Love & War: From frontlines to family life. Pulitzer-winning conflict photographer Lynsey Addario on the five stories that defined her career

Iraq 2003-2004

Published: November 7, 2025, 7:00 am

Single mothers in China find a new kind of partner – other single mothers

Posts from women seeking like-minded parents to share a home and child-rearing responsibilities are appearing on social media

As divorce rates rise and the cost of living bites, single mothers in China are searching for a new kind of partner: each other.

Across social media are posts from harried mothers seeking like-minded parents to share a home and child-rearing responsibilities.

Published: November 7, 2025, 12:15 am

Pluribus review – the audacity of the Breaking Bad creator’s new TV show is incredible

It takes some chutzpah to make television like this. Better Call Saul star Rhea Seehorn is the only US citizen immune from an alien virus that makes everyone in the world supremely happy – and it’s a bleak, blackly comic watch

Even with the name of Vince Gilligan attached as creator, Pluribus – neatly styled Plur1bus on screen, to further evoke the unofficial motto of the US “E pluribus unum” (“Out of many, one”) – looks at first like a bit of light relief. The man who has spent the past two decades immersed in the harrowing world of Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul and El Camino, you reckon, has probably earned it.

Perhaps he is returning to his X Files roots with this tale of an alien virus that sweeps the globe, turning everyone happy and content, literally uniting minds (everyone’s thoughts, knowledge and memories are available to all – people no longer refer to themselves but as “this individual” when they speak) and causing them only to be kind to each other. Peace in our time! But what, kids, are we going to do about Carol (Rhea Seehorn)? She’s a middle-aged, bestselling writer of romantic fantasy novels, fantastically rich, adored by hundreds of thousands of fans – and as furiously miserable as only a misanthrope can be in such conditions. And Carol appears to be the only person in America immune to the virus. Hilarity must surely ensue!

Published: November 7, 2025, 5:00 am

Meet gen X: middle-aged, enraged and radicalised by internet bile | Gaby Hinsliff

Who is driving the populist insurgency? It’s not grumpy pensioners or vulnerable teenagers – it’s my generation

If in doubt, we used to talk about the weather. Or if not that, then why the trains were late again, or how sweet someone’s baby was: the kind of routine bland nothings you exchange with strangers on the street. But something about the way we speak in public is changing.

A few days ago I was in Aldi, making the usual small talk at the checkout. When the cashier said she was exhausted from working extra shifts to make some money for Christmas, the man behind me chipped in that it would be worse once “she takes all our money” (in case Rachel Reeves was wondering, her budget pitch-rolling is definitely cutting through). Routine enough, if he hadn’t gone on to add that she and the rest of the government needed taking out, and that there were plenty of ex-military men around who should know what to do, before continuing in more graphic fashion until the queue fell quiet and feet began shuffling. But the strangest thing was that he said it all quite calmly, as if political assassination was just another acceptable subject for casual conversation with strangers, such as football or how long the roadworks have gone on. It wasn’t until later that it clicked: this was a Facebook conversation come to life. He was saying out loud, and in public, the kind of thing people say casually all the time on the internet, apparently without recognising that in the real world it’s still shocking – at least for now.

Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnist

Published: November 7, 2025, 6:00 am

‘If there’s a free alternative, I’ll eat healthily’: how Sweden devised brilliant school meals

A pilot scheme where students eat nutritious breakfasts using donated surplus food builds on the ‘folkhem’ welfare model to boost health and sustainability

Students at Mariebergsskolan, a secondary school in Karlstad, Sweden, make their way to the canteen to grab a juice shot. This morning’s options include ginger and lemon, apple, golden milk, lemon and mint, or strawberry and orange. There’s also the choice of overnight oats with caramelised milk.

It’s just after 9am and the space is usually empty, but thanks to a project launched in 2018 by Vinnova, Sweden’s national innovation agency, students are starting their day with a boost from the energy bar. All the ingredients are donated by local supermarkets which are giving away surplus fruit and vegetables to minimise food waste.

Published: November 7, 2025, 5:00 am

Experience: I escaped East Berlin in the boot of a car

‘Tonight or never,’ the men helping me said. ‘Meet us in the alley. Eight-thirty’

In 1965, I was 19 and living in East Berlin. West Berlin was glamorous. They had ­everything: shoes, cars, food. But we had almost nothing. When bananas were imported once or twice a year, the queues stretched further than I had ever seen.

My brother and I were desperate to get out. We’d hang around the checkpoints, hoping to befriend a West Berliner. Occasionally, they took pity and sent us packages. But escaping was rare – and expensive. Most who managed it had paid thousands of marks.

Published: November 7, 2025, 5:00 am

US airlines cancel flights after aviation agency directive to cut air traffic

United, Southwest and Delta have announced they will be reducing flights amid continuing government shutdown

• US politics live – latest updates

• List of US airports cutting flights on Friday due to federal government shutdown

Reductions in flights will begin at 40 major US airports from Friday to help address air traffic controller shortage safety concerns as a result of the government shutdown.

The Associated Press published a list including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago airports after airline regulators identified “high-volume markets” where the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says air traffic must be reduced by 4% by 6am ET on Friday, a move that would force airlines to cancel thousands of flights and create a cascade of scheduling issues and delays. United, Southwest and Delta airlines on Thursday evening began cancelling flights

Published: November 7, 2025, 1:09 am

US strikes another alleged drug boat bringing death toll from campaign in Latin America to 70

US strikes have destroyed at least 18 vessels, but Washington has yet to make public any concrete evidence that its targets posed a threat to America

US forces struck another alleged drug trafficking boat in the Caribbean, killing three people, defense secretary Pete Hegseth has said, bringing the death toll from the Trump administration’s controversial campaign to at least 70.

The US began carrying out such strikes – which some experts say amount to extrajudicial killings even if they target known traffickers – in early September, taking aim at vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.

Published: November 7, 2025, 4:25 am

Death toll from UPS plane crash at Louisville airport rises to 13

Firm released names of the three victims on the plane and investigators confirmed plane’s left wing caught fire

The death toll in the explosion that saw a UPS cargo plane lose an engine and burst into flames, has risen to 13, Craig Greenberg, the Louisville mayor, has confirmed as UPS released the names of the three victims on the plane.

“On my way to the Teamsters’ vigil, I learned of a 13th person that died as a result of the UPS flight 2976 plane crash. My heart is with the families, friends and colleagues of all who were lost in this week’s tragedy. We will get through this together,” Greenberg wrote in a social media post.

Published: November 7, 2025, 12:42 am

Tesla shareholders approve $1tn pay package for Elon Musk

Chants of ‘Elon’ erupt after compensation plan approved despite opposition from several high-profile investors

Tesla shareholders approved a $1tn compensation plan for CEO Elon Musk on Thursday, awarding the world’s richest person what would be the largest corporate payout in history if he meets the goals necessary to receive it.

The pay package, which several high-profile investors opposed, demonstrates that shareholders still believe Musk can lead the automaker in an era dominated by robotics and artificial intelligence.

Published: November 6, 2025, 11:14 pm

Ex-NFL star Antonio Brown arrested on attempted murder charge in shooting

• Brown arrested in Dubai on Miami shooting charge

• Ex-NFL star accused of firing shots after fight

• Victim says bullet grazed his neck, per warrant

Former NFL star Antonio Brown has been arrested on an attempted murder charge stemming from a shooting after a celebrity boxing event in Miami, police confirmed Thursday.

Brown, 37, was taken into custody by US Marshals in Dubai, said Miami police spokesman Mike Vega. He was flown to Essex County, New Jersey, where he is being held pending extradition to Miami, Vega said.

Published: November 6, 2025, 11:40 pm

Orbán to visit US to try to broker another Putin summit but questions raised over motives

Hungarian PM also seeking exemption on US sanctions on Russian oil as he faces domestic challenge before elections

Viktor Orbán will visit the White House on Friday as Hungary’s far-right prime minister tries to broker another summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin that Orbán’s advisers claim could help end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Orbán, who has proposed hosting the summit in Budapest, will also seek an exemption from US sanctions against Russian energy in what will be a major test of Trump’s tougher line on the Kremlin after he accused Putin of slow-rolling negotiations to end the conflict.

Published: November 7, 2025, 9:03 am

US judge orders Trump administration to fully fund Snap benefits in November

Ruling comes in response to a challenge to administration’s offer to only partly fund US food benefits amid shutdown

A federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the Trump administration on Thursday to find the money to fully fund food stamps for 42 million low-income Americans in November by Friday, in a rebuke to the government’s plan to only provide reduced aid during the shutdown.

US district judge John J McConnell Jr criticized the administration’s plan to partly fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) benefits in November, saying it had failed to comply with an order he issued on Saturday requiring the government to ensure Americans received full or partial benefits no later than Wednesday.

Published: November 6, 2025, 10:55 pm

Qantas releases images of ultra long range Airbus that will fly non-stop from Sydney to London and New York

The A350-1000ULR is on the assembly line in France with the fuselage sections, wings and landing gear attached

Qantas has released the “first images” of its specially configured plane that will fly Australians non-stop from Sydney to London and New York from 2027.

The A350-1000ULR is on the Airbus assembly line in Toulouse, France, with its fuselage sections, wings and landing gear now attached, the airline said on Friday.

Published: November 7, 2025, 2:06 am

Revealed: Qatar-linked intelligence operation targeted ICC prosecutor’s alleged victim

Exclusive: Woman who accused Karim Khan of misconduct was subject of covert operation involving two British private intelligence firms

The woman who has accused the prosecutor of the international criminal court of sexual abuse has been targeted by private intelligence firms as part of a covert operation said to have taken place on behalf of Qatar.

The Guardian can reveal details of the intrusive operation, which has obtained sensitive information about the woman, who works at the ICC, and her family members.

Published: November 6, 2025, 7:03 pm

US supreme court lets Trump block passport sex markers for trans and non-binary people

Decision by high court’s conservative majority is Trump administration’s latest win on emergency docket

The supreme court on Thursday allowed Donald Trump’s administration to enforce a policy blocking transgender and non-binary people from choosing passport sex markers that align with their gender identity.

The decision by the high court’s conservative majority is Trump’s latest win on the high court’s emergency docket, and it means his administration can enforce the policy while a lawsuit over it plays out. It halts a lower-court order requiring the government to keep letting people choose male, female or X on their passport to line up with their gender identity on new or renewed passports.

Published: November 6, 2025, 9:47 pm

Trump news at a glance: administration reduces US flights as shutdown stretches on

Experts predict hundreds if not thousands of flights could be canceled at dozens of major airports – key US politics stories from 6 November 2025

As the record-breaking federal government shutdown stretches toward day 38, US airspace is about to get a little less busy. The same cannot be said for US airports.

Donald Trump’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has said flights are being reduced to maintain air traffic control safety during the federal government shutdown, now the longest recorded and with no sign of a resolution between Republicans and Democrats to end the federal budget standoff.

Published: November 7, 2025, 2:08 am

US House panel requests interview with Andrew in Jeffrey Epstein investigation

Robert Garcia, top Democrat on House oversight panel, makes formal request in letter published Thursday

• US politics live – latest updates

A US congressional panel investigating pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, to ask that he submit to questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a letter published on Thursday, California congressman Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, requested that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its inquiry.

Published: November 6, 2025, 4:47 pm

Heritage Foundation leader apologizes for backing Tucker Carlson’s interview with white nationalist

Kevin Roberts, whose group pushed Project 2025, had defended ex-Fox News host’s talk with Nick Fuentes

The leader of the conservative thinktank behind Project 2025 apologized for supporting a white nationalist amid turmoil on the right over the mainstreaming of extremist ideology, but is resisting calls to resign.

Kevin Roberts, the president of the Heritage Foundation, previously defended the former Fox host Tucker Carlson for having Hitler fan Nick Fuentes on his podcast without pushing back on his white supremacist views.

Published: November 6, 2025, 3:40 pm

In a historic career of firsts, Nancy Pelosi might be best remembered as Trump’s most formidable adversary

After nearly four decades in Congress, reactions to the former House speaker’s retirement have proved emblematic of America’s partisan extremes

Nancy Pelosi arrived in Congress in 1987 aiming to spur a reluctant Washington into taking action against the Aids epidemic that was then ravaging the gay community in her home town, San Francisco.

Nearly four decades later, she will exit the House of Representatives after a historic career in which she has made her influence felt nationwide. A Democrat who was the first woman ever to serve as speaker of the House, her fingerprints are on landmark legislation passed during Barack Obama’s and Joe Biden’s presidencies that affect millions of Americans and today remain among the most contentious topics in the Capitol.

Published: November 6, 2025, 7:51 pm

Former Canada coach convicted of sexual assault not included on public sanctions lists

Bob Birarda, jailed in 2022 for assaulting players, is not listed by Canada Soccer or BC Soccer. The country’s new Safe Sport director says the omission exposes a major gap — and is calling for a global registry of banned coaches.

Two years after receiving an 18-month jail sentence for sexually assaulting players under his care, a former Canada women’s national team coach is yet to appear on any public sanctions list published by Canada Soccer or BC Soccer, the regional governing body for soccer in British Columbia, where the crimes took place.

The revelation has prompted the executive director of the Canadian organization newly appointed to manage reports of abuse and misconduct to call for an international registry of offenders to track individuals who have been banned from sports for misconduct.

Published: November 7, 2025, 10:00 am

‘Why don’t you believe Palestinians?’: the Israeli comedian putting the genocide on stage

In documentary Coexistence, My Ass!, Noam Shuster Eliassi uses humor and honesty to turn a one-woman show into something politically radical

In the late 2010s, Noam Shuster Eliassi was working at the United Nations, the latest step in a lifelong effort to build peace between Israelis and Palestinians, when she had an epiphany. In Ukraine, a Jewish comedian named Volodymyr Zelenskyy had made the improbable leap from sitcom about accidentally becoming president to actually becoming president. Perhaps, if she were to take her political career seriously, she should start writing jokes.

It worked. As an Israeli Jew fluent in Hebrew, Arabic and English, Shuster Eliassi could nimbly weave between different audiences, and what started as short comedic videos on social media soon became an invitation from Harvard to develop a full-on stand-up routine skewering the idea of coexistence as it’s often used in the Israeli-Palestinian context. The show would riff on her upbringing in one of the only joint Israeli-Palestinian communities in the country, threading a fine needle with self-deprecating humor and an activist’s edge. The aim, she told the Guardian, was to “unpack” the idea of coexistence, “and say, like, ‘this is how I grew up, there are so many funny kumbayah moments, and I propose something else.’”

Published: November 7, 2025, 10:01 am

Alex Winter on fame, AI and reuniting with Keanu Reeves: ‘Sometimes we’re on a groove and go, ‘God damn, that was good!’

Midway through the Broadway run of Waiting for Godot with his Bill & Ted co-star Keanu, the actor-director talks about his new film, Adulthood, overcoming the abuse he endured as a young performer, and why we’re wrong about artificial intelligence

Six weeks ago, Alex Winter was on stage at the first night of previews for Waiting for Godot – the latest Broadway revival of Samuel Beckett’s absurdist masterpiece, in which Winter plays the puttering Vladimir to Keanu Reeves’s equally aimless Estragon.

Winter is an old pro at live performance: he spent almost all of his middle and high school years on Broadway, eight shows a week. He and Reeves, his longtime friend and most righteous co-star of the Bill & Ted movies, had the idea for the revival three years ago and have been prepping ever since.

Published: November 7, 2025, 8:00 am

‘It’s impossible not to have contradictions in a contradictory world’: Catalan pop visionary Rosalía on critics, crisis and being ‘hot for God’

With a towering new album about female saints in 13 languages, she’s pop’s boldest star – and one of its most controversial. She revisits her spiritual breakthroughs, and explains why we need forgiveness instead of cancel culture

Rosalía Vila Tobella is just as bored as you are of pop music functioning as gossip column fodder, with lyrics full of hints of rivalries and betrayal. “I’m tiring of seeing people referencing celebrities, and celebrities referencing other celebrities,” she says. “I’m really much more excited about saints.”

The 33-year-old Catalan musician and producer’s monumental fourth album, Lux, draws on the lives of dozens of female saints, inspired by “feminine mysticism, spirituality” and how lives of murder, materialism and rebellion could light the way to canonisation. Rosalía reels them off. Her gothic, operatic new single Berghain borrows from the 12th-century German abbess Hildegard of Bingen (cited like Madonna these days by experimental female musicians). “She had these visions that would pierce her brain. There’s also Vimala, who wrote poetry but was a prostitute, and she ended up becoming a saint because she was one of the first women who wrote in the Therīgāthā,” an ancient Buddhist poem collection written by nuns.

Published: November 7, 2025, 5:00 am

Lights out: can we stop glow-worms and fireflies fading away?

From night walks with children to switching off streetlights and rewilding areas, naturalists are working to save Europe’s dwindling populations

An hour or so after sunset, green twinkles of possibility gleam beneath the hedgerows of Westbury-sub-Mendip in Somerset. Under an orange August moon, the last female glow-worms of the season are making one final push at finding a mate.

For almost 20 years, Peter Bright and other volunteers have combed the village’s shrubberies and grasslands, searching for the bioluminescent beetles as part of the UK glow-worm survey. Most years, they have counted between 100 and 150, rising to 248 in 2017.

Ben Cooke, a National Trust ranger, places a glow-worm trap near Winspit Quarry in Dorset. Photograph: P Flude/Guardian

Published: November 7, 2025, 7:00 am

Week in wildlife: a toxic newt, a rescued gibbon and baby flying foxes

The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world

Published: November 7, 2025, 8:00 am

The food stamp fight signals an era of unprecedented cruelty in America | Katrina vanden Heuvel

US leaders have long shown some responsibility to help poor people meet basic nutritional needs. That era appears over

In October, millions rallied across America to remind Donald Trump that this nation obeys no kings. Last week, however, a scene worthy of Versailles unfolded: While Trump built his $300m ballroom, the US prepared to face widespread hunger.

With Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) funding scheduled to run dry due to the government shutdown, the Trump administration not only refused to prevent the crisis – it fought in court to deprive 42 million Snap recipients of their grocery money. Thankfully, a federal judge ruled against the government and ordered that Snap payments proceed. On Monday, the administration said it would fund just half of recipients’ typical benefits. And 2.4 million people soon risk losing their benefits nonetheless, as the $186bn Snap cuts in Trump’s benighted budget bill begin taking effect.

Katrina vanden Heuvel is editor and publisher of the Nation, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a contributor to the Washington Post, the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times

Published: November 6, 2025, 1:00 pm

Mamdani’s mayoral race was marred by unhinged Islamophobia. It’s not going away soon | Arwa Mahdawi

The racist abuse that Zohran Mamdani is still facing proves how normalized bigotry is. We need to keep calling it out

Pack your bags and flee, infidels: New York City has fallen to a cabal of socialist jihadists. With Zohran Mamdani to become the city’s first Muslim mayor, many are celebrating the democratic socialist’s historic win. Billionaires, Islamophobes and Republicans, however, are in the throes of hysteria. But what’s new? The New York mayoral race has been marred by bigotry so unhinged it’s almost impossible to parody.

Far-right activist and unofficial Trump adviser Laura Loomer posted on X, for example, that “there will be another 9/11 in NYC” under Mamdani. New York City councilmember Vickie Paladino called the 34-year-old a “known jihadist terrorist”. Actor Debra Messing, meanwhile, has been having a Mamdani-induced meltdown on Instagram, posting story after story about how the puppy-eyed politician is a threat to civilization. She recently posted: “In Judaism and Christianity, we are commanded to speak the truth. In Islam, they are commanded to lie if it means spreading Islam … Now, take a look at Mamdani … He’s revealing their goal: mass conversion.”

Published: November 6, 2025, 5:22 pm

Net zero is an insidious loophole that distracts from the scientific imperative to eliminate fossil fuels | Joëlle Gergis

History tells us that polite incrementalism and political kowtowing will prevail at Cop30 – even as catastrophe unfolds around us

As world leaders gather in Brazil this year for Cop30 – the first Amazonian Cop – it’s worth doing a quick reality check on how we are collectively tracking to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.

Despite 30 years of UN climate summits, about half of the carbon dioxide accumulated in the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution has been emitted since 1990. Incidentally, 1990 was the year the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – the global authority on climate change science – released its First Assessment Report confirming the threat of human-caused global warming. As scientists all over the world prepare the IPCC’s Seventh Assessment Report, we do so knowing that our work is still being overshadowed by politics. Despite all the well-intentioned half-measures, the truth is that the world is still disastrously off track to limit dangerous climate change.

Dr Joëlle Gergis is an award-winning climate scientist and writer from the University of Melbourne. She served as a lead author on the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on the Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Report

Published: November 6, 2025, 11:01 pm

Trump is weaponizing the welfare state to attack healthcare | Moira Donegan

The proposed withholding of Medicaid and Medicare to restrict gender-affirming care follows the same logic as attacks on abortion care

In United States v Skrmetti, a supreme court decision issued this summer, the rightwing justices made it legal for states to ban gender-affirming care for trans minors, in a ruling whose reasoning strained logic, claiming that state laws banning the treatment did not discriminate on the basis of sex. The ruling upheld laws in 27 states, all of them passed since 2021, which banned the treatment outright; according to the Human Rights Campaign, about 40% of trans minors live in states where treatment for them is against the law. Now, the Trump administration seems to be looking to cut off access to care for the other 60% of those kids.

In a proposed rule leaked to NPR, the administration plans to ban gender-affirming care for minors from being covered by Medicaid or by the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or Chip. In a second, more sweeping proposed rule, the Trump administration looks to ban hospitals, clinics and providers from receiving any Medicaid or Medicare reimbursements at all if their practice provides transition-related pediatric care.

Published: November 6, 2025, 3:00 pm

Zohran Mamdani shows how Democrats can defeat authoritarians like Trump | Isabella Weber

Democrats have two choices: fight to make life affordable again for ordinary people or watch voters embrace authoritarians

“My friends, the world is changing,” Zohran Mamdani told supporters in the run-up to the New York City mayoral election. “It’s not a question of whether that change will come. It’s a question of who will change it.” Today, Mamdani becomes one of those people.

People are so fed up with the status quo that they opt for anything but continuity. But Democrats and most democratic parties worldwide have shied away from offering real alternatives. This has pushed voters into the arms of the extreme right, even fascist forces. Mamdani set out to break their monopoly over visions for a different future – and won a resounding and historic victory. The last time this many voters turned out to vote for a mayor in New York City was in 1969.

Isabella Weber is an economics professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and author of a forthcoming book on antifascist economics

Published: November 6, 2025, 11:00 am

The Guardian’s view on Gaza’s future: the ceasefire brought relief, but the world must not look away now | Editorial

Palestinians are being born amid the rubble. They need not only immediate relief but long-term justice

What future is there for Palestinians in Gaza? The announcement of the ceasefire brought profound relief, shaded by an equally deep sense of trepidation. Almost a month later, the picture looks bleaker. The Israeli offensive abated, Hamas has returned the surviving hostages and the remains of some of those who have died, and Israel has released some Palestinian detainees and the remains of others.

But more than 200 Palestinians, including children, have reportedly died in strikes that Israel says are in response to Hamas attacks. Thousands of bodies are still believed to be trapped beneath the ruins ­– debris which, it is estimated, would take a fleet of more than a hundred lorries seven years to shift. Aid is flowing again, but remains wholly inadequate, with NGOs warning that Israel’s new registration system is obstructing delivery. Israeli demolitions continue in the half of Gaza that its forces still hold. Unicef warned this week that the education system – in so far as it survives after two years of war and the destruction of more than 90% of school and university buildings – is on the brink of collapse. New babies are born literally in the rubble, to mothers who have neither homes nor working hospitals.

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.

Published: November 6, 2025, 6:53 pm

Denver defense delivers as Broncos edge Raiders to keep NFL’s best record

• Broncos squeeze past Raiders 10-7

• Defense racks up six sacks in win

• Denver extend NFL-best home streak

Denver’s defense bailed out the Broncos in a 10-7 squeaker over the reeling Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday night, sacking Geno Smith six times to atone for spotty performances on offense and special teams.

The Broncos (8-2) own the league’s best record, but they didn’t look anything like it on a windy night in the Rocky Mountains.

Published: November 7, 2025, 5:08 am

NWSL playoffs 2025 predictions: can anyone stem the Kansas City Current?

Our panel breaks down the parity-packed season, the state of the league, the dark horses and danger teams – and why everyone is still chasing the Current

… Kansas City’s dominance. The NWSL, like all US sports leagues, is usually built on parity. The Current made a mockery of that notion, winning 21 and drawing two out of their 26 games to finish 21 points ahead of second-place Washington. Their goal difference was an absurd plus-36, scoring seven more goals than any other team and conceding 12 fewer than anyone else. Beau Dure

Published: November 7, 2025, 9:00 am

Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland dies at age of 24

• Police say player appeared to have taken his own life

• Kneeland had scored first career touchdown on Monday

The Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland has died at the age of 24, the team announced on Thursday.

“It is with extreme sadness that the Dallas Cowboys share that Marshawn Kneeland tragically passed away this morning. Marshawn was a beloved teammate and member of our organization. Our thoughts and prayers regarding Marshawn are with his girlfriend Catalina and his family,” the team said in a statement.

Published: November 6, 2025, 3:20 pm

Florida’s 7ft 9in Oliver Rioux becomes tallest player in college basketball history

• World’s tallest teenager debuts for national champs

• Rioux, 19, plays two minutes in Florida’s 104-64 win

Florida coach Todd Golden had people yelling at him at halftime Thursday night to get 7ft 9in center Olivier Rioux in the game.

Golden relented with 2:09 to play – and made history in the process – after chants of “We Want Ollie” swept through the O’Connell Center.

Published: November 7, 2025, 6:37 am

Taylor Heise shines as USA women rout Canada 4–1 in Rivalry Series opener

• Heise sparks US with goal and three assists

• Murphy nets hat-trick in 4–1 win over Canada

• Edwards shines in Cleveland homecoming

Taylor Heise scored and set up each of Abbey Murphy’s three goals, and the United States women’s national hockey team opened the pre-Olympic Rivalry Series with a 4-1 win over Canada on Thursday night.

Laila Edwards had an assist in her Cleveland homecoming, with her shot from the right point deflected in by Heise midway through the first period. The 21-year-old Edwards is a forward-turned-defenseman from Cleveland Heights, and the first Black female player to skate for Team USA.

Published: November 7, 2025, 3:18 am

Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend

Everton need more edge in attack, Potts lifts West Ham’s leaden midfield and Liverpool face a rampaging Haaland

• Premier League top scorers: the latest standings

Time is running out for Richarlison. Injuries to Dominic Solanke and Randal Kolo Muani gave the Brazilian a consistent run in Thomas Frank’s starting XI but, with just one goal since the first league game of the season, he has not taken his opportunities. Now, with Kolo Muani fit, the former Everton striker has had to make do with a place on the bench and failed to impress against FC Copenhagen in midweek, missing a penalty that another striker, Dane Scarlett, won. Competition is fierce, even for a Spurs side that registered 0.1 xG in the defeat to Chelsea – the lowest by any Premier League team this season – and speculation has already begun before the January transfer window. Both Ivan Toney (who played under Frank at Brentford) and Dusan Vlahovic (whose contract at Juventus is up next summer) have been linked. Tottenham have money to spend so Richarlison must make the most of his minutes if wants to have a future at the club, as well as keep himself in contention for Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil squad with the World Cup coming up next summer. Michael Butler

Tottenham v Manchester United, Saturday 12.30pm (all times GMT)

Everton v Fulham, Saturday 3pm

West Ham v Burnley, Saturday 3pm

Sunderland v Arsenal, Saturday 5.30pm

Published: November 7, 2025, 12:00 am

Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra returns from game in Denver to find home engulfed in flames

• More than 20 units responded to fire at coach’s home

• No injuries reported as fire crews contain flame

The home of Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was heavily damaged on Thursday morning by a massive fire, officials have said. There were no immediate reports of any injuries and Spoelstra was not home when the fire started.

Miami-Dade County fire officials said the blaze was reported around 4.30am. Spoelstra and the Heat played in Denver on Wednesday night and their charter flight back to Miami did not land until 5.11am.

Published: November 6, 2025, 2:42 pm

Fraught, tense and visceral: there’s never been a football match quite like Maccabi’s visit to Aston Villa | Barney Ronay

Undeniably strange and redolent of wider horrors at one remove, this was a groaning platter of geopolitics with a tiny little sprig of sport dusted across the top

You could almost, almost have played it for laughs. If it wasn’t so bleak, or so profoundly unsettling. But then, this is Birmingham, so there does have to be some gallows humour buried in there.

Either way an hour before kick-off on the streets outside Villa Park it became clear that the 700 police officers present were being asked to keep apart three distinct, and equally energetic factions: pro-Palestine, pro-Israeli and pro YouTubers.

Published: November 6, 2025, 11:57 pm

‘The goal is to win all the final races’: Norris raises bar before São Paulo GP

• McLaren driver leads overall standings by one point

• Piastri and Verstappen still in hunt with four races to go

Lando Norris has acknowledged that he needs to be at the very top of his game to try to secure his first world championship, as the British driver heads into this weekend’s São Paulo Grand Prix with a narrow one-point lead over his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri.

Norris had trailed Piastri by 34 points after the Dutch GP but with a series of strong results including a dominant win from pole to flag at the last round in Mexico, Norris has edged ahead in the title race for the first time since the Saudi Arabian GP in April.

Published: November 6, 2025, 7:53 pm

How Mamdani built an ‘unstoppable force’ that won over New York

The mayor-elect built the greatest field operation by any political campaign in the city’s history – by getting New Yorkers to talk to eachother. Can Democrats learn from his success?

A week before Zohran Mamdani astounded the world by his out-of-nowhere, odds-defying, convention-shattering victory in the New York City mayoral election, members of his vast army of youthful volunteers were amply aware of what was at stake.

A group of 16 had assembled in the Bohemian Hispanic neighborhood of Bushwick in Brooklyn for one last push to heave the Democratic candidate over the line.

Published: November 6, 2025, 11:00 am

Airports in Belgium disrupted again by suspected drone sightings – Europe live

Drone sightings reported near Brussels and Liège airports just hours after national security council meeting on the emerging threats

Meanwhile, we now have a formal confirmation that the centrist D66 party triumphed in last week’s parliamentary election in the Netherlands, setting its 38-year-old leader, Rob Jetten, on course to become the country’s youngest-ever prime minister, AFP noted.

Jetten scored a razor-thin victory of 29,668 votes over anti-Islam leader Geert Wilders and his PVV party, the Dutch Electoral Council said, after an election seen as a bellwether for the rise of Europe’s far right.

Published: November 7, 2025, 10:32 am

How could Tropical Forest Forever fund proposed at Cop30 tackle deforestation?

Scheme aims to raise $125bn to invest in bonds, with returns used to reward tropical countries for conservation

As a battle-scarred veteran of the war against nature, Garo Batmanian has spent 45 years trying to defend the Amazon rainforest. For most of that time, the resistance he leads has been outfunded and outgunned by those who profit from destruction. The most Batmanian felt he could achieve was to slow the advance of the chainsaws and tractors.

But the director-general of Brazil’s forest service feels there could be a chance at the Cop30 climate summit in Belém, Brazil, next week, not just of an even fight, but perhaps a victory. There is one condition: world governments must rally behind an initiative being launched by the host nation – the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF).

Published: November 6, 2025, 3:21 pm

Driving competition: China’s carmakers in race to dominate Europe’s roads

Chinese manufacturers are using the electric transition to seize market share, with the UK as their gateway

When Tesla wanted to catch the eye of British buyers, it put its cars and bright signage at a dealership in west London’s prominent Hogarth roundabout. Exposure to half a million drivers every day helped the US carmaker to become the dominant electric vehicle seller in the UK. Yet drivers passing by that site now see something different: twin Chinese brands Omoda and Jaecoo, both owned by the state-controlled manufacturer Chery.

Chinese cars are on a roll across Europe – they outsold Korean rivals in western Europe for the first time in September. That success is highly reliant on the UK. Of the half a million Chinese cars sold in western Europe between January and September, 30% were bought by Britons, according to Matthias Schmidt, a Berlin-based automotive analyst.

Published: November 7, 2025, 6:00 am

UK rejected atrocity prevention plans for Sudan despite warning of possible genocide

Exclusive: British government adopted ‘least ambitious’ option months before RSF’s massacres in El Fasher

Britain rejected atrocity prevention plans for Sudan despite intelligence warnings that the city of El Fasher would fall amid a wave of ethnic cleansing and possible genocide, according to a report seen by the Guardian.

Government officials turned down the plans six months into the 18-month siege of El Fasher in favour of the “least ambitious” option of four presented.

Published: November 7, 2025, 6:00 am

Judge to order federal agents in Chicago to restrict force against protesters and media

Judge says agents’ practices amid immigration crackdown violate constitutional rights of protesters and journalists

A judge said on Thursday she will order federal agents in Chicago to restrict using force against peaceful protesters and media, saying current practices violate their constitutional rights.

The preliminary injunction came in response to a lawsuit alleging federal agents have used excessive force in their immigration crackdown in the Chicago area.

Published: November 6, 2025, 6:25 pm

Man who threw sandwich at US federal agent found not guilty of assault

Former justice department employee’s lawyers argued it was a ‘harmless gesture’ during an act of protest

A former Department of Justice employee who threw a sandwich at a federal agent during Donald Trump’s law enforcement surge in Washington DC was found not guilty of assault by a DC jury on Thursday in the latest legal rebuke of the federal intervention.

Sean Charles Dunn, a former justice department paralegal, became a symbol of the resistance to Trump’s occupation in the nation’s capital when video of him, clad in a pink polo shirt and shorts, throwing a sandwich at a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent, wearing a bulletproof vest, went viral.

Published: November 6, 2025, 7:45 pm

Famed Florentine diamond surfaces in Canada after century-long disappearance

Empress Zita brought stone to Canada as Nazis took over Europe in 1940s and it remained in bank vault ever since

At the height of the Battle of Britain, when the UK government needed a secret location to store 186,332 gold bars, it turned to Canada.

Shipped across the Atlantic and stored beneath a hastily constructed vault in Montreal, Operation Fish became known both for the vast amounts of gold involved – and the immense secrecy that followed.

Published: November 6, 2025, 6:52 pm

‘Politicians actually taking action’: six world mayors defying climate-sceptic populist leaders

From Sierra Leone to Milan, cities are introducing their own rules and innovations in the face of rising temperatures

Wooden stakes bearing pictures of young men were driven into the yellow sands of Copacabana beach this week, opposite Rio de Janeiro’s swanky hotels on Avenida Atlântica where 300 mayors and their entourages were staying during the C40 World Mayors Summit.

Smiling up at the mayors in their hotel suites were photographs of four officers killed in what was the deadliest police raid in Brazilian history, just a few days before the summit. A further 117 people were killed in the operation in two of Rio’s largest clusters of favelas – the Complexo do Alemão and the Complexo da Penha – in what the police said was a clampdown on organised crime.

Published: November 7, 2025, 10:00 am

‘We need help’: devastated Jamaican communities still await aid after Hurricane Melissa

Ravaged communities near Montego Bay recount what last week’s category 5 storm took from them

• ‘New reality’: Hurricane Melissa strength multiplied by climate crisis, study says

• ‘How do you rebuild all this?’ Black River residents assess damage after Hurricane Melissa

Sitting outside her house in muddy slippers amid the ruins left by category 5 Hurricane Melissa that ravaged parts of Jamaica last week, Narva Maxwell Taylor recounted how she and her family had to fight for their lives when the storm sent flood waters surging through their home.

“We have to give God thanks we are alive. We could be dead. But everything is gone. I don’t have anything left now,” Taylor, a resident of Catherine Hall, Montego Bay, said.

Published: November 6, 2025, 2:11 pm

Triple-whammy of hottest ever years risks ‘irreversible damage’, says UN

Experts say 2023, 2024 and 2025 the three hottest years in 176 years of records, with 1.5C Paris agreement target now ‘virtually impossible’

• Missing 1.5C climate target is a moral failure, UN chief tells Cop30 summit

A triple-whammy of hottest years ever recorded threatens “irreversible damage”, the UN has warned as the world’s nations prepare to meet at the Cop30 climate summit in Brazil.

This year is on course to be the second or third hottest ever, in records that stretch back 176 years, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said. It means 2023, 2024 and 2025 will be the three hottest on record, demonstrating that the world is now deep into the climate crisis.

Published: November 6, 2025, 2:00 pm

Trump announces plan to cut cost of weight loss drugs and expand access

Injectable versions of GLP-1s from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk will see reduced prices and broader coverage

Donald Trump announced a plan on Thursday to reduce the costs of some weight loss drugs for certain patients and expand access to them for people on public health insurance.

The agreement will make oral versions of GLP-1s, which aren’t yet to market but are expected to be approved in the coming months, available at $150 per month for starting doses.

Published: November 6, 2025, 6:53 pm

New York Post’s anti-Mamdani front page is a hit – with his supporters

Wednesday’s ‘On your Marx, get set, Zo!’ edition of the New York Post is a hot property – with one copy selling for $355

The New York Post’s “On your Marx, get set, Zo!” front page published just hours after democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani’s win in the New York mayor’s race is proving a viral hit, with one vendor on eBay selling a print copy for $355 soon after it was listed for auction.

The Post’s 5 November front page, with “The Red Apple” headline featuring Mamdani holding up a Soviet-style hammer and sickle, is also being sold by the newspaper as a $75 metal print. Ironically – given the rightwing Rupert Murdoch-owned publication’s staunch opposition to the mayor-elect, it’s proving a hit with Mamdani supporters.

Published: November 6, 2025, 4:07 pm

What Tuesday’s elections mean for the future of abortion rights

Democrats’ commanding victories have breathed new life for supporters of the reproductive health fight

Supporters of abortion rights have spent much of the last year trying to fight Donald Trump’s attempts to undermine access to the procedure. Now, Democrats’ commanding victories in the 2025 elections have breathed new life into the fight.

Democrats Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill’s respective gubernatorial victories in Virginia and New Jersey will shield abortion rights in two states that have become havens for people fleeing abortion bans. In Pennsylvania, voters decided to retain three liberal supreme court justices, maintaining Democratic control of a bench that could decide the future of abortion rights in the deeply purple state.

Published: November 6, 2025, 12:00 pm

US ends deportation protection for South Sudanese nationals

South Sudanese people with temporary protected status now have 60 days to leave

The US is ending temporary deportation protection for South Sudanese nationals, which for more than a decade allowed people from the east African country to stay in the US after escaping conflict.

In a notice published on Wednesday, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said conditions in South Sudan no longer met the statutory requirements for temporary protected status. The agency said South Sudanese nationals with status through the programme had 60 days to leave the US or face deportation.

Published: November 6, 2025, 11:12 am

Mexican women outraged by public sexual assault on their president

‘Humiliating’ groping of Claudia Sheinbaum by drunken man prompts widespread condemnation

The groping of Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum by a drunken man has sparked outrage among women, many of whom saw their own fears and experiences reflected in her plight.

“If the president suffered assault with that level of protection and those guards it means that all of us women can be assaulted at any moment,” said Patricia Reyes, a 20-year-old student.

Published: November 6, 2025, 1:05 pm

Ugandans view Mamdani’s NYC win as a ‘beacon of hope’ amid democratic struggle

Ugandans react with joy after Kampala-born Mamdani’s victory during a trying time for democracy in east Africa

Ugandans reacted with joy and hope to the news that Kampala-born Zohran Mamdani had been elected mayor of New York City, amid a stormy democratic and rights environment in east Africa.

Mamdani, who was born in Uganda 34 years ago to a family of Indian origin, on Tuesday defeated former governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa to become the city’s first Muslim mayor and the first of south Asian heritage.

Published: November 6, 2025, 10:00 am

Louvre heist a ‘deafening wake-up call’, says auditor

Report says Paris museum prioritised ‘visible and attractive’ projects over security in run-up to robbery

• Europe live – latest updates

The spectacular theft of an estimated €88m (£77m) of crown jewels from the Louvre last month was “a deafening wake-up call” for the “wholly inadequate pace” of security upgrades at the Paris museum, the head of France’s state auditor has said.

Presenting the report, which was completed before the dramatic heist at the world’s most-visited museum, Pierre Moscovici said the Louvre had sufficient funds for the improvements and “must now implement them without fail”.

Published: November 6, 2025, 11:44 am

Bolivia’s ex-president who oversaw bloody crackdown on protesters freed from prison

Release follows supreme court ruling that overturned Jeanine Áñez’s conviction for allegedly staging coup to seize power

The former interim president who oversaw a bloody crackdown on protesters in Bolivia has been freed from prison after almost five years, following a supreme court ruling that overturned her conviction for allegedly staging a coup to seize power.

Jeanine Áñez, 58, left the Miraflores women’s orientation centre in La Paz on Thursday, saying that “the monster had to go” for her to walk free – a reference to the end of nearly two decades of rule by the leftwing Movimiento al Socialismo (Mas) party.

Published: November 6, 2025, 6:12 pm

Giving a review zero stars sets a dreadful precedent. But here are the one-star shockers I’d downgrade | Peter Bradshaw

A singularly horrendous TV show has crashed the star-rating review economy. But if zero stars is the new benchmark for critical rage, three films deserve the big 0

Kim Kardashian’s world-historically horrendous TV show All’s Fair has detonated a firestorm of critical horror which, as well as everything else, may have undermined the currency of the star-rating review economy. My colleague Lucy Mangan gave Kardashian’s show an all-but-unprecedented zero stars and zero stars are in fact very rare on this paper.

Yet perhaps in the post-Kardashian world they will become more commonplace. I actually have the distinction of giving the first zero star review in the Guardian’s history — for Cuba Gooding’s terrible comedy Boat Trip back in 2002. But it’s weird. There have been worse films than that which didn’t get zeroed. Not many. But some.

Published: November 6, 2025, 4:47 pm

High and low: the spontaneous joy and drama of New York City – in pictures

Street photographer Daniel Arnold searches out the candid human moments of NYC, capturing a complex city alive with characters and contradictions

Published: November 6, 2025, 7:00 am

Is Kim Kardashian’s legal drama All’s Fair really the worst TV show of all time?

Ryan Murphy’s glossy, star-packed new show has received some of the most shocking reviews we’ve seen for a long time, including many zero-star takes

• Giving a review zero stars sets a dreadful precedent. But here are the one-star shockers I’d downgrade – Peter Bradshaw

If you get a secret thrill from reading bad reviews, this week has basically been your Christmas. This is when the embargo dropped for Ryan Murphy’s new Kim Kardashian-starring Hulu legal drama All’s Fair, and hoo boy. Lucy Mangan’s zero-star extravaganza was a classic of the form, starting with the line “I did not know it was still possible to make television this bad,” and only getting more despairing from there.

But then something incredible happened. More All’s Fair reviews started popping up, and they were just as scathing. Every last one of them, without exception, absolutely hated it. In his zero-star review, the Times’s Ben Dowell observed that the show felt like it had been written “by a toddler who couldn’t write ‘bum’ on a wall”. USA Today’s Kelly Lawler wrote: “It’s so stilted, artificial and awkward not even a glass of wine and leftover Halloween candy can make it remotely enjoyable to view.” The Wrap said: “One wonders if Murphy is engaged in some sort of social experiment to see if he can get away with making the most transparently terrible show on Disney’s dime.” In his one-star review (comparatively a rave), the Telegraph’s Ed Power called the show a “disaster zone of soapy plotting and reeking dialogue”.

Published: November 6, 2025, 10:02 am

The Choral review – Ralph Fiennes leads the choir in impressively unsentimental Alan Bennett fable

Genteel manners of first world war story about repressed passion delivered with surprising sexual candour

Alan Bennett’s new film, directed by Nicholas Hytner, is a quiet and consistent pleasure: an unsentimental but deeply felt drama which subcontracts actual passion to the music of Elgar and leaves us with a heartbeat of wit, poignancy and common sense. Music itself mysteriously exalts and redeems the community, and I mean it as the highest possible praise when I say that The Choral reminds me of Victoria Wood’s musical That Day We Sang, about the recording of Purcell’s Nymphs and Shepherds by Manchester Children’s Choir.

The film is about men in a fictional Yorkshire town during the first world war who are variously too old or too young to fight, and the women who have to deal with the menfolk’s repressed emotions and their own. The place is upended by the arrival of Dr Guthrie (Ralph Fiennes) who is to be the choirmaster, directing the music society’s annual production; he scandalises some with the fact that he once lived in Germany and has a scholar’s love of that country’s literature and music – as well as the fact that he is a bachelor who had a close friendship with another young man now serving overseas.

Published: November 6, 2025, 11:00 am

Death by Lightning review – absolutely nobody plays losers like Matthew Macfadyen

The Succession actor is utterly brilliant in every moment of this punchy historical miniseries. His portrayal of the crank who killed the US president in 1881 takes his mastery to the next level

‘My name,” says Charles Guiteau (Matthew Macfadyen), the anti-hero of punchy four-part historical miniseries Death by Lightning, “will be known one day all across this country!” Guiteau was, until now, wrong. He tried to insert himself into history by assassinating the US president, James Garfield, in 1881 – but Garfield was only four months into his tenure, so all Guiteau did by shooting him was turn them both into difficult pub quiz answers.

Death by Lightning pays careful tribute to Garfield, a quietly extraordinary statesman, but its focus is Guiteau and, if this show is a hit, he might finally get his wish. If so, it’ll be because Charles Guiteau has become a byword for the sort of pitiable crank that Matthew Macfadyen plays better than anyone else on television.

Published: November 6, 2025, 8:01 am

‘Sinners was a blast’: Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram, the blues prodigy serving up electrifying riffs in the year’s biggest film

He was mentored by Buddy Guy as a teen and played for Michelle Obama in the White House. Now, the 26-year-old Mississippi guitar hero is bringing the blues back into the spotlight – and taking it to the top of the box office

Founded in 1848, Clarksdale, Mississippi, soon earned the title “the Golden Buckle on the Cotton Belt”, a place where enslaved Africans and their descendants picked cotton by the tonne. But mechanisation in the 1960s changed things. Today, the small city’s median household income is $35,210, with 40% of the populace living below the poverty line. And 80% of Clarksdale’s 14,400 residents are African American. Just another left-behind town in the poorest state in the Union? This is how Clarksdale appears to many outsiders.

Or it did until one of the biggest movies of 2025 opened with the words: “Clarksdale, Mississippi – October 16, 1932”. Why was Ryan Coogler’s Sinners set in Clarksdale? Because this forgotten settlement is also a blues mecca. The crossroads where Robert Johnson supposedly “sold his soul to the devil” is here. Bessie Smith, shattered after a car crash on Highway 61, drew her last breath in Clarksdale. WC Handy, Muddy Waters, Robert Nighthawk, Junior Parker, Ike Turner and Sam Cooke are just a handful of the celebrated blues and R&B musicians who were either born or based themselves in Clarksdale at some point across the 20th century. Now, after decades of neglect, Clarksdale is using its musical heritage to re-establish its place on the map – and one of the city’s native sons, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, is bringing the blues back to the centre of American culture.

Published: November 6, 2025, 8:00 am

Hatchie: Liquorice review – dizzying dreampop with welcome flashes of depravity

Eschewing the fairyfloss hooks of her earlier work, the Australian’s third album is both more mature and less immediately palatable

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Almost all of Hatchie’s music could slot frictionlessly into a coming-of-age film. Her songs, mostly, are misty-eyed ruminations on puppy love and its ensuing devastation; they yearn for a redamancy that feels both fated and vexingly out of reach. You can imagine Harriette Pilbeam’s mille-feuille harmonies soundtracking a high school prom dappled with a disco ball’s refractive glimmer, or picture her fleecy guitars over a montage of light teenage debauchery. These are tracks prefabbed for telegraphing big feelings; everyone knows the outsize melodrama of a first, second or 20th crush.

Liquorice, the title of Pilbeam’s potent third album, winks at her 2018 breakout EP, Sugar and Spice. That formative work was a candy blast of dreampop, emphasis on pop – indebted as much to Carly Rae Jepsen as Cocteau Twins, whose co-founder Robin Guthrie ended up providing a remix of Pilbeam’s single Sure. Liquorice, meanwhile, is more mature and less immediately palatable, eschewing the fairyfloss hooks of Pilbeam’s earlier work.

Published: November 6, 2025, 2:00 pm

Danny Brown: Stardust review – hyperpop-rap powered up with post-rehab positivity

(Warp)
The Detroit rapper feared his music would get dull after he went sober, but no-one could be bored by this guest-stuffed, chaotically swaggering new album

When Danny Brown spoke to the Guardian in 2023, he was promoting the near simultaneous release of two albums, his own Quaranta and Scaring the Hoes, a collaboration with Jpegmafia that commenced with perhaps the year’s most diverting opening lyric: “First – fuck off, Elon Musk.” Both albums had been recorded in what sounded like desperate circumstances.

Brown had long played on his image as a drug-guzzling maniac, too crazed to be contained by any of hip-hop’s standard generic boundaries: posing for photographs with his hair wildly backcombed, his missing teeth on full display, his tongue out and his fingers in devil’s horns, telling interviewers “I’m just waiting to die – everything after this point is, like, whatever”; referring to his songs as “trauma dumps” and calling them things like Adderall Admiral, White Lines, Dope Fiend Rental, Need Another Drink and Die Like a Rockstar. By the time he made Quaranta and Scaring the Hoes, however, he was in serious trouble: “blackout drunk” when recording the latter, “in pain all the time, throwing up and shit” during the making of the former. By the time of the interview, he’d been to rehab and got sober: ostensibly a happy ending, but Brown struck a note of caution. “I’ve seen so many artists get sober,” he said. “And their music sucks.”

Published: November 6, 2025, 12:00 pm

In Love With Love by Ella Risbridger review – a sexy celebration of romantic fiction

From Pride and Prejudice to Fifty Shades, a writer’s paean to the literature of desire

Eva Ibbotson, a doyenne of 1980s romantic fiction, once said self-deprecatingly that her books were aimed at “old ladies and people with flu”. To which Ella Risbridger, who is in her early 30s, sniffle-free and a devotee of Ibbotson’s “sexy and sweet” novels, has this cracking comeback: “If love is the most important thing, and to me it was and is, I want books that think that too.”

From here Risbridger plunges into what she charmingly calls “a field guide to delight”. Jane Eyre rubs shoulders with Ice Planet Barbarians (the bright blue aliens who inhabit the ice planet turn out to be sexy in a Mr Rochester kind of way). Pride and Prejudice makes its inevitable appearance, flanked by its many modern iterations, including the ones with dragons. Mills & Boon novels of every stripe are accorded the kind of sustained attention more usually given to Proust, while Judith Butler’s theories of gender are buttressed by a deft analysis of Rupert Campbell-Black, caddish hero of the Rutshire chronicles by the late, great Jilly Cooper.

Published: November 7, 2025, 7:00 am

Beasts of the Sea by Iida Turpeinen review – a hypnotic tale of the sea cow’s extinction

This hit debut from Finland is intensely readable, but could have delved more deeply into the links between human progress and environmental destruction

In November 1741 Georg Wilhelm Steller, “theologian, naturalist, and curious man”, was shipwrecked on an island between Alaska and Russia. There he found, floating in the shallow waters, a vast sirenian, Hydrodamalis gigas, nine feet long and soon to be known as Steller’s sea cow. Having made it through the winter, largely by eating the sea cows, the following August Steller and the remaining survivors of the Great Northern Expedition left the island. Within 30 years, Steller’s sea cow was hunted to extinction.

Having described these events, Finnish author Iida Turpeinen’s debut novel goes on to describe the lives of other historical figures, each of whom are touched in some way by the sea cow, now reduced to bones. There is Hampus Furuhjelm, governor of Alaska, in search of a complete skeleton, and his sister Constance, who finds peace and intellectual autonomy among her taxidermy collection. Later, there’s Hilda Olson, a scientific illustrator, and John Grönvall, specialist in the reconstruction of birds’ eggs, who is tasked with preparing a sea cow’s relics for exhibition.

Published: November 6, 2025, 7:00 am

Fortnite’s The Simpsons season is a worthy tribute to one of the most celebrated shows of all time

Crammed with cameos, this recreation of Springfield in Fortnite’s evolving virtual playground is a delight for long-time fans of the show. Shame it’s not here for long

After years of collaborations with Disney on Marvel and Star Wars, it’s finally happened: The Simpsons have arrived in Fortnite. Whereas most of these crossovers comprise themed skins and emotes, this is a complete takeover, with an entire stylised map based on Springfield to explore. It’s a smart way of introducing American TV’s longest-running sitcom to a younger audience – especially with news of a second movie on the way – but for millennials, this is the culmination of a year-long campaign to catch our attention, if previous collabs with Power Rangers, Scream and Mortal Kombat are anything to go by.

Though this could have been a quick ploy for those who grew up on a diet of afterschool BBC Two repeats to open their wallets, it’s no lazy cash-in. The familiar sights of Springfield you’d expect are here: there’s the Simpsons home on Evergreen Terrace, the sloping lawns of Burns Manor, and a town square with Moe’s Tavern and a statue of Jebediah Springfield, detachable head and all. Towards the edge of the map is the nuclear power plant, pumping cartoon steam into the sky, featuring meltdowns that you can avert by tapping a control console to the tune of “eeny, meeny, miny, moe”. Cletus’s farm and a Slurp factory (the game’s spin on Duff – no beer on tap here) sit on the corners of the island, and every match starts with a charming recreation of the show’s intro, complete with parting clouds, title card and iconic theme song, before you thank Otto as you leave the battle bus and descend on to the map.

Published: November 6, 2025, 10:40 am

Rockstar Games delays Grand Theft Auto VI – again – to late 2026

The hugely anticipated sequel was due to arrive in May of next year but has been pushed back to November 2026

Rockstar Games’s Grand Theft Auto VI, which was due to release on 26 May next year, has been delayed again – this time to the end of 2026. It has now been nearly two years since the game was announced, and more than 12 years since the release of Grand Theft Auto V.

“Grand Theft Auto VI will now release on Thursday, November 19, 2026,” reads Rockstar Games’s statement on X. “We are sorry for adding additional time to what we realize has been a long wait, but these extra months will allow us to finish the game with the level of polish you have come to expect and deserve.”

Published: November 6, 2025, 9:49 pm

Share your zero-star cultural disasters

The Guardian has only ever published 18 zero-star reviews. Now’s the chance to share yours …

A zero-star review is very rare. The Guardian has only published 18, which we listed following Lucy Mangan’s zero-star review of Kim Kardashian’s new Disney+ divorce drama All’s Fair.

There’s lots of great culture out there, but sometimes you can be left bitterly disappointed, so we’d like to hear about your worst ever cultural experiences. What’s the most unforgivable TV show, film, play or gig that you have ever seen and would award zero stars to? Now’s your chance to spill.

Published: November 6, 2025, 5:13 pm

Shirley Valentine actor Pauline Collins dies aged 85

Family pays tribute to actor who was a ‘bright, sparky, witty presence on stage and screen’

• Pauline Collins – a life in pictures

• Peter Bradshaw on Pauline Collins

The Shirley Valentine actor Pauline Collins has died aged 85, her family has announced.

She died peacefully, surrounded by her family, in her care home in Highgate, north London, having had Parkinson’s disease for several years, they said.

Published: November 6, 2025, 7:46 pm

‘Fabulous 50s dresses and even a kilt’: readers’ favourite vintage shops and markets in Europe

Our tipsters rummage through thrift stores and markets from Budapest to Bologna

• Tell us about a lesser known corner of Italy or a winter stay in the UK – the best tip wins a £200 holiday voucher

W Armstrong in Edinburgh is a true institution. There are several locations, but the Grassmarket spot is a treasure trove. Frequented by locals, students and tourists alike, there is a price point for all. Whether I’ve been on the hunt for vintage cashmere, denim, fabulous 1950s dresses, garb for a fancy dress party or even a kilt, this store has sorted me out. It is always a favourite for when friends visit the city, and whether you are looking to buy or not, it is worth a visit just to see its eclectic collection.
Amy

Published: November 7, 2025, 7:00 am

‘A sign of who I am, right here on my hands’: meet the artists behind the new-school henna boom

The traditional artform of henna – applying intricate and floral designs to the hands and body in natural inks – is seeing vivid new life as a means of progressive social and political expression, led by a wave of young designers and artists

The night before Eid, plastic chairs line the pavements of busy British high streets from London to Bradford. Women sit elbow-to-elbow beneath shopfronts, hands outstretched as artists swirl cones of henna into intricate curls. For £5, you can walk away with both palms blooming. Once confined to weddings and living rooms, this centuries-old ritual has spilled out into public spaces – and today, it’s being reimagined entirely.

In recent years, henna has travelled from family homes to the red carpet – from actor Michaela Coel’s Sudanese motifs at the Toronto film festival to Katseye singer Lara Raj’s henna decor at the 2025 Video Music awards. Younger generations are using it as art, political expression and cultural affirmation. Online, the appetite is increasing – UK searches for henna reportedly rose by nearly 5,000% last year; and, on social media, creators share everything from faux freckles made with henna to five-minute floral design tutorials, showing how the dye has adapted to modern beauty culture.

Published: November 7, 2025, 6:00 am

Beans, beans, the magical fruit: how healthy are they really?

Research shows beans are good for the body and for the planet. Here’s what to know about getting more in your diet

Beans are affordable, accessible and versatile – delicious in dense salads and creamy sauces alike.

They grow worldwide and are good for the planet, enriching the soil they sprout from with nitrogen while emitting fewer greenhouse gases and requiring significantly less land and water per gram of protein than any animal source. Thanks to enormous diversity, more than 400 varieties are used in culinary contexts, some of which are gorgeous to boot.

Published: November 6, 2025, 5:00 pm

Gifts for the entrepreneur in your life

From CEOs to designers, 25 entrepreneurs told us the best type of gifts for these visionary and creative folks

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Everyone knows someone who’s self-employed. Whether it’s the stylist who cuts your hair, the passionate home cook now slinging the world’s best grilled cheese from the food truck down the street, or the former HR pro turned consultant, entrepreneurs come in all stripes.

What can you give these visionary and creative folks when the holidays roll around? I’ve been self-employed since 2018 as a writer and a business owner, and I’ve discovered that the right gift can both lift your spirits, and make work easier and more fun all year round. To gather gift ideas for every type of entrepreneur, I went to the source and spoke to 25 of them, from CEOs to designers. Here’s what they told me, plus a few of my own favorites.

Published: November 6, 2025, 8:15 pm

Need a page-turner or gift? Book recs from our e-reader tester

Plus: a guide to better sleep, slow cookers and plane essentials

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Each week, we cut through the noise to bring you smart, practical recommendations on how to live better – from what is worth buying to the tools, habits and ideas that actually last.

Raise your hand if fall inspires fantasies of cozying up by the fire with a good book. Now raise your hand if you have a fireplace and space for a home library. Because e-readers are often more practical, I just spent more than a month testing six e-readers to find one that didn’t make me miss turning paper pages, and I think I found a model most people will love.

Published: November 6, 2025, 3:49 pm

I seem to put out a strong ‘new-best-friend’ vibe, then I back off. Should I dial it down?

Sometimes we feel threatened by bids for closeness, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith. It can help to consider if you’re being true to yourself

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When I was 17, I was quiet, an observer on the fringes. That was often mistaken for being wise. Now 70 (and, by the way, gay), I am chatty and opinionated with a tendency to talk over others in conversation. I have come by the changes honestly, so I don’t whip myself over it because I am enjoying expressing myself. But I do wonder if this is a normal progression, the loss of filters with ageing, or if I am simply losing my sociability – going off the rails in some way.

While I like being friendly to all and enjoy the company of women especially, I recognise how easily they can be hurt. I seem to put out a strong “new-best-friend” vibe but then sometimes, when they step close, I feel crowded and back off. The flip-flop clearly offends, and I don’t want to be doing that, but I frame it as being true to myself. Is this a destructive habit and, if so, should I dial down the friendliness?

Eleanor says: How responsible are we for the ways other people see us?

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Published: November 6, 2025, 2:00 pm

‘I look deranged, but my baby looks happy!’ Nine writers on their favourite photo booth picture

This year marks a century since the birth of the photo booth, and friends and families are still squeezing into them for fun and unflattering snaps - capturing the highs, lows and loves of their lives

I didn’t find early motherhood easy. It wasn’t my daughter’s fault – she was, mercifully, a wonderful and cheerful baby – but I underestimated what a huge shift it would be at an already stressful time. When I was pregnant, we moved to a new town, to a wreck of a house we planned to do up. My mum, who was ill, moved in with us, and then I was the carer of a newborn and a dying parent – at the two extremes of life, but sharing many of the same needs, and often at the same time.

Published: November 6, 2025, 5:00 am

When company’s coming, these simple, cosy ideas hit the spot

Autumn may be the most social season of all, and these elevated but not exhausting ideas make every get-together a small celebration

The golden light lingers a little longer now, and somehow the evenings are full again. Autumn feels like the true social season of the year: the guest bedroom (for which we have an informal booking system) is full through to the end of the year, and suddenly every weekend and many weekday evenings are wrapped around company. Even if it’s just dinner at home for house guests, the rhythm has changed.

When it’s just us for dinner, anything goes – it is very relaxed and informal, and the emphasis is on ease of execution and speed of service. For a dinner party, meanwhile, we go all out: trips to the butcher and speciality deli, and as much time in the kitchen as is needed. But cooking for, and indeed with, house guests falls somewhere delightfully in between: cosy and welcoming, elevated but not exhausting. The kind of food that says: you’re here, you matter, let’s linger.

Published: November 6, 2025, 1:00 pm

You be the judge: should my best friend stop calling me by a nickname?

Priscilla knows that when Chioma calls her ‘Pris’ she means no harm – but finds it very annoying. You get to name the offending party
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I hate being called Prissy – my cousins used to call me that when I was a kid and I’d get upset

Her nickname was born out of love. I feel hurt she’s framing it as if I’ve been disrespecting her

Published: November 6, 2025, 8:00 am

Calabria comes alive with song and dance: how a new generation is revitalising southern Italy’s quiet villages

The small communes of Lago and Conflenti are putting themselves back on the map with a series of community-run music and food festivals

On the lamp-lit steps of a sombre gothic church, a young woman stands before a microphone. Beside her, a man plucks a slow melody from his guitar. Arrayed on chairs and cobblestones in front of them, a large crowd sits in an expectant silence. From a nearby balcony, laundry sways in the sultry Calabrian breeze.

The guitar quickens, and the woman issues a string of tremulous notes with all the solemnity of a muezzin. She clutches a hand drum, beating out a rhythm that draws the crowd to its feet. As people surge forward, stamping and whirling around the square, the singing intensifies and the drum’s relentless thud deepens. The festival of Sustarìa has begun.

Published: November 6, 2025, 7:00 am

As Japan experiences a surge in bear attacks, survivors share grisly stories of blood, bites and broken bones

A record 13 people have died in bear attacks in Japan this year – with experts blaming food shortages as the animals venture further into residential areas

Loud conversations, whistles and, when all else fails, a plastic bottle are among the precautions authorities in Japan are urging people to take to counter a surge in bear attacks.

It was a bell that Billy Halloran had to hand during a confrontation in the foothills of Myoko, northern Japan, last month. The 32-year-old New Zealander was settling into an 8km run when he spotted two Asiatic black bears about 30 metres ahead.

Published: November 6, 2025, 5:45 am

Share your favourite photo booth picture

This year marks 100 years since the birth of the photo booth. We would like to see your favourite pictures

This year marks 100 years since the birth of the photo booth. Guardian writers have shared their favourite photo booth pictures – now we’d like to see yours. You can share your photos, old and new, and the stories behind them, below.

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Published: November 6, 2025, 12:15 pm

Hurricane salvage and an ex-president’s release from jail: photos of the day – Friday

The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world

Published: November 7, 2025, 9:25 am