburn with award Howe could enjoy livestock grazing rights on Town Moor Eddie Howe is set to be awarded the freedom of Newcastle after becoming the first manager of the city’s football team to win a major domestic honour for 70 years. Howe’s nomination is expected to be rubber-stamped at the next full meeting of the city council after he led Newcastle United to their Carabao Cup triumph against Liverpool at Wembley on Sunday. Continue reading...
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Andreeva continues to defy odds of the modern teenage tennis prodigy (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Changes in WTA tour means the days of child stars are gone, which is why 17-year-old’s achievements are so significant There are two teenagers in the top 100 of the WTA rankings at the moment. Women’s tennis, in some ways, was built on the success of its child prodigies – Chris Evert, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis and the Williams sisters – who audaciously stormed towards the top in their youth, demanding attention. Those days are long gone. Between the improved depth, physicality and professionalism at the lower levels, possibly a more sparse talent pool and the WTA’s age eligibility rules restricting the number of tournaments a child can contest, it is increasingly more difficult to flit up the rankings so early. Continue reading...
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‘I know how important it is to tell people you love them’: England’s Meg Jones on family tragedy, hope and rugby (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
As England approach the Six Nations in a World Cup year, the centre juggles grief and guilt after losing her father to cancer and mother to alcoholism “I’ll just use my sleeve,” Meg Jones says softly as the tears slide down her face. The England centre tries to stem the flow of pain while I scuffle around in search of a tissue in one of my pockets. It takes a while, but I finally dig out a stray sheet of kitchen towel. Jones laughs, while still crying, as she accepts my scrunched-up offering and assurance that it is unused. She wipes her eyes and continues talking about the personal tragedies of the past year. Jones’s childhood was haunted by her mother’s alcoholism and then, between August and December, both her parents died – her Welsh dad, Simon, and then her English mum, Paula. Continue reading...
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Imane Khelif hits back at Donald Trump and targets Olympic gold defence in LA (Wed, 19 Mar 2025)
Algerian tells ITV News she plans to defend Paris title Khelif says Trump comments ‘do not intimidate me’ Imane Khelif has said she is looking forward to defending her Olympic title in Los Angeles, and will not be intimidated by the United States president, Donald Trump. The 25-year-old Algerian boxer, who won gold amid controversy and huge media attention at the Paris Olympics last year, has signalled her intention to repeat the feat in 2028 and hit back after Trump wrongly claimed she was transgender in August. Continue reading...
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France’s Peato Mauvaka cited for head-first lunge at Scotland’s Ben White (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Hooker cited for foul play after Six Nations finale Mauvaka had received yellow card over incident The France hooker Peato Mauvaka has been cited for foul play after an off-the-ball incident with Scotland’s Ben White in their final Six Nations match. Mauvaka received a yellow card for throwing himself head first into the grounded scrum-half during France’s title-clinching win in Paris on Saturday. The incident was referred for a bunker review at the time but the punishment was not increased beyond the 10 minutes in the sin-bin. Continue reading...
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Mauricio Pochettino: ‘In five or 10 years the US can be No 1 in the world’ (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Argentinian reveals the challenges of managing the US men’s national side, that he was never in consideration for the England job and how he would love a return to Spurs Pressure? It comes with the territory for Mauricio Pochettino, what with his territory these days being the United States and the job of managing the men’s national team. For a World Cup. That the US will largely host next year. And yet Pochettino felt the dial turn a little further on the Friday before last when he watched a clip of Donald Trump hosting Gianni Infantino at the White House. “Can the US win?” Trump asked his presidential counterpart at Fifa. To which, for a man as obsequious as Infantino, there was only one reply. Pochettino smiles. “Gianni said yes, but I was disappointed with this answer,” he says. “He should say: ‘You need to ask your great coach, Pochettino.’ Because for sure, he can give a better opinion.” Continue reading...
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Trump administration may fire more than 1,000 EPA scientists and scrap research office, Democrats say (Wed, 19 Mar 2025)
The potential layoffs listed in documents reviewed by Democrats are part of the White House'’s broader push to shrink the federal government The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to eliminate its scientific research office and could fire more than 1,000 scientists and other employees who help provide the scientific foundation for rules safeguarding human health and ecosystems from environmental pollutants. As many as 1,155 chemists, biologists, toxicologists and other scientists – 75% of the research programme’s staff – could be laid off, according to documents reviewed by Democratic staff on the house committee on science, space and technology. Continue reading...
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More than 150 ‘unprecedented’ climate disasters struck world in 2024, says UN (Wed, 19 Mar 2025)
Floods, heatwaves and supercharged hurricanes occurred in hottest climate human society has ever experienced The devastating impacts of the climate crisis reached new heights in 2024, with scores of unprecedented heatwaves, floods and storms across the globe, according to the UN’s World Meteorological Organization. The WMO’s report on 2024, the hottest year on record, sets out a trail of destruction from extreme weather that took lives, demolished buildings and ravaged vital crops. More than 800,000 people were displaced and made homeless, the highest yearly number since records began in 2008. Continue reading...
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Countries must bolster climate efforts or risk war, Cop30 chief executive warns (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Ana Toni also criticises the UK’s plans to slash overseas aid to fund defence spending Countries looking to boost their national security through rearmament or increased defence spending must also bolster their climate efforts or face more wars in the future, one of the leaders of the next UN climate summit has warned. Some countries could decide to include climate spending in their defence budgets, suggested Ana Toni, Brazil’s chief executive of the Cop30 summit. Continue reading...
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North Sea collision: operation to clear up plastic pellets begins (Mon, 17 Mar 2025)
Thousands of nurdles, which pose a danger to wildlife, have begun to wash up on Norfolk beaches and the surrounding coast An operation is under way to retrieve thousands of plastic pellets from the North Sea that were spilt in a collision between two ships last week, in which one man died. The coastguard said the pellets, made of plastic resin and known as nurdles, were spotted by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and have begun to wash up in melted clumps on beaches in Norfolk and the surrounding coast. Continue reading...
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Luton triple-murderer wanted to gain notoriety with school plot, court hears (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Nicholas Prosper, 19, planned to kill 30 pupils and two teachers after shooting his mother, brother and sister dead A 19-year-old man who shot dead his mother and two younger siblings had planned to kill 30 children at a primary school, a court has heard. Nicholas Prosper, from Luton, Bedfordshire, had wanted to carry out the killing at his former primary school to gain notoriety as a mass murderer, and had been planning it for months. Continue reading...
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Ban smartphones for UK under-16s, urges Adolescence writer (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Jack Thorne, whose Netflix series has shone a light on incel culture, calls for restrictions on teens’ social media access Smartphones should be treated like cigarettes and banned until the age of 16 in the UK, according to the writer of Adolescence, which explores the insidious influence of “incel-culture”. Jack Thorne, whose Netflix show has started a national conversation about the danger of online spaces for teenagers, argued that algorithms used on social media platforms could quickly lead to “dark spaces”. Continue reading...
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Woman killed and two injured after van mounts pavement in central London (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Met police arrest man on suspicion of causing death by careless driving after incident on the Strand A woman was killed and two pedestrians injured, including one seriously, when a van mounted the pavement on the Strand in central London. The driver of the van was arrested at the scene on suspicion of causing death by careless driving and driving with a concentration of drugs above the legal limit. Continue reading...
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Two men found guilty over £4.8m Oxfordshire gold toilet heist (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Michael Jones convicted of planning Blenheim Palace burglary and Frederick Doe of conspiracy to transfer criminal property Two men have been found guilty of the theft of a £4.8m gold toilet from the Oxfordshire country house where Winston Churchill was born. Blenheim Palace’s 18-carat lavatory was stolen in September 2019 while it was featuring in an art exhibition and is believed to have been split up and disposed of. Continue reading...
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Woman found Noel Clarke ‘sexually threatening’ at dinner, court told (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Accuser, who was 20 at the time, says she was frightened of the actor when he propositioned her in 2014 A “wide-eyed” 20-year-old woman found Noel Clarke “sexually threatening” and was frightened of him when he propositioned her over dinner, the high court has heard. Clarke, 49, is suing Guardian News and Media (GNM) for libel over seven articles and a podcast published between April 2021 and March 2022 accusing him of sexual misconduct. Continue reading...
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Tanni Grey-Thompson among disability campaigners criticising ‘brutal’ benefit cuts (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Paralympian says toxic rhetoric around welfare changes has stirred up hatred against disabled people in UK Toxic rhetoric around benefit cuts has stirred up hatred against disabled people, Tanni Grey-Thompson has said, as campaigners called the government’s planned welfare changes “brutal and reckless”. Lady Grey-Thompson, a Paralympic champion and cross-bench peer, said she had been contacted by disabled people saying they had been shouted at in the street by passersby telling them they were “going to get their benefits cut”. Continue reading...
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British tourist detained in US after visa mix-up returns to UK – reports (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Images broadcast of Rebecca Burke’s arrival at Heathrow after her release from immigration detention centre A British woman detained in the US for three weeks because of a visa mix-up has reportedly arrived back in the UK. Sky News broadcast images of Rebecca Burke, 28, a graphic artist from Monmouthshire, being welcomed at Heathrow airport by a loved one. Her return to the UK comes after her family confirmed she had been released from a immigration detention centre. Continue reading...
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Fewer GCSE exams proposed in Labour’s curriculum review – but Sats to stay (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Interim report for schools in England to also recommend more emphasis on digital and media literacy, sustainability and climate science Pupils should sit fewer GCSE exams and Michael Gove’s English baccalaureate faces being scrapped under plans to be recommended in Labour’s long-awaited curriculum review. An interim report published on Tuesday outlining the review’s initial findings indicated Sats and other primary school assessments would survive, despite widespread objections from parents and teachers. Continue reading...
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Green campaigners attempt citizen’s arrests of Thames Water executives (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Chris Weston and Alastair Cochran targeted by group who accuse them of causing a public nuisance Environmental campaigners have attempted citizen’s arrests of the chief executive and chief financial officer of Thames Water on suspicion of causing a causing a public nuisance. The campaigners accuse Chris Weston and Alastair Cochran of five to seven counts of the offence, which is regularly used against protesters, including illegal discharge of sewage, mismanagement of customer funds and operating unsafe infrastructure. Continue reading...
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Covid inquiry: ex-minister defends VIP contract lane despite ‘one or two crooks’ (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Lord Agnew says fast-track PPE procurement was not ‘some kind of plan by rightwing people to enrich themselves’ A former minister behind the controversial VIP lane for supplying personal protective equipment during the pandemic said “some crooks” were probably awarded contracts, but defended the scheme as necessary to plug shortages. Lord Agnew, who was a Cabinet Office minister responsible for procurement during the pandemic, accused the Covid inquiry of having a “misconceived obsession with the high-priority lane”. Continue reading...
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Musk and Doge’s USAid shutdown likely violated US constitution, judge rules (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Judge halts efforts to fire USAid workers, a major setback in administration’s attempts to bulldoze federal government Never miss global breaking news. Download our free app to keep up with key stories in real time. A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that Elon Musk and the so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) likely violated the US constitution by shutting down USAid, ordering the Trump administration to reverse some of the actions it took to dismantle the agency. The decision by US district judge Theodore Chuang was sweeping in its scope and marked a major setback for the administration’s signature takedown in its effort to bulldoze through the federal government. Continue reading...
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France preparing ‘survival manual’ for every household, report says (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Booklet to give guidance on preparing for ‘imminent threats’ including armed conflict and natural disaster The French government is reportedly planning to send a “survival manual” to every household in the country with instructions on how to prepare for an “imminent threat” including armed conflict, a health crisis or a natural disaster. If approved by François Bayrou, the prime minister, the 20-page booklet will be sent to households before the summer, French media reported. Continue reading...
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Hungary bans Pride events and plans to use facial recognition to target attenders (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Amnesty International describes legislation as ‘full-frontal attack’ on country’s LGBTQ+ population MPs in Hungary have voted to ban Pride events and allow authorities to use facial recognition software to identify attenders and potentially fine them, in what Amnesty International has described as a “full-frontal attack” on LGBTQ+ people. The legislation – the latest by the prime minister, Viktor Orbán, and his rightwing populist party to target LGBTQ+ rights – was pushed through parliament on Tuesday. Believed to be the first of its kind in the EU’s recent history, the nationwide ban passed by 136 votes to 27 after it was submitted to parliament one day earlier. Continue reading...
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Bulgarian footballer honoured with minute’s silence … despite not being dead (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Petko Ganchev mistakenly commemorated by former club ‘When I heard the terrible news, I poured myself a brandy’ A Bulgarian footballer who was honoured with a minute’s silence by his former club, despite not being dead, has shared his side of the story and admitted “being buried alive is quite stressful, really”. The life of Petko Ganchev was commemorated by the top-division side Arda Kardzhali last Sunday, after they were wrongly informed of the former striker’s demise. Continue reading...
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Canada announces C$6bn deal with Australia to develop Arctic radar missile-detection system (Wed, 19 Mar 2025)
Canadian prime minister Mark Carney says deal on ‘over the horizon’ radar is part of effort to assert Canada’s sovereignty over Arctic as US priorities shift The Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, has announced a C$6bn deal (A$6.6bn) with Australia to develop an Arctic radar system, warning that Canada must take more responsibility for its defence as US priorities shift. Carney made the announcement on Tuesday in Iqaluit, capital of the Nunavut territory in the Canadian Arctic, on the final leg of his first official trip as prime minister since taking over from Justin Trudeau last week. Continue reading...
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Mexico City introduces ‘bloodless bullfighting’ in win for animal rights activists (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Activists celebrate move, but note that ‘a bull event without violence does not mean one without suffering’ Mexico City’s congress has voted to ban traditional bullfights and replace them with a new form of bloodless spectacle, marking the latest episode in a years-long legal battle to outlaw the practice in the capital. Animal rights activists celebrated the move on Tuesday – even if it wasn’t the total ban on bullfighting they had been pushing for. Continue reading...
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German man with green card ‘violently interrogated’ by US border officials (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Berlin checking if US immigration policy has changed after Fabian Schmidt becomes third German to be detained Berlin is investigating whether US immigration policy has changed, after a German national who is a permanent US resident was detained and “violently interrogated” by US border officials. Fabian Schmidt, 34, is being held at a detention centre in Rhode Island after attempting to return to his home in New Hampshire after a trip to Luxembourg. Continue reading...
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FBI investigates blazes at Las Vegas Tesla showroom as potential terrorism (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Federal law enforcement is looking into at least three other Molotov cocktail incidents at Tesla showrooms across US Never miss global breaking news. Download our free app to keep up with key stories in real time. The Las Vegas police department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are investigating a blaze set at Tesla showroom as potential terrorism. The FBI is probing at least three other incidents of Molotov cocktails hurled at Tesla facilities since January, including one in Kansas City, Missouri, that took place on the same night as the alleged arson in Nevada. In Las Vegas, in the middle of the night on Tuesday, a cluster of Tesla vehicles were set on fire as they sat in a lot at a Tesla collision center, according to the Las Vegas metropolitan police department. Security cameras caught a person dressed in all black tossing what appeared to be Molotov cocktails into the vehicles at approximately 2.45am. Continue reading...
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Gal Gadot’s Walk of Fame ceremony disrupted by political protesters (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Police and protesters clashed at Hollywood ceremony for Israeli Wonder Woman star who has been vocal in support Pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted the Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony for Israeli actor Gal Gadot on Tuesday, delaying the event and inciting police response. Several dozen protesters gathered ahead of the ceremony for the Wonder Woman star, who is an outspoken supporter of the Israeli military. According to Variety, pro-Palestinian protesters held signs that read “Heroes Fight Like Palestinians,” “Viva Viva Palestina” and “No Other Land Won Oscar,” referring to the documentary on Israeli incursions onto Palestinian land in the West Bank that won the award for best documentary this month. Continue reading...
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Russia using criminal networks to drive increase in sabotage acts, says Europol (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Proxies deploying tactics including migrant smuggling in destabilisation efforts across EU, enforcement agency finds Europe live – latest updates Russia and other state actors are driving an increase in politically motivated cyber-attacks and sabotage of infrastructure and public institutions in the EU, the bloc’s police enforcement agency has found. Europol’s 80-page serious and organised crime threat assessment for 2025 also describes in detail how “hybrid threat” actors have established a “shadow alliance” with organised criminal gangs in Europe to try to destabilise the functioning of the EU and its member states. Continue reading...
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Samantha Harvey and Téa Obreht shortlisted for inaugural Climate fiction prize (Wed, 19 Mar 2025)
The Orbital and Morningside authors join Abi Daré, Roz Dineen and Kaliane Bradley in the running for the £10,000 award, for inspiring ways to ‘rise to the challenges of the climate crisis with hope and inventiveness’ Samantha Harvey and Téa Obreht are among the writers in the running for the inaugural Climate fiction prize. Harvey’s Orbital, her Booker-winning novel set on the International Space Station, and Obreht’s novel The Morningside, about refugees from an unnamed country, have both been shortlisted for the new prize, which aims to “celebrate the most inspiring novels tackling the climate crisis”. Continue reading...
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Piper, no! Parker Posey’s viral White Lotus accent is a gift to us all (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
The actor’s lorazepam-fueled North Carolinian line delivery in the comedy drama series has taken the internet by storm Every season of The White Lotus has its thing: a moment that takes off and becomes its own monster until long after the end credits roll on the finale. Season one was the suitcase poop scene, an effect so bizarrely groundbreaking that other showrunners wound up publicly musing on how much it must have cost. Season two’s thing was Jennifer Coolidge saying, “These gays, they’re trying to murder me,” which you will see replayed three times a minute whenever you look at anyone’s Instagram stories. It might be too early to definitively state what season three’s thing is – The White Lotus always goes from a standing start to a nutso finale, and we still have three episodes left for things to really ramp up – but there are already a couple of contenders. For a while, it looked like it might have been Jason Isaacs’ penis, until he forcefully shut down the conversation last week. And that leaves the single most spectacular thing about the season so far: Parker Posey’s accent. Continue reading...
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‘We put all of life into the mincer’: These New Puritans on their kaleidoscopic new album (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Adored by Björk, Massive Attack and Elton John, the cult avant-popsters are back with an album that takes in everything from Greek church bells to Ukraine. We meet the Barnett twins among the Southend amusement arcades Jack and George Barnett arrange to meet me at the Hope Hotel, an 18th-century pub in their native Southend. With Talking Heads on the jukebox and pints already flowing at midday, it feels like we’ve stepped back into the good-time Essex seaside town of old. The twins arrive, Jack in a dark grey tweed and black fleece, George in knitwear and leather jacket. They suggest going outside so we don’t have to shout over 1980s hits, but if anything the sonic interference of Southend – all amusement arcades and revving motors – is worse. It turns out this chimes with the creation of Crooked Wing, the fifth album from their band These New Puritans. Jack was living on an industrial estate in Tottenham, London, between factories and evangelical churches. “I think some of the loudness,” he says, “comes from trying to compete with all the machinery and religious ecstasy.” Continue reading...
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Astonishing Things: The Drawings of Victor Hugo review – masterpieces from a man with a heart as big as the Notre Dame (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Royal Academy, London From hanged men and inky cephalopods to shadowy gothic castles, these cosmic, horror-tinged works let the Les Misérables writer and liberal political campaigner speak directly to us Victor Hugo is the French equivalent of Shakespeare and Dickens. The inventor of Quasimodo and Jean Valjean is so universal that we absorb his myths even if we have never picked up one of his books. Yet how much do most of us know about Hugo himself, behind the books, the films, the musicals? By dedicating an exhibition to this versatile creator’s visual art, which started with a few caricatures and developed into sublime and surreal masterpieces, the Royal Academy does something unexpectedly moving. It takes you into the secret heart of a man we tend to think of only as a classic. For instance we discover that Hugo campaigned against the death penalty nearly two centuries ago. His 1854 drawing Ecce Lex (Behold the Law) is a macabre inky portrait of a hanged corpse, part of his doomed campaign to save a condemned murderer called John Tapner. Hugo opposed capital punishment on principle, but a few years later gave permission for this drawing to be made into a print protesting the execution of American anti-slavery activist John Brown. If there was a liberal cause, Hugo threw his huge heart into it. Continue reading...
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Anti-plague amulets and IOUs: the excavation that brings Roman London thundering back to life (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
With sandals that look fresher than last year’s Birkenstocks, gossipy messages recovered from writing tablets and 73,000 shards of pottery, London Museum’s new collection is like falling head-first into the first century Archaeologists don’t always get lucky when a site is redeveloped in the middle of London. People have been building in the city for millennia and, in more recent times, bombing it. But if the building before went too deep, or there has been too much exposure to the air by bomb damage in the past, there won’t be much to find. Things were especially bad before 1991, when there was no planning protection for anything but scheduled ancient monuments. “We used to have to beg to get on site,” says Sophie Jackson, archaeologist at Museum of London Archaeology (Mola). It’s not that developers are insensitive, says Jackson: “When we did the excavation at Barts hospital, [it] was functioning above us – we were right under the MRI machines. Developers recognise the social value.” It’s just that the stars don’t often align. Continue reading...
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‘Our show fits in a duffel bag’: clowning duo Xhloe and Natasha on scoring a triple fringe whammy (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
They came out of the blue and electrified Edinburgh with absurdist takes on Americana. Now the US pair are doing all three hits back to back – and dreaming of not having to share a room It’s a story to keep Edinburgh fringe dreams alive. On their own dime, Xhloe Rice and Natasha Roland rocked up at the festival in 2022 to try their luck. The US duo’s queer western clown show, And Then the Rodeo Burned Down, went from an audience of seven to winning a Fringe First award and selling out. They repeated both feats with another two-hander in 2023. And another in 2024. This summer, the best friends – who perform as Xhloe and Natasha – will stage all three prize winners in Edinburgh. That is, if they can afford to get there. “We haven’t bought our flight tickets yet,” says Rice, highlighting the grim economic truth behind fringe success. “We have to wait until we make a bit more money.” Continue reading...
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The best hair straighteners for foolproof styling, tried and tested by our expert (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
From cordless designs to budget buys, we’ve tested the top hair straighteners for every hair type • Everything I’ve learned as a beauty columnist about the products that actually work Straighteners are here to stay – but thankfully, heat styling has come a long way since GHD’s first ceramic straighteners ushered in an era of poker-straight hair in 2001. Today’s models feature adjustable heat settings and protective technology for hairstyling with minimal damage. The looks you can achieve with a straightener have become more versatile as well: one twist of a modern, curved-edge straightener can create styles from ultra-smooth strands to structured ringlets and soft, beachy waves. There’s a wide range of styling possibilities with just one tool. Best overall hair straighteners: GHD Platinum Plus £199 at GHD Best budget hair straighteners: Remington Shine Therapy S8500£29.99 at Boots Best cordless hair straighteners: Dyson Corrale£399.99 at Boots Best hair straighteners for long or thick hair: GHD Max£174 at John Lewis Best premium hair straighteners: Cloud Nine New Original £219 at Look Fantastic Continue reading...
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From Thermos flasks to wooden brushes: everything that helps you use less plastic (Mon, 17 Mar 2025)
This week: how you’re ridding your life of plastic; refillable beauty products; and top chefs on their favourite gadgets • Don’t get the Filter delivered to your inbox? Sign up here When we asked readers of the Filter to tell us how they use less plastic, it’s fair to say few were quite as dedicated as Helen Mann. “I only buy Clipper teabags [which are plastic-free],” she told us, “and I grow my own nettles, nasturtiums, dandelions and mint, then dehydrate them and use the leaves in organic cotton teabags. “I have replaced plastic soap dispensers with glass ones, and other household items such as clothes horses with wooden ones. My washing-up bowl is stainless steel. I buy bamboo dish cloths and use wooden brushes to wash up. I use aluminium-free bicarbonate of soda and distilled vinegar to clean the house; fresh lemon juice and bicarb for the floors. ‘It just wasn’t very buttery’: the best (and worst) unsalted butter, tasted and rated The best steam cleaners and mops for a sparkling home, tested Everything you need to make great sourdough – and the kit you can do without A century of chic: the best Chanel-style jackets to rival the real thing The best rice cookers for gloriously fluffy grains at home: nine tried and tested favourites Continue reading...
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Otty Original Hybrid mattress review: the best hybrid mattress you can buy – and also one of the cheapest (Sun, 16 Mar 2025)
This ‘bed-in-a-box’ mattress gave our tester her best sleep in years and it’s hundreds of pounds cheaper than some of its rivals • The best mattresses: sleep better with our six rigorously tested picks I’ve been reviewing mattresses for about four years and suffering from broken sleep for three times as long. The right mattress can markedly improve sleep quality, but switching between them so regularly seemed to feed my insomnia. Then I met the Otty Original Hybrid and I was blissfully dead to the world. The Original Hybrid is the flagship “bed-in-a-box” mattress from UK company Otty Sleep. It combines thousands of pocket springs with multiple layers of memory foam – some soft, some thumpingly firm – to offer robust ergonomic support without sacrificing comfort. At less than £680 for a double, it’s among the cheapest bed-in-a-box hybrids (meaning a combination of memory foam and springs) you can buy, and after testing several I’m confident that it’s the best buy. Continue reading...
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‘It just wasn’t very buttery’: the best (and worst) unsalted butter, tasted and rated | The food filter (Sat, 15 Mar 2025)
Which supermarket unsalted butter leaves a sour taste, and whose is the fat of the land? Our very own baking ace churns through the contenders • The best stand mixers to make baking easier – and even more fun Unsalted butter is easily one of my most used ingredients. At any given time, I have at least four blocks in my fridge, ready to be softened and whipped into cakes or rubbed into flour for pastry. There is a camp of people who prefer to use salted butter for baking, and while there are definitely instances where that has its place (think shortbread and cookies), I find it much easier and more consistent to be able to control the salt level myself, especially because it varies so much between brands. However, I tasted each butter on its own (much harder than you think!) and spread it on a plain cracker. The differences between them were much more subtle than I’d been expecting and, for the most part, it was hard to tell which was which. I don’t think you can go too wrong when deciding what to choose, especially if you’re using the butter in baking. But, personally, I avoid those newly downsized 200g blocks – they can work out to nearly double the price a kilo! Continue reading...
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How can I use up surplus egg whites without making meringues? | Kitchen aide (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
There’s no excuse for ditching excess egg whites. Use them up in macarons and fritters, to marinate fish and meat, or just in a pisco sour Got a culinary dilemma? Email feast@theguardian.com What can I do with leftover egg whites? And don’t say meringues! Billowy meringues may be the most high-profile pal of surplus egg whites, but their circle is far wider and more encompassing than those delicate shells. “My immediate thought is chocolate mousse,” says Oliver Costello, co-owner of Toad Bakery in south London. “White chocolate is quite good here, because the egg whites take its richness down. If you’ve ever had a pot of Milkybar yoghurt dessert, it’s a bit like that.” It couldn’t be simpler to make, either: “Melt white chocolate in a bain-marie or in bursts in the microwave, and whip some cream to stiff peaks in a separate bowl. Fold the melted chocolate into the cream, then whisk egg whites to stiff peaks and fold those in, too.” Chill for three hours, then grab a spoon and dig in, perhaps accompanied by a little poached or baked rhubarb. Rosie Healey, of Gloriosa in Glasgow, meanwhile, would put her excess egg whites to work in some coconut macarons. “They’re so delicious and easy,” she says, plus they’ll also account for a decent number of whites in one fell swoop. “Whip them up, stir in a load of desiccated coconut, then bake.” Dip the cooked macarons in melted chocolate, put them in the fridge to set and the job’s a good’un. Got a culinary dilemma? Email feast@theguardian.com Continue reading...
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My late husband’s care home owes me £10,000 and won’t pay (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
The council took over the costs for his care and sent the provider a refund for five months of fees I’d paid. But it isn’t passing it on Can you help me get £10,000 owed to me by the care home provider Leicestershire County Care? My husband was resident in one of their care homes before he died in June last year. Because our savings had dropped below the ­government threshold for self-funded care, the local authority had agreed to pay the £5,000-a-month cost. However, by the time it ­completed its assessment last May, I’d had to pay a further five months of fees myself. Continue reading...
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My wife is my best friend. How do I tell her I want an open marriage? (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
I want us to stay together, but our sex drives are very different and I need to feel desired without the guilt of a secret affair I am a thirtysomething woman and have been with my partner for six years – we’ve been married for about half that time. In many ways, we have a wonderful marriage: she is my best friend as well as my wife. The issue is our sex life. She has a very low sex drive, whereas mine is high. She won’t ever instigate sex, due to past trauma, and I can no longer tolerate always being the one doing the chasing. As a result, our sex life is pretty dead in the water. I do not want to end our marriage, but I want to be desired. We have tried to talk about this, but nothing ever really changes and I am now at the point where I have become less and less attracted to her sexually and we’ve both stopped trying. Last year, I developed an infatuation with someone at work. It lasted for a year and I spent a lot of time imagining what it would be like to be with her. It has died down only because I have distanced myself from her. But it made me realise how much I want to have sex with someone else. I have no idea how to go about telling my wife that I want to stay married, but sleep with other people – yet I don’t think I could live with the guilt if I had a secret affair. You have reached a point where you need to act. Mismatched levels of desire commonly occur in relationships, but when only one partner is willing to take steps to create more sexual parity, nothing is likely to change short of an ultimatum. You will have to talk seriously to her in a non-blaming, non-confrontational manner and be frank about your feelings. Ask her to seek some help and let her know you are willing to support her journey, whether it is an individual struggle (therapy for her past trauma would probably be very helpful), or a couples issue that needs to be addressed. Start off by doing your best to reassure her about your love for her and your desire to stay married. Pamela Stephenson Connolly is a US-based psychotherapist who specialises in treating sexual disorders. If you would like advice from Pamela on sexual matters, send us a brief description of your concerns to private.lives@theguardian.com (please don’t send attachments). Each week, Pamela chooses one problem to answer, which will be published online. She regrets that she cannot enter into personal correspondence. Submissions are subject to our terms and conditions. Continue reading...
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Jose Pizarro’s recipe for hot cross torrijas with saffron syrup (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Spanish-style eggy bread, but using hot cross buns and doused in an orangey saffron syrup Torrijas have long been a symbol of Easter in Spain, a much-loved tradition that’s now enjoyed all year round. They were originally made to use up old bread, turning simple leftovers into something truly delicious. Here, I’m giving them a very early Easter twist with hot cross buns, which add their own special flavour and soft texture. The saffron syrup brings a lovely warmth and a little touch of something special, making these torrijas feel just right for the season while still keeping that familiar, comforting charm we all love. Continue reading...
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Isas: six steps to take before the April allowance deadline (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
From shopping around to filling up an existing pot, follow these tips on a tax-efficient way to save or invest money The maximum you can put away each tax year in any adult Isa is £20,000. That limit does not include any interest or other returns earned on your money. It covers all types of Isa you may hold: any cash, stocks and shares, innovative (containing peer-to-peer investments), lifetime or help-to-buy Isas. Continue reading...
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Tell us: how will you be impacted by rising UK energy and council tax rates from April? (Fri, 14 Mar 2025)
We want to hear the impact on your cost of living from rises to the energy price cap and council tax rates Millions of homes will see their bills rising from April, as increases kick in for the energy price cap and council tax rates. Energy regulator Ofgem said the price cap on gas and electricity charges will rise by £111 from April to an average of £1,849-a-year for a typical household. Continue reading...
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Parents in England: share your experience of your children being absent from school (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
We would like to hear from parents and the reasons why their children have been finding it difficult to attend school Five years after Covid closed schools in England, there is still a crisis in school attendance. This week the Department for Education will publish its latest figures for 2023/4. We’re interested in finding out more about the experience of parents whose children are absent from school and the reasons behind this. How long have your children been away from school and why? Perhaps they were affected by the Covid pandemic, or maybe they have recently been diagnosed as being neurodivergent or SEND? Have you received any support from your local school or council to help get your child to return? What was your experience like? Do you have any concerns? Continue reading...
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Tell us about your favourite Jane Austen books (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
We’d like to hear about your most-loved Austen novels and what they mean to you To celebrate 250 years of Jane Austen, authors such as Colm Tóibín and Katherine Rundell talked to the Guardian about their favourite novel. We’d now like to hear what you think. What are your favourite Jane Austen books and why? Do they have a particular memory for you, or perhaps you relate to some of the characters and their relationships? Continue reading...
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Parents in England: share your experiences of NHS dental services for your children (Wed, 26 Feb 2025)
We would like to hear from parents about their children’s experiences of getting NHS dental treatment According to a government report, nearly 50,000 tooth extractions took place last year in NHS hospitals in England for 0 to 19-year-olds, with 62% of those having a primary diagnosis of tooth decay. We would like to hear from parents in England about their experiences of accessing NHS dental services for their children. Were you able to find somewhere locally or do you have to travel further afield? How easy have you found it to access care? We’re also interested in hearing from those whose children have had hospital tooth extractions recently. Continue reading...
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The US is detaining people trying to enter the country. Trump has really let ICE off the leash | First Dog on the Moon (Wed, 19 Mar 2025)
It is so bad they are even doing these things to white people now Sign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are published Get all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and prints Continue reading...
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I’m obsessed with cave diving. This is the closest environment we have to space (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Some of the caves I dive in are hundreds of thousands of years old and the marine life is unique. But they can be very dangerous places Cave diving is like swimming through the history of the planet. There are remains of both humans and animals but also stalactites and stalagmites. These cannot form when the cave is flooded, so you can see when parts of it were submerged and when it was dry. Yet when I’m in a cave, time does not tick. There is no natural light, so the cave looks the same, whether it’s midday or midnight. If you cave dive without the right training, equipment and mindset, it can be a very dangerous place. I have a very meditative focus when I’m down there. I live in the now. I cannot think about anything else but what is happening in the cave. I find that very soothing and relaxing. Continue reading...
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The impact of Trump 2.0 on Australia is evidence of how American we suddenly aren’t | Van Badham (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Our two countries once shared a history fighting together for freedom. But does the US, like, even do that any more? Australians have found the behaviour of our American cousins challenging of late. Cultural differences yawn as wide as the Pacific between us. We were not sad to see “the baby wombat grabber” go. The first mistake made by Montana-based tourist Sam Jones, Online Influencer, was to snatch a joey from its mother at night. Her second mistake was to sway the frightened creature in front of some gormless chucklehead who filmed her – giggling – and to upload the footage to the internet. Continue reading...
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Of tinkerers and dreamers: striving to be the fastest on the salt on Lake Gairdner (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Hundreds of drivers and crew converge on the South Australian dry lake to test their mettle against some of the world’s fastest land vehicles Sign up for the Rural Network email newsletter Few people understand speed and salt better than Marlo Treit. At 87 years old, the Canadian-born veteran of salt lake racing this month returned to Lake Gairdner to once again test his mettle against some of the fastest vehicles on dry land in the world. Lake Gairdner is Australia’s home of salt lake racing. Each year the Dry Lakes Racers Australia Speed Week attracts about 230 racers from across Australia and as far afield as the US and UK. To the untrained observer, the range and diversity of vehicles might better resemble a gathering in Wacky Racers: from the high-expense, high-octane “streamline” and “Belly tank” (former B-52 fuel tanks) classes to the more fashionable, vintage hot rods and low-expense, back yard bashed-up postie bikes. There are hundreds of classes of vehicles. Competitors and support crews enter Lake Gairdner in the early morning for the day’s racing Continue reading...
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‘It’s back to drug rationing’: the end of HIV was in sight. Then came the cuts (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
The abrupt halt to US funding threatens to undo decades of advances, dramatically increasing infections and deaths, but some see an opportunity for Africa to lead the response This year the world should have been “talking about the virtual elimination of HIV” in the near future. “Within five years,” says Prof Sharon Lewin, a leading researcher in the field. “Now that’s all very uncertain.” Scientific advances had allowed doctors and campaigners to feel optimistic that the end of HIV as a public health threat was just around the corner. Continue reading...
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Fear grows among US’s 390,000 undocumented Chinese immigrants: ‘So many policies have changed’ (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Those newly arrived and those who have lived in the US for decades worry as Trump vows to deport Chinese nationals In 2014, a few years after the birth of her second child, Jenny left China to flee an abusive relationship and government persecution for violating the one-child policy. She brought her younger daughter to San Francisco and, though undocumented, found work at a childcare facility and eventually married a US citizen. Because of extended delays in visa processing, her green card application remains in limbo after three years, but she’s never been particularly afraid of her immigration status. That is until Donald Trump won re-election last November, fueled in part by a promise to conduct the largest mass deportation program in US history. Continue reading...
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Deep cuts, Pip and ‘right to try’ work: the key changes in UK benefits overhaul (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Disability and sickness benefits will be reduced, but measures aim to protect the most disabled people The work and pensions secretary has announced deep cuts to payments made to many of those on disability and sickness benefits, though with a number of mitigations aimed at protecting the most disabled people. Liz Kendall said the system was “failing the very people it is supposed to help and holding our country back”, citing statistics showing a rapid increase in disability claims. Continue reading...
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The blond advantage: fair hair completely changed my life – but is it time to give it up? (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
When I first dyed my hair, the difference in how I was treated made me assume life got better the more you lightened your look. I have now spent years testing the theory ... I saw the light at 22. Since my teens, I had been dyeing my naturally mousy hair very dark brown. Shades such as “mahogany” and “praline” were unforgiving against my pale skin, but that wasn’t important to me. As a teenager, I was desperate to be taken seriously and thought of as smart, maybe even intimidating. I wanted to be brunette to signal that I had chosen books over looks. Then, one day, shortly after I started my first job, it dawned on me: I didn’t have to do all that. It took two sessions with a professional to lighten my defiantly darkened hair, but I felt lighter at once. It was as if the bleach had seeped through to my brain, lifting not just my locks but my disposition. Continue reading...
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A day in the life of an asylum hotel: inside the UK’s most controversial accommodation (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
The media often stigmatises asylum hotels – and they are sometimes physically attacked too. But behind closed doors are people who dream of work, wheels, security and the simple freedom to choose what they eat Muhammad is from Afghanistan and has a lot to think about today. He has good news – he’s received his asylum decision and he can stay in the UK. But that has brought up a new problem: he will have to leave the budget hotel in Yorkshire where he has been living for months – and he has nowhere else to live. Still, Muhammad has offered to introduce me to some of the other people who live here. I work part-time for the Refugee Council, which means I sometimes visit asylum hotels. They are strange, sad places that are misunderstood, targeted by protesters and even – for instance, last summer – physically attacked. This one is next to an overgrown riverbank. Many of the guests here are from war zones – you might recognise the names of their home towns from maps on the news. In most cases, they are not allowed to work. Continue reading...
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My mother, the racist (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
She spent her life in northern France doing exhausting, back-breaking work – and yet she turned her anger against people who had done no wrongs to her. But as much as I couldn’t stand her rants, I was forced to accept her as she was When I reconnected with my mother after years of near total absence, years in which we barely spoke, I was struck with compassion for this old woman suffering from so much pain. I even felt a tenderness towards her. This was despite everything that had driven us apart and continued to divide us. Her obsessive racism dismayed me, but in order to avoid always being in conflict, I would only protest half-heartedly when she launched into one of her habitual diatribes (herself the daughter of an immigrant, a traveller from Andalucía) against “foreigners”, who came to “our home” instead of staying “where they came from” (“It doesn’t even feel like home here any more”, “They take everything and there’s nothing left for us”), against “Arabs”, or “Blacks”, or “Chinese”, all of whom she complained about endlessly. (The language she used was often considerably cruder than this.) It was in part so I would no longer have to listen to this kind of talk that I had stopped seeing her and had fled both my family and this milieu. Nothing had changed after all this time: on this point, as on many others, she was the same as before. And yet, if I wished to spend time with her – and I did wish to, or at least it was something I felt I should do – I was going to have to accept her as she was. Nothing about her was going to change! And when I did dare to give expression to my annoyance, she would reply in a firm, almost aggressive tone: “I can say what I want in my own home. You can’t tell me what to do.” I had no choice but to try to understand her, to understand how and why she had become this way, and to put aside my spontaneous reactions of dismay. Continue reading...
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From the archive: The revolt against liberalism: what’s driving Poland and Hungary’s nativist turn? – podcast (Wed, 19 Mar 2025)
We are raiding the Guardian Long Read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors. This week, from 2021: For the hardline conservatives ruling Poland and Hungary, the transition from communism to liberal democracy was a mirage. They fervently believe a more decisive break with the past is needed to achieve national liberation By Nicholas Mulder. Read by Tanya Cubric Continue reading...
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Labour’s controversial benefit cuts – podcast (Wed, 19 Mar 2025)
The government is hoping to save £5bn from the welfare bill – but what will the cost be for sick and disabled people? Patrick Butler reports On Tuesday the welfare secretary, Liz Kendall, set out her plans to save £5bn from the government’s welfare bill. The current situation is unsustainable, the government says. With the numbers of people claiming disability benefits soaring, it was time for a fairer system, she said. For many disabled people, who have felt the effects of successive governments’ attempts to reform the welfare system, it was a stressful moment. The disability campaigner, musician and actor Mik Scarlet tells Helen Pidd about the reality of navigating the benefits system, and why he worries about the increasing nastiness of the conversation around benefits and disability. Continue reading...
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Chelsea clinch League Cup and Palace close the gap – Women’s Football Weekly (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzy Wrack, Sophie Downey and Ameé Ruszkai to discuss the League Cup final and the weekend’s WSL Games On the podcast today: Chelsea claimed the season's first silverware, edging past Manchester City in the Subway Women’s League Cup final to keep their quadruple hopes alive. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. The panel dissects the performance, the key moments, and the controversial state of the Pride Park pitch. Elsewhere, the WSL saw major shifts as Liverpool stunned Manchester United under the Anfield lights, Arsenal took advantage with a win over Everton, and Crystal Palace’s crucial victory over Aston Villa intensified the fight for survival. The panel evaluates the relegation battle and asks what went wrong for Manchester United Continue reading...
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Israel shatters Gaza ceasefire – Today in Focus Extra – podcast (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Israeli military forces carried out strikes on dozens of targets across Gaza early on Tuesday, leaving more than 400 people dead. Emma Graham-Harrison reports On Tuesday, Israel launched a wave of airstrikes on Gaza, killing more than 400 people. This bombardment brings the fragile ceasefire, which began in mid-January, to an end. Israel also issued evacuation orders for the northern town of Beit Hanoun and other communities further south, which suggests that Israeli troops may launch a renewed ground operation. Continue reading...
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Championship race hots up as Blades slash Leeds’ lead at top – Football Weekly podcast (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Max Rushden is joined by George Elek, Ben Fisher and Sanny Rudravajhala for an EFL special Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email. On the podcast today; it’s still a three-way race at the top of the Championship. Leeds are top on goal difference, but Chris Wilder and Scott Parker are steering Sheffield United and Burnley just behind them. Below, Frank Lampard’s Coventry City have won six in seven and Liam Manning continues to perform miracles at Bristol City. Continue reading...
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Can the UK fix its broken prison system? – video (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
The prison population in England and Wales has doubled in the last 30 years, with overcrowding now endemic across the system. But the government's strategy of easing this pressure by granting early release to thousands of offenders has had a knock-on effect. With many lacking stability on the outside, reoffending rates are high, exacerbating the existing problem. The Guardian visited Wales to see this playing out on the streets of Bridgend; and the Netherlands, to find out how the Dutch have managed to close more than 20 prisons in the past 10 years, seemingly in complete contrast to the struggles in Britain With thanks to Prison Escape Utrecht Continue reading...
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Massive storm system brings tornadoes, wildfires and dust storms to US south - video report (Sat, 15 Mar 2025)
Chaotic weekend sees blizzard warnings in midwest, wildfires in southern plains and dust storms in Texas. At least 26 tornadoes were reported but not confirmed as a low pressure system drove powerful thunderstorms across parts of Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi and Missouri. The Storm Prediction Center said fast-moving system could spawn twisters and hail as large as baseballs, but the greatest threat would come from straight-line winds near or exceeding hurricane force, with gusts of 100mph (160km/h) possible. At least 17 dead as massive storm system sweeps across US south with multiple tornadoes Continue reading...
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SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifts off on mission to replace two stuck Nasa astronauts – video report (Sat, 15 Mar 2025)
A SpaceX mission was launched to replace two Nasa astronauts who have been stuck at the International Space Station for nine months. The stuck astronauts are scheduled to depart the station on 19 March after the Crew-10 astronauts arrive on 19 March Crew lifts off on SpaceX mission to replace stuck Nasa astronauts Continue reading...
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How social media is helping catch war criminals – video (Thu, 13 Mar 2025)
In Sudan, fighters from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group, appear to have filmed and posted online videos of themselves glorifying the burning of homes and the torture of prisoners. These videos could be used by international courts to pursue war crime prosecutions. Kaamil Ahmed explains how the international legal system is adapting to social media, finding a way to use the digital material shared online to corroborate accounts of war crimes being committed in countries ranging from Ukraine to Sudan Russia-Ukraine war – latest news updates Continue reading...
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Refusing to fight: Israelis against the war in Gaza – video (Wed, 12 Mar 2025)
For many Israelis, military service is a rite of passage that lasts two to three years. Being such a formative part of the social contract in Israel, it is unusual for eligible young people to refuse their draft orders. Every year some ask for exemptions, but only a handful openly declare themselves as conscientious objectors, commonly known as refuseniks. However, since 7 October and the war in Gaza, refusenik organisations say the number of people refusing the draft has risen, even though during wartime punishments are harsher. The Guardian’s Middle East correspondent, Bethan McKernan, spent time with Itamar Greenberg, an 18-year-old who has been in and out of military prison for almost a year as a result of his refusal to serve Continue reading...
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Trump says he will label violence against Tesla dealers domestic terrorism – video (Wed, 12 Mar 2025)
Donald Trump said he will label violence against Tesla dealerships domestic terrorism as he appeared with Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO, to show support amid recent anti-Tesla protests and the slump in the company's stock price. Several Tesla vehicles were parked in the driveway of the White House for the US president to pick from, accompanied by Musk and his young son. Trump calls Tesla boycott ‘illegal’ and says he’s buying one to support Musk Continue reading...
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Footage shows oil tanker and cargo vessel on fire in North Sea – video report (Mon, 10 Mar 2025)
An oil tanker and a cargo ship collided in the North Sea, just off the coast near Hull on Monday. The collision occurred in the early hours, causing large fires on both ships as rescue missions set out to extinguish the blaze and rescue the crew One person still missing after oil tanker and cargo ship collide in North Sea Continue reading...
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Athens: protesters clash with police during demonstration over 2023 train crash – video report (Fri, 07 Mar 2025)
Protesters launched burning projectiles and fireworks in clashes with police outside Greece's parliament on 7 March in renewed nationwide protests calling for politicians to be held accountable for a 2023 rail disaster that claimed 57 lives. The protests began in Athens and other cities as the centre-right government of the prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, faced a censure motion over the train collision. In a rare display of unity, four centre-left and leftwing opposition parties tabled the no-confidence motion, arguing that the government has failed to accept responsibility for multiple rail safety system failures identified by investigators Continue reading...
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How plastics are invading our brain cells – video (Thu, 06 Mar 2025)
Plastics are everywhere, but their smallest fragments – nanoplastics – are making their way into the deepest parts of our bodies, including our brains and breast milk. Scientists have now captured the first visual evidence of these particles inside human cells, raising urgent questions about their impact on our health. From the food we eat to the air we breathe, how are nanoplastics infiltrating our systems? Neelam Tailor looks into the invisible invasion happening inside us all Continue reading...
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From Gaza to Texas: the race to save Mazyouna’s face - video (Tue, 04 Mar 2025)
Mazyouna, a 13-year-old girl from Gaza, lost the right side of her jaw in an Israeli attack on her home in Gaza that killed her brother and sister. She was denied access by Israel to life-altering surgery abroad for more than six months. Only after the publication of a Guardian article condemning her treatment were Mazyouna, her mother and her surviving sibling granted permission to leave - her father was not permitted to join them. Their evacuation and specialist surgery at the El Paso children's hospital in Texas was facilitated by FAJR Scientific, an organisation that evacuates children in need of medical treatment from war zones. Last month, the World Health Organization urged a rapid scaling-up of medical evacuations from Gaza where thousands remain in critical condition Continue reading...
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Trump’s most controversial cabinet picks: what do they mean for the future of the US? – video (Tue, 04 Mar 2025)
The shape of the Trump 2.0 White House has spurred serious concerns about public health and reproductive rights, and left military leaders 'stunned' and former intelligence experts 'appalled'. From a vaccine skeptic in charge of running the department of health, to a wrestling mogul in charge of the country's education, and even a ‘deep state conspiracy theorist’ becoming head of the FBI, the Guardian US live news editor Chris Michael takes us through the six most controversial members, and what their appointments could mean for the country Tracking Trump cabinet confirmations – so far Trump’s first full cabinet meeting celebrates government-shrinking effort led by Musk Continue reading...
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How a 12-year-old boy was killed in the West Bank – video analysis (Sat, 01 Mar 2025)
On 21 February, 12-year-old Ayman al-Hammouni was killed, shot by Israeli fire, video footage seen by the Guardian suggests. Two cameras recorded the circumstances of Ayman's death. The Guardian has used this footage to tell the story of the child’s last moments Gunshots and a surge of panic: footage shows last moments of boy, 12, killed in the West Bank Continue reading...
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Fox News shows stocks tumbling as Trump announces tariffs on Mexico and China – video (Mon, 03 Mar 2025)
Stock markets tumbled on Monday as Donald Trump announced tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 1.8% and the S&P fell 2.1% Trump says ‘no room left’ for deal that avoids tariffs on Mexico and Canada US politics live Continue reading...
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How China uses ‘salami-slicing’ tactics to exert pressure on Taiwan – video (Fri, 28 Feb 2025)
China has dramatically increased military activities around Taiwan, with more than 3,000 incursions into Taiwan's airspace in 2024 alone. Amy Hawkins examines how Beijing is deploying 'salami-slicing' tactics, a strategy of gradual pressure that stays below the threshold of war while steadily wearing down Taiwan's defences. From daily air incursions to strategic military exercises, we explore the four phases of China's approach and what it means for Taiwan's future Continue reading...
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'Did I say that?': Donald Trump denies calling Zelenskyy a dictator even though he did – video (Thu, 27 Feb 2025)
The US president, Donald Trump, denied calling the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a dictator, despite calling him one on his social media platform, Truth Social. Trump was asked by a reporter if he still held that view in a press conference alongside the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, and he replied: 'Did I say that? I can't believe I said that' Donald Trump’s meeting with Keir Starmer: key takeaways King Charles invites Donald Trump for unprecedented second state visit to UK Trump praises Starmer’s ‘hard’ lobbying as he again suggests UK will be exempt from US tariffs – live Continue reading...
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Factchecking Donald Trump’s claims about the war in Ukraine – video explainer (Thu, 20 Feb 2025)
From claiming Ukraine was responsible for the war to incorrect numbers about aid received from the US and Europe, Donald Trump made a number of inaccurate statements while praising the progress made in US-Russia talks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Guardian has had a look at his claims Factchecking Donald Trump’s claims about the war in Ukraine Continue reading...
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‘Fix poverty, fix health’: A day in the life of a ‘failing’ NHS (Tue, 18 Feb 2025)
A GP surgery in one of the most deprived areas in the north-east of England is struggling to provide care for its patients as the health system crumbles around them. In the depths of the winter flu season, the Guardian video producers Maeve Shearlaw and Adam Sich went to Bridges medical practice to shadow the lead GP, Paul Evans, as he worked all hours keep his surgery afloat. Juggling technical challenges, long waiting lists and the profound impact austerity has had on the health of the population, Evans says: 'We are seeing the system fail'  Continue reading...
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'Why should we invite them?': Lavrov ridicules European presence at Ukraine peace talks – video (Mon, 17 Feb 2025)
Russia's foreign minister has dismissed the prospect of a place for Europe at talks between the US and Russia to end the fighting in Ukraine. Speaking at a press conference alongside his Serbian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov said: 'If they are going to weasel out some cunning ideas about freezing the conflict, while actually intending – as is their custom, nature and habit – to continue the war, then why should we invite them at all?' European leaders have been unnerved by the willingness of Donald Trump, the US president, to engage the Kremlin directly over Ukraine and have been attempting to find a place for themselves in the talks Europe live – latest updates Continue reading...
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Parents of Alexei Navalny join hundreds of mourners on the anniversary of his death – video report (Sun, 16 Feb 2025)
The parents of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny joined hundreds of mourners at their son's grave on Sunday to mark the anniversary of his death. Navalny died aged 47 on 16 February last year while being held in a jail about 40 miles north of the Arctic Circle, where he had been sentenced to 19 years under a ‘special regime’ Alexei Navalny supporters visit grave on first anniversary of his death Continue reading...
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Sign up for the Fashion Statement newsletter: our free fashion email (Tue, 20 Sep 2022)
Style, with substance: what’s really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved, direct to your inbox every Thursday Style, with substance: what’s really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved, delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday Explore all our newsletters: whether you love film, football, fashion or food, we’ve got something for you Continue reading...
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Sign up for the Guardian Documentaries newsletter: our free short film email (Fri, 02 Sep 2016)
Be the first to see our latest thought-provoking films, bringing you bold and original storytelling from around the world Discover the stories behind our latest short films, learn more about our international film-makers, and join us for exclusive documentary events. We’ll also share a selection of our favourite films, from our archives and from further afield, for you to enjoy. Sign up below. Can’t wait for the next newsletter? Start exploring our archive now. Continue reading...
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Guardian Traveller newsletter: Sign up for our free holidays email (Wed, 12 Oct 2022)
From biking adventures to city breaks, get inspiration for your next break – whether in the UK or further afield – with twice-weekly emails from the Guardian’s travel editors. You’ll also receive handpicked offers from Guardian Holidays. From biking adventures to city breaks, get inspiration for your next break – whether in the UK or further afield – with twice-weekly emails from the Guardian’s travel editors. You’ll also receive handpicked offers from Guardian Holidays. Continue reading...
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Sign up for the Feast newsletter: our free Guardian food email (Tue, 09 Jul 2019)
A weekly email from Yotam Ottolenghi, Meera Sodha, Felicity Cloake and Rachel Roddy, featuring the latest recipes and seasonal eating ideas Each week we’ll send you an exclusive newsletter from our star food writers. We’ll also send you the latest recipes from Yotam Ottolenghi, Nigel Slater, Meera Sodha and all our star cooks, stand-out food features and seasonal eating inspiration, plus restaurant reviews from Grace Dent and Jay Rayner. Sign up below to start receiving the best of our culinary journalism in one mouth-watering weekly email. Continue reading...
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A spring dance and a fish protest: photos of the day – Tuesday (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world Continue reading...
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Did you catch that? On the boats with Cornish fishers – in pictures (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
Flying lobsters, cuttlefish ink and stargazy pie … Jon Tonks got on his kayak to spend 18 months photographing the incredible fishing communities around England’s south-west coast Continue reading...
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Coal pollution chokes Ulaanbataar – in pictures (Mon, 17 Mar 2025)
The toxic smog that settles over the Mongolian capital every winter has been a suffocating problem for well over a decade that successive governments have failed to dispel. In the depths of winter, the city’s daily average of pollutants that can enter the lungs and bloodstream can be 27 times higher than the level considered safe by the World Health Organization. Respiratory illness cases have risen steadily, with pneumonia the second leading cause of death for children under five Continue reading...
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The big picture: a pioneering Indian skater girl shows off her prized board (Sun, 16 Mar 2025)
Photographer Chantal Pinzi travelled the globe to take shots of female skateboarders who defy cultural norms, including this one of Asha Gond For the past few years the Italian photographer Chantal Pinzi has been documenting the rebel spirit of female skateboarders, in a project she calls Shred the Patriarchy. Her original focus was on girls who skated in Morocco, in defiance of cultural norms. She continued that project in rural India, where a handful of women have used skateboarding to stake out public spaces for themselves. One pioneer of this is Asha Gond, who grew up in a farming family in the village of Janwaar in Madhya Pradesh. In 2014 a charitable organisation, the Rural Changemakers, helped to fund a skatepark in the village, built with the help of the community as a way of driving social and cultural development. Gond, one inspiration for the Netflix series Skater Girl, learned her skills at the park and became India’s only female competitor at the world skateboarding championship. The park had two rules: “No school, no skateboarding”, and “Girls first” – both rare sentiments in an area where girls often faced arranged marriages by the time they were of secondary school age. Continue reading...
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We love: fashion fixes for the week ahead – in pictures (Sun, 16 Mar 2025)
Workout in style, hit the deck (shoes), and get the boho look Continue reading...
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Octopus? Ice cream? Is there anything gulls don’t eat? – in pictures (Sat, 15 Mar 2025)
Gulls are known for being ravenous – check out a selection of things they like • All images from the Gulls Eating Stuff project • From profiteroles to moles: project uncovers gulls’ surprising diet Continue reading...
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