TravelSmart is going Down Under this week, exploring Queensland, Australiaas Sunshine State.

Life isnat all diamonds and rosA(c) a but in the dazzling microcosm of Beverly Hills it sure comes close, finds Nicole Trilivas

Passengers decry ainhumanea and aawfula situation at remote military airport

Exclusive: The Independent predicts the worst traffic jams will be on the M5, M6, M25 and A303

The recalled chips were sold at retailers in 13 states

Shoppers ave been expressing concern after itemas lengthy absence

As one property company announces that they are offering wellbeing perks for tenants, Katie Rosseinsky explores the complex relationship between renting and mental health in the UK

Men are the worse culprits when it comes to curtain twitching over a dispute

aI canat just go out on a week night to a pub to meet someone,a presenter said

Spring cleaning can be fun until it comes to the chaos of the kitchen

The event is part of the coupleas four-day state visit to the country

Obama opened up about recent struggle in surprise admission

Researchers have known for years that this friendly bacteria is associated with good health

Hanks was married to Susan Dillingham from 1978 to 1987

Actor was told that his recurring symptoms were the result of a childhood accident

Hailie revealed she gave birth to her son on March 14

Sean OaGrady tests the latest iteration of a family vehicle that has stood the test of time

As new data suggests that almost three-quarters of young people are impacted by fear of social situations, Helen Coffey investigates if itas the state of the world or our devices to blame a and whether weave lost the art of resilience in the modern age

aYaall need to get out now,a singeras teenager told her

Engrossing show gets increasingly better with every new episode

Wyle recalled growing up good friends with Winkleras stepson and watching aHappy Daysa at their house

British actor said he found the interaction ainsultinga

Itas one of the most talked about British shows of the last 20 years

Now living a low-key life in Minneapolis, singer-songwriter Samia wants people to know the real her. Making herself the ideal unknowable woman for men to project onto is the subject of her third album, aBloodlessa, she tells Hannah Ewens

Jacob Stolworthy runs through the films that didnat get the attention they deserved

The actor was at the theater for a Q&A session for his new movie, aThe Frienda

aMines much better,a former Top Gear presenter claimed

The four-time 007 actor added that there are agreat things you can do with AIa

Executive producer David Bernad said this season had three key secrets during filming

Michael Joseph Branham has a realistic heart tattooed on his chest along with the word aScarletta

Is Gaitok about to go postal? Is Tim finally going to live out his murder-suicide fantasies? And what the hell is going on with Rick? Weave been speculating about what might play out in the season three finale

Singer made a foray into acting with numerous roles in West End plays and TV dramas

It was considered one of the biggest upsets in awards history

aI rung my agent and went aYouave got to get me out of herea,a ex-contestant said

aIave admired her work for years,a Thor actor said

Star will be off screens for a afew weeksa to pursue new opportunity

aIt forced me to make an extremely hard decision,a actor revealed

Sheeran treated commuters to an impromptu performance in Kingas Cross

aYou donat need a visa to perform here,a a ticket holder in Mexico pointed out

aThat was rough to watch,a one viewer complained

Cruise was appearing at CinemaCon in Las Vegas to promote aMission: Impossible a The Final Reckoninga

Actor is getting candid over Morpheusas absence in aMatrix Resurrectionsa

Armchair sleuths will have you convinced that Justin Bieber is really a lizard and Stevie Wonder isnat actually blind. Ellie Muir and Roisin OaConnor unpack some of the weirdest rumours around our biggest pop stars

The Grammy-nominated artist is one of the worldas hottest new stars a and he also knows how to walk a red carpet. He talks to Roisin OaConnor about learning to cope with fame, why he prefers the Brit Awards and how he reckons God is definitely a woman

Trumpas baseline 10% tariff on all imports from many countries has begun, with higher levies on 57 trading partners to start next week

• Americaas Brexit? Trumpas historic gamble on tariffs has been decades in the making

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to visit the White House on Monday to discuss recently announced tariffs with US president Donald Trump, three Israeli officials said on Saturday, according to Reuters.

The impromptu visit was first reported by Axios, which said that if the visit takes place, the Israeli leader would be the first foreign leader to meet Trump in person to try to negotiate a deal to remove tariffs.

Israel says soldiers fired on aterroristsa in asuspicious vehiclesa but footage shows clearly marked ambulances

Mobile phone footage of the last moments of some of the 15 Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers killed by Israeli forces in an incident in Gaza last month appears to contradict the version of events put forward by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

The almost seven-minute video, which the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said on Saturday was recovered from the phone of Rifat Radwan, one of the men killed, appears to have been filmed from inside a moving vehicle. It shows a red fire engine and clearly marked ambulances driving at night, using headlights and flashing emergency lights.

More than a thousand events to be held across the country in a show of defiance against Trumpas aauthoritarian overreacha

Here are some images coming through the newswires of the Hands Off protests in Washington DC:

Several congressional members are expected to make apperances and deliver speeches at the Hands Off protest in Washington DC today.

Group plans to hold demonstrations in London against UK arms sales to Israel every Tuesday and Saturday in April

About 40 Youth Demand protesters were told to move on by the police during a pro-Palestinian rally in central London on Saturday.

The campaigners began gathering at Lincolnas Inn Fields on Saturday morning and made their way to Kingas Cross station.

Fuelled by social media, a global boom is outstripping production of the powdered green tea

The appearance of the vivid-green powder elicits smiles and appreciative sounds, and anticipation among dozens of tea lovers. Their hand-milled batches now ready for whisking with hot water, they will soon be rewarded for their patience.

The foreign tourists attending a matcha-making experience in Uji, near Kyoto in western Japan, are united in their love of the powdered, bitter form of green tea the Japanese have been drinking for centuries, and which is now at the centre of a global boom.

• I Am Maximus a brave second after last yearas win
• Patrick Mullins rides his fatheras horse to victory

Nick Rockett led home an extraordinary one-two-three for trainer Willie Mullins at 33-1 in Saturdayas Grand National. Ridden by the traineras son, Patrick, Nick Rockett beats last yearas winner I Am Maximus with Grangeclare West third.

The winning horse is still registered in the ownership of Stewart and Sadie Andrew, and though Sadie died of cancer in December 2022, she had been the one who wanted a horse in training with Willie Mullins as they were from the same part of Ireland.

Digital technology reveals aincredibly moderna royal who lived 3,500 years ago in kingdom associated with Helen of Troy

She lived around 3,500 years ago a but facial reconstruction technology has brought a woman from late bronze age Mycenae back to life.

The woman was in her mid-30s when she was buried in a royal cemetery between the 16th and 17th centuries BC. The site was uncovered in the 1950s on the Greek mainland at Mycenae, the legendary seat of Homeras King Agamemnon.

Edinburgh University report authors say dietary changes could benefit women living with the disease

Dietary changes could reduce the pain of endometriosis for half of those living with the disease, a new study suggests. The largest international survey ever conducted on diet and endometriosis, involving 2,599 people, found 45% of those who stopped eating gluten and 45% of those who cut out dairy reported experiencing an improvement in their pain.

When women cut down on coffee or other caffeine in their diet, 43% said their pain was reduced, while 53% of women who cut back on alcohol reported the same.

Young people whose debts outweigh their assets are at risk of experiencing blighted earnings, and even poorer health

Gen Z and young millennials are battling a anegative wealtha problem due to growing debt burdens that limit their life chances, according to a new analysis from the Fairness Foundation.

The thinktank says negative wealth, where debts outweigh assets, is linked to lower wages and worse health in later life, and that ministers should reintroduce the Child Trust Fund to give young people a greater stake in society.

Anonymous donations made to Molly Rose Foundation, set up after UK teenager took her own life after viewing harmful material on social media

Meta and Pinterest have reportedly made significant donations to the Molly Rose Foundation, a charity set up to campaign for internet safety.

The foundation was set up in the name of 14-year-old Molly Russell, who took her own life in 2017 after viewing harmful material linked to suicide and self-harm on social media platforms.

Artist says severe eye infection last year has left him unable to read, see TV or watch his sons playing sports

Elton John has spoken of his distress at losing his eyesight and how he can no longer watch his young sons playing.

John revealed in a social media post last year that a asevere eye infectiona had left him awith only limited vision in one eyea.

Graphic artist Rebecca Burke was on the trip of a lifetime. But as she tried to leave the US she was stopped, interrogated and branded an illegal alien by ICE. Now back home, she tells others thinking of going to Trumpas America: donat do it

Just before the graphic artist Rebecca Burke left Seattle to travel to Vancouver, Canada, on 26 February, she posted an image of a rough comic to Instagram. aOne part of travelling that I love is seeing glimpses of other lives,a read the bubble in the first panel, above sketches of cosy homes: crossword puzzle books, house plants, a lit candle, a steaming kettle on a gas stove. Burke had seen plenty of glimpses of other lives over the six weeks she had been backpacking in the US. She had been travelling on her own, staying on homestays free of charge in exchange for doing household chores, drawing as she went. For Burke, 28, it was absolute freedom.

Within hours of posting that drawing, Burke got to see a much darker side of life in America, and far more than a glimpse. When she tried to cross into Canada, Canadian border officials told her that her living arrangements meant she should be travelling on a work visa, not a tourist one. They sent her back to the US, where�American officials classed her as an illegal alien. She was shackled and transported to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) detention centre, where she was locked up for 19 days a even though she had money to pay for a flight home, and was desperate to leave the US.

With the cityas refuse collectors still on the picket line after four weeks, residents are pointing the finger of blame at the council

Suhail Sadiqas car repair business is thriving and heas furious about it.

The rats are responsible. aThe amount of cars weave got coming in now with wiring chewed up by rats is unbelievable,a he says. Staff at Heartlands Auto Centre in Birmingham have repaired about 15 cars with chewed battery cables in the past week. The rats are drawn to the warmer cars at night, he says a rats gnaw to keep their teeth a manageable length.

More than 850 men a month are arrested for online child abuse offences in England and Wales. They come from every walk of life: teachers, police officers, doctors, TV presenters. And the numbers are rising every year. How did this happen?

Andy was enjoying a weekend away with his wife when it happened. aMy neighbour phoned me and said, aThe police are in your house. Theyare looking for you.aa He didnat need to wonder why. aYou know. You know the reason. I was petrified when I got that call. It wasnat just the thought of other people knowing what I had done; I also had to face myself, and that is a sick feeling a it is guilt, shame.a

Andy had been watching and sharing images of children being sexually abused for several months before the police appeared at his door. He tried at first to keep it from his wife: aI was afraid she would ask me to leave. I wouldnat have blamed her if she had.a

The standup used to joke about not having kids, but then she had IVF and found herself an aerodeda mother of two. Now sheas back with a show about motherhood in her 40s a but donat expect any cute parenting stories

My favourite Sara Pascoe joke is her imaginary riposte to people asking if sheas going to have kids. They mean well, these prying parents a they just donat want her to miss out on�a life-enhancing experience. The thing is, the comedian has had some life-enhancing experiences of her own. aBut I have never, ever said to anybody: aOh, have you been on QI? Ahhh, you should go on QI!aa she insists, settling into her archly patronising pep talk. aNo I didnat think I wanted to be on QI until I was on QI, and then it was like I looked back and my entire life had been leading up to me being on QI. Yes itas very tiring being on QI, but itas so worth it. I just wouldnat want you to leave it too late and theyall have stopped making it!a

As a skewering of smug, insensitive acquaintances foisting their own ideas of fulfilment on a child-free woman in her 30s, itas a gratifyingly clever joke. In�reality, however, Pascoe wasnat laughing. During the period she was doing that routine on stage, she was�actually aquite sad about not being able to have childrena, she says over coffee in a north London cafe near her home. Shead long suspected she had fertility issues after unsuccessfully trying for a baby with an ex-boyfriend.

The pioneering V&A tea rooms were designed to draw people into culture, and today such spaces offer more than just sandwiches. Felicity Cloake introduces some of our favourites

At museums and galleries, the tourist imperative is often to tick off as much as possible, racing around desperately rather than setting aside the equally important time to take stock of it all over coffee and cake. But as well as being a respite from noisy school groups and other peopleas opinions, these spaces serve other functions, too; a well-executed example draws people in in its own right, as Henry Cole, founding director of the V&A, was the first to realise.

Cole hoped his refreshment rooms, which opened in 1868, would encourage people to come in and enjoy some culture while they ate. The tradition continues to this day. Build it, add a decent cafe, and they will come a| and they may even stay to check out the exhibitions. The best examples, like the Garden Cafe at Hospitalfield in Arbroath or the Open Kitchen Cafe at the Peopleas History Museum in Manchester, work to give you a sense of place, using local ingredients and recipes.

Doug and Maggie feel as if theyave had a relationship reset and are communicating more openly about sex
How do you do it? Share the story of your sex life, anonymously

It was like wead pressed a reset button on our relationship

New podcast series will show what coal-trimmers had to endure as they powered the ill-fated ship in 1912

Clinging to an overturned raft in the perilous, frozen waters of the north Atlantic, Jimmy McGann witnessed the horror of the 1912 sinking of the Titanic. He was one of its soot-covered coal-trimmers, toiling in blazing heat, shovelling coal into furnaces that powered the mighty vessel.

Jimmy stayed aboard with the captain until the shipas last moments and, although he survived historyas most famous maritime disaster, he died a few years later from pneumonia.

Before she became a mother, Samantha Ellis secretly judged other parents who let their children subsist on white bread and pesto-pasta. And when her son was born she couldnat wait to share the Iraqi Jewish food of her ancestors. Unfortunately, he had other ideas a|

My family takes food very seriously. So seriously that when my motheras family left Iraq in 1971, limited to 20kg of luggage each, they found room for not one but two rolling pins. The truth is that, having used the rolling pins, I think they were right. Born in England, I grew up on my fatheras stories, too, of going to a Baghdad street stall to buy hot samoon, Iraqi bread shaped like a teardrop, with a puffy middle and a crunchy crust, with amba (mango pickle) oozing out of it. But he left Baghdad even earlier, in 1951, in a mass airlift along with most of Iraqas Jews. I grew up in Britain, homesick for a place Iave never been to, and will probably never see. There are now just three Jews left in Iraq.

Scattered across the world, we didnat have much from Iraq, but we did have the recipes, which we clung to like a life raft. We didnat just eat together but often cooked together, too. One of my earliest, happiest memories is of sitting under the Formica table in my grandmotheras kitchen at maybe three or four, and pulling the stalks off parsley so my mother and aunt could make tabbouleh. When, decades later, I was finally about to become a mother myself, I was excited about sharing Iraqi Jewish food with my son. Maybe head even want to be my tiny sous chef! Maybe head like tabbouleh as much as I did. We make it vivid green with barely any bulgur in it (I was confused when I first saw the pots of beige in the supermarket because they looked nothing like the salad Iad grown up with). Maybe head love ingriyi (fried aubergine slices layered with fried lamb or beef and sliced tomato, and simmered with turmeric, lemon juice and date syrup); and tbeet, which just means aovernighta because it was an ingenious dish developed to get around the restrictions on lighting fires or turning on ovens on Shabbat. The flame was kept very low, and chicken and rice were cooked through the night with cardamom, cinnamon and cloves, with eggs tucked around the chicken till they went a deep brown. I imagined if I made him kitchri, rice with red lentils, garlic, turmeric, cumin, tomato, melting onions, so much butter and melting slabs of halloumi, and thick yoghurt spooned over the top, head say ashteedek (long live your hands) in our language, Judeo-Iraqi Arabic, and understand me when I replied awafi (to your health).

An interior decorator and furniture designer uses colour and fleamarket finds to create an inviting sanctuary

Nestled in a classic Haussmannian building in Parisas 17th Arrondissement, Tiphaine Verdieras apartment is a feast for the senses. This large duplex, perched on the top two floors, is not just a home but a canvas where colour and creativity collide. With a fearless approach to bold hues, Tiphaine has transformed what was once a blank slate of plain white walls into a theatrical and inviting sanctuary.

When Tiphaine first stepped into the apartment, it was a minimalistas dream a or, as she might put it, a colour enthusiastas nightmare. aAll the walls were just plain white,a she recalls. But Tiphaine, an interior decorator and furniture designer, saw the potential in the apartmentas unique layout. aI was drawn to the fact that it felt like a house in the sky, with a clear separation between the day and night spaces.a

Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hessas adventure based on the worldas favourite video game feels like one big cash-in

Itas a curious choice of title. A Minecraft Movie implies that this cynical intellectual property-rinsing exercise is one of numerous film adaptations of the enduringly popular sandbox video game. Perhaps thereas an alternative out there, a sharper, smarter, funnier version of a Minecraft movie. One with actual jokes. Or, God forbid, there may even be a worse iteration, although thatas hard to imagine. What becomes clear is that one of the key elements in the gameas popularity a the latitude it affords gamers to create their own experience a is a big stumbling block for any film adaptation of Minecraft.

In the absence of a single fixed storyline the screenplay can follow, A Minecraft Movie has a cobbled-together feel, borrowing a device from Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle a and, in Jack Black, a star a and superimposing an all-purpose quest-for-an-artefact structure on to a colour-saturated backdrop of cube-shaped vegetation, pink sheep and lax building regulations.

In UK and Irish cinemas

The radio DJ talks about missing grungy old music festivals, doing all the cleaning at home, and being brought up without ambition by his dad, John Peel

Music was playing before I was even born. I was born into the sound. My dad [radio presenter John Peel] used to make these mixtapes. We had three TDK 90s and we would drive around France in our battered, crappy Peugeot 505 estate, travelling the world musically through these cassettes.

As teenagers we used to get called crusties a we had long hair. It was that grunge era, early 90s. And then rave culture started and me and my friends got really into hardcore and jungle, and we got called ravers, but as an insult. I look back at that with great pride.

• Willie Mullins-trained horse ridden to victory by son
• Tom Jenkinsas best pictures from Aintree
• And send Tony an email with your thoughts

William Hill Handicap Hurdle (1.20pm)

And theyare off a| Jipcot, always held up in the past, is up there in the very early stages a| Building Bridges has taken over the lead a| Dartan and Timmy Tuesday are also prominent a| Act Of Authority and Double Powerful are at the back a| no fallers with a circuit to go a| and not much change in the running order for now a| but Bill Joyce has gone at the first hurdle in the back straight a| heas up and going on riderless a| Building Bridges has kicked clear with Dartan who is under pressure a| Timmy Tuesday comes with a challenge a| Deep Cave comes late and gets there close home.

I love that ITV still open up their National day coverage (as the Beeb used to) with the theme music from the 1984 film Champions based on the victory of Bob Champion and Aldaniti in 1981. I still havenat seen the movie but I found it for a quid last year on DVD.

• Updates from the Premier League and beyond
• Live scoreboard | Read Football Daily | Mail Dominic

Meanwhile, the top of League Two is madness. Port Vale are on the brink of a 3-2 win at Walsall that would take them to the summit, leapfrogging the hosts, while Doncaster conjured up two goals in the final few minutes at Cheltenham to win 2-0 and boost their hopes of automatic promotion.

Full time: Luton 1-1 Leeds, Coventry 1-2 Burnley. Sunderland still lead with a couple of minutes to go at The Hawthorns.

• Premier League latest, 5.30pm BST at Villa Park
• Live scoreboard | Read Football Daily | Mail Scott

Hereas how the Premier League table looks after these results a|

Crystal Palace 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion

Everton 1-1 Arsenal

Ipswich Town 1-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers

West Ham United 2-2 Bournemouth

• Last 16: Toulon 72-42 Saracens
• Isa and Jaminet score hat-tricks for French side

It is not often a team can ship 10 tries, concede more than 70 points and strike a defiant tone in the aftermath, but this was no ordinary contest. Saracensa director of rugby, Mark McCall, was evidently irked by the criticism he received for resting five England players, the suggestion being that he had disrespected the competition. Though there was an inevitability to Toulon cantering to victory once they had gathered themselves, an understrength Saracens side gave their hosts a sizeable scare.

It is impossible to tell if Maro Itoje, Jamie George, Ben Earl, Tom Willis and Elliot Daly would have made enough of a difference, but the suspicion is a not least because Saracens are not the first English club to be on the wrong side of a hiding against French opposition this season a they would still be bowing out in the last 16. Maybe the final margin would not have been 30 points, but when French sides get on a roll the evidence shows us that English teams find them nigh-on impossible to stop.

Liverpool need no favours to win the Premier League but the neighbours did them one anyway. Everton denied Arsenal victory courtesy of a controversial penalty, effectively ending their forlorn pursuit of the leaders in the process, but Mikel Arteta did not rage against the dying of the light on his return to Goodison Park. The game is up, and he knows it.

Arsenal took the lead through Leandro Trossardas fine first-half finish, dominated possession and edged the chances but never performed with the conviction or quality of serious title contenders. They paid the price when Myles Lewis-Skelly was adjudged to have fouled Jack Harrison inside the area, presenting Iliman Ndiaye with the penalty that earned Everton a fifth draw in six games.

• The latest updates from all the season openers
• Deep list of overseas stars head for County Championship
• Get in touch! Email Tanya with any thoughts

Lancashireas opening pair are holding their own in the opening half hour at Lordas a 83-0. Jennings slipping straight back into the groove a he was saying pre-season that realistically he thinks the England ship has sailed, but heas ok with that. Their Roses rivals have nipped out another Hampshire batter, Albert, Hants 176-6.

More sprinkler issues at Trent Bridge, as one is dammed, another springs into life. The crowd wait (im)patiently.

• Red Bull driveras agreat little surprisea in unpredictable car
• Norris beaten by one-hundredth of a second

Max Verstappen delivered a salutary lesson to anyone who might consider his world championship defence a forlorn hope with one of the best qualifying performances of his career in claiming pole for the Japanese Grand Prix.

In a car that is a handful to drive, at a circuit where precision and total commitment go hand in hand, Verstappen wrestled the beast through what was no less than a championas drive.

Forwards have chance to replicate Russo and Tooneas gamechanging roles in 2022 at this summeras European Championship

There was a clear identity and formula to Englandas all-conquering run to a first European title in 2022. The starting XI remained the same throughout and the impact, when the Lionesses needed it most, came from the bench, primarily through Alessia Russo and Ella Toone.

The duo became known as the super-subs, their profiles becoming as big as those lining up at the start of each game, their arrival around the hour mark eagerly awaited.

There is already arguably too little flexibility in the chancelloras budget plan. Trumpas tariffs chaos makes a rethink inevitable

Critics of Rachel Reeves are enjoying another atold you soa moment. It was never realistic, they say, to formulate a budget plan with virtually no leeway to accommodate for unforeseen events.

Less than APS10bn of headroom on a budget of APS1.2tn was asking for trouble. It is clear there are just too many events that could be put on a list of aknown unknownsa for a UK chancellor to almost wilfully wish away their potential impact on the economy and the public finances.

Organisations that pumped money into overturning Roe v Wade are making inroads in Europe. Womenas rights are truly at risk

With Donald Trump as president, there is now a heavy strain of Christian nationalism driving the US political agenda. From draconian abortion policies to ending birthright citizenship, some of Trumpas first executive orders sound startlingly like something out of Margaret Atwoodas The Handmaidas Tale, the dystopian novel turned TV show set in Gilead, a fundamentalist, fascist version of the US where women have no rights. But it is urgent we understand that what is happening in the US could happen here. This road to Atwoodas Gilead is charting a course straight through the UK and Europe, and we may well be sleepwalking on to it.

In November 2024 I debated with the American conservative lawyer Erin Hawley at the Oxford Union. The motion was aThis house regrets the overturning of Roe v Wadea, the US supreme courtas landmark decision that once protected the right to have an abortion at the federal level. Hawley is vice-president of the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), an aanti-LGBTQ+ hate groupa, according to the Southern Poverty Law Centre, founded by the US Christian right. She is also a high profile lawyer and supported the state of Mississippi on the Dobbs v Jackson Womenas Health Organization case that overturned Roe.

The first lady spoke about (wait for it) diversity as she presented awards to courageous women from around the world

Letas take a quick break from the increasingly dreadful news for a little check-in, shall we? So a| how are you holding up right now? How are those stress levels?

Why is everything computerised, automated or impossible to turn off these days?

I believe, deep in my soul, that car companiesa number one goal in life is to ruin the experience of driving. I donat have any direct evidence of this conspiracy to rob us of the pleasure of the open road, other than the cacophony of beeps, blips, bloops and blops that greet us in the latest models. Oh, and the screens. Every year, they try to find a new place to glue a touchscreen in a car, like Pizza Hut hunting for more orifices to stuff cheese into one of their pies.

Everything is computerized, automated or impossible to turn off. According to surveys of new-car buyers by the market research firm Strategic Vision, satisfaction with car controls plummeted by 23 percentage points in the last nine years. The whiz-bang gizmos foisted on the North American car buyer have devolved from the glorious, life-saving back-up camera to gesture controls that allow you to turn an invisible knob to crank up the volume on Espresso without touching a single thing in your vehicle.

Turn the volume up: circle your finger in a clockwise direction.

Turn the volume down: circle your finger in a counter-clockwise direction.

Accept a call: point to the BMW iDrive touchscreen.

Select navigation/custom setting: use two fingers to point to the touchscreen.

Change rearview camera angle: draw a circle using your forefinger and thumb.

Regret your life choices: look in the mirror for 10 seconds.

The bankruptcy of genealogy company 23andMe has resulted in a fire sale of millions of peopleas genetic information a and thereas no shortage of eager buyers with questionable motives

Ever thought of having your genome sequenced? Me neither. But it seems that at least 15 million souls have gone in for it and are delighted to know that they have Viking ancestry, or discombobulated to find that they have siblings of whom they were hitherto unaware. The corporate vehicle that enabled these revelations is called 23andMe, which describes itself as a agenetics-led consumer healthcare and biotechnology company empowering a healthier futurea.

Back in the day, 23andMe was one of those vaunted aunicornsa (privately held startups valued at more than $1bn), but is now facing harder times. Its share price had fallen precipitately following a data breach in October 2023 that harvested the profile and ethnicity data of 6.9 million users a including name, profile photo, birth year, location, family surnames, grandparentsa birthplaces, ethnicity estimates and mitochondrial DNA a and there have been internal disagreements between its board and the CEO and co-founder, Anne Wojcicki. So on 24 March it filed for so-called Chapter 11 proceedings in a US bankruptcy court in Missouri.

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.

A record number of humanitarian workers were killed last year. My staffas red uniforms should have protected them. Instead they became their death shrouds

• Jagan Chapagain is secretary general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
• aWhat was their crime?a Families tell of shock over IDF killing of paramedics

Which was most horrific? The agonising week-long wait a silence after our colleagues went missing, as we suspected the worst but hoped for something different? Or the confirmation, seven days later, that bodies had been found? Or, since, the ghastly details of how they were found, and killed?

Their ambulances were crushed and partly buried. Nearby were their bodies a also buried, en masse, in the sand. Our dead colleagues were still wearing their Red Crescent vests. In life, those uniforms signalled their status as humanitarian workers; they should have protected them. Instead, in death, those red vests became their shrouds.

Jagan Chapagain is secretary general of the IFRC (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies)

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.

Old pals Ewan McGregor and Michael Grandage prepare for their new play, My Master Builder, by chuckling about everything that could go wrong and has

For todayas Observer New Review I had the not-exactly-onerous assignment of spending an hour with the actor Ewan McGregor and director Michael Grandage, as they prepared to put on a new play, My Master Builder, in Londonas West End. The two men go way back, and mostly they were cracking each other up with knockabout old stories a much of which there wasnat room for in my article. McGregor recalled one of his first roles on stage, as Orlando in As You Like It, and how when Simon Callow a multiple Olivier and Bafta award winner a played the part in 1979, he walked out on stage at the National Theatre only to promptly forget the first line of the play.

aIf youare a woman and youare about to have a baby, everybody tells you nightmare stories about childbirth,a said McGregor. aAnd when youare an actor about to do a play, everybody tells you terrible things that have happened on the stage.a

Revolutionary scanner to be fired into Earth orbit this month to measure effects of deforestation

Scientists are about to take part in a revolutionary mission aimed at creating detailed 3D maps of the worldas remotest, densest and darkest tropical forests a from outer space. The feat will be achieved using a special radar scanner that has been fitted to a probe, named Biomass, that will be fired into the Earthas orbit later this month.

For the next five years, the 1.25-tonne spacecraft will sweep over the tropical rainforests of Africa, Asia and South America and peer through their dense 40m-high Acanopies to study the vegetation that lies beneath. The data collected by Biomass will then be used to create unique 3D maps of forests normally hidden from human sight.

Many of the suburbs and cities hit hardest in recent years were caught off-guard, and key stakeholders are racing to understand the dynamics that drive these fires

Communities across the US that were once considered beyond the reach of wildfires are now vulnerable to disaster. As fires increasingly spread deep into neighborhoods, researchers estimate roughly 115 million people a more than a third of the US population a live in areas that could host the next fire catastrophe.

The understanding that many more Americans are at risk of losing their homes to wildfires comes as the climate crisis turns up the dial on extreme weather, drought and heat. But itas also the result of new research that has exposed deep and dangerous gaps in our understanding of the threat.

EPA bids to change chemical risk evaluations, which could expose public to higher levels of PFAS and other pollutants

The Trump administration is quietly carrying out a plan that aims to kill hundreds of bans on highly toxic PFAS aforever chemicalsa and other dangerous compounds in consumer goods.

The bans, largely at the state level, touch most facets of daily life, prohibiting everything from bisphenol in childrenas products to mercury in personal care products to PFAS in food packaging and clothing.

After three years, thousands of arrests and a state crackdown on protests, the group is ending direct action after a polarising campaign

On the morning of Valentineas Day 2022, Hannah Hunt stood at the gates of Downing Street to announce the start of a new kind of climate campaign, one that would eschew mere protest and instead move into acivil resistancea.

Last week, three years and thousands of arrests later, in a neat tie-up exemplary of Just Stop Oilas (JSO) love of media-savvy stunts, Hunt went to the same spot again a this time to announce the group would be ahanging up the hi-visa.

Between 20,000 and 30,000 jobs to be lost as Labour abolishes NHS England and oversees cuts at care boards and trusts

The bill for NHS redundancy payouts could reach APS1bn in the serviceas most radical shake-up in a decade.

Between 20,000 and 30,000 jobs are expected to be lost following the announcement last month that NHS England will be abolished.

Police called to Golden Beach Holiday Park in Ingoldmells in early hours of Saturday

Two people have died after a caravan fire at a holiday park, police have said.

Lincolnshire police said they were called to Golden Beach Holiday Park in Ingoldmells at 3.53am on Saturday.

Mental ill health has been cited as a factor in the welfare overhaul, and experts agree it has worsened since the pandemic

When the health secretary, Wes Streeting, suggested the aoverdiagnosisa of some mental health conditions was a factor in the governmentas welfare changes, many saw the comments as playing into an unhelpful culture-war stereotype of coddled millennials a and as echoing Rishi Sunakas claim, a year ago, that there was a asicknote culturea plaguing Britainas economy.

But media coverage of Dr Suzanne OaSullivanas recent book, The Age of Diagnosis, has amplified and lent credibility to the idea that a diagnosis, in itself, can risk limiting an individualas life prospects.

Livia Tossici-Bolt says she was adisappointeda to be convicted of breaching Bournemouth clinic buffer zone

A woman who was given a conditional discharge after being convicted of breaching a buffer zone outside an abortion clinic in Bournemouth has claimed she was anot there to express my viewsa.

Livia Tossici-Bolt, an anti-abortion campaigner whose case has been cited by the US state department over afreedom of expressiona concerns in the UK, told the BBCas Today programme she was areally disappointeda with the conviction abecause itas nothing to do with protestinga and said she would acontinue my fight for freedom of speecha.

Teenager was recovered from lake in Beckenham Place Park and taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead

A 15-year-old boy has died after he agot into difficultya in a lake in south-east London.

Metropolitan police, the fire service and paramedics were called to Beckenham Place Park in Lewisham, shortly after 3pm on Friday 4 April after reports of a boy going missing.

Woman who worked with western governments in her home country before fleeing the Taliban told to return

An Afghan woman who risked her life to defend human rights in her home country before fleeing to the UK has been told by the Home Office it is safe for her to return after officials rejected her asylum claim.

Mina (not her real name) worked for western government-backed projects and was involved in training and mentoring women across Afghanistan, which left her in grave danger even before the Taliban took over in 2021.

Teenager, named by police as Ahmad Mamdouh Al Ibrahim, received a single wound to the neck and died in hospital

A man has been charged with murder after a 16-year-old boy was stabbed in the neck in Huddersfield.

Officers were called to Ramsden Street in the town centre at about 2.45pm on Thursday, West Yorkshire police said.

Exclusive: Changes could mark biggest overhaul of policing since the 1960s

Plans for a new national police body to lead the fight against terrorism and serious organised crime are being drawn up, as UK police chiefs consider the biggest overhaul of policing since the 1960s.

Under the proposals, counter-terrorism policing units would gain independence from local forces and become part of a new force covering at least England and Wales, and sitting in a newly created national centre for policing.

aClown congressa aims to be adeep and dafta event, tackling big subjects such as Donald Trump in a playful way

The world may be a pretty unfunny place at the moment and global leaders donat seem to have the answers. But this weekend a different sort of talking shop will take place when a aclown congressa convenes in Bristol to discuss the role of the funny people in troubling times.

One of the leaders, Holly Stoppit, a clown therapist, teacher and facilitator, summed it up succinctly: aDo you know what? I think there is no accident that the world is going to shit and who do they call? Itas the clowns.a

Anglers who campaigned for protected area off Oban and Mull are providing key data on critically endangered species

Sea anglers will tell you that catching and landing a large flapper skate is the equivalent of running a four-minute mile. The fish can weigh 100kg and stretch the length of a dinner table.

The first thing anglers will reach for when they land one is their camera or mobile phone, to capture the unique pattern of white spots ranged across each skateas mottled brown back.

The juntaas poor emergency response leaves people fearing prolonged chaos, despite the relentless propaganda

For seven painful days, Hnin has waited for news. Her two daughters, two and seven years old, her husband and their domestic worker, were all inside a six-storey hotel in Mandalay, central Myanmar, when it collapsed.

Delays to search operations have added to her agony. Hnin rushed around the devastated city, where communication lines were barely functioning, to buy head-torches and fuel for poorly equipped teams. A hotel manager refused to allow the use of a digger, fearing the building would collapse. Days passed before Chinese and Russian rescue teams arrived.

Centuries later, Jamaican Patwa and US Gullah Creole retain many Africanisms adopted from enslaved people

• Illustrations by Alexis Chivir-ter Tsegba

In 2000, I won a writing competition that awakened me to the depth and variety of Caribbean languages. As the Jamaica finalist for the My Caribbean essay competition, I joined more than 20 children from the region to form the youth delegation of the 24th Caribbean Tourism Conference in Bridgetown, Barbados.

I spent days with peers from islands that, until then, I did not know existed, such as the small but brilliant Sint Eustatius and Saba in the Leeward Islands. What I remember most are the simple greetings and phrases the other children and I taught one another in our different Creoles. Every child had an official language they wrote in to win their national competition a English, French, Dutch etc a but as soon as we were comfortable enough, we ditched those and shared as much as we could in our everyday tongues.

Missile attack on Kryvyi Rih left 61 injured including three-month-old baby and elderly residents

Eighteen people, including nine children, have been killed in a Russian missile strike on Volodymyr Zelenskyyas home city, a Ukrainian official has said.

A further 61 people were injured in the attack on Kryvyi Rih on Friday, including a three-month-old baby and elderly residents, the regional governor, Serhii Lysak, said. Forty remain in hospital, including two children in critical condition and 17 in a serious condition.

Suit seeking $5m based on study finding controversial herbicide and lead in most cookies across 25 US states

Girl Scout cookies contain lead, arsenic, cadmium, aluminum and mercury at levels that often exceed regulatorsa recommended limits, as well as concerning amounts of a toxic herbicide, a new class action lawsuit alleges.

The suit bases its allegations on a December 2024 study commissioned by the GMO Science and Moms Across America nonprofits that tested 25 cookies gathered from across several states, and found all contained at least four out of five of the heavy metals.

From a mildew-resistant shower curtain to a set of cloud-like pillows, these products might have a more dedicated following than Taylor Swift.

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Because a well-organized home is like a love letter to your future self.

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Save money *without* sacrifice: You can still enjoy a killer manicure or a designer-level fragrance without emptying your bank account.

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As it turns out, he might not actually be there for you.

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There you have it.

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Products that"ll make you laugh and prevent some stress = don"t mind if I do.

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Pack less, souvenir shop more ai,

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Lotion that"s designed to battle boob sweat = a blessing.

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Sounds like the best life hack is not having siblings, tbh...

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And let"s see how many of these tools and treatments make it out of the chat a hint: most of them.

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Do we really need to see another woman only realize she"s worthy once a man pays attention to her? No. No, we do not.

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"lowkey shes the only person who rightfully can play the "i told you so" card."

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This comfy seat cushion will make your work day a whole lot more bearable.

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We"re putting those frozen dumplings in the back of your freezer to good use today.

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Yeah, I don"t think they taught this on "Sesame Street."

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I"m not judging, but you"re looong overdue to discover these Amazon finds.

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""Miss Hall, I think our next field trip needs to be to therapy.""

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Because home is where your gym is, and these nifty fitness items will make your workout space look like a dream workout house in no time.

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Your feet called a they want you to invest in some actually good shoes.

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We all need a good laugh right now.

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I know for a fact I will never come up with anything as clever as all these people.

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These products are effective, top-rated by reviewers, and you"re definitely going to purchase more when you run out. ai, ai, ai,

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If you"re the type of person who would buy a "little devil" meat thermometer, this is for you.

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[Redacted]"s body was made out of jackfruit and rice paper soaked in "barbecue sauce-y stuff." The cast gagged and threw up while eating it.

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This towel warmer, waterfall showerhead, and set of hotel pillows are ready to set the stage for an upscale experience.

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Sometimes, when you find a surface cleaner or bug trap this good, one is simply not enough.

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"I was educated in a red state and spent most of my teaching career in red states. Every second I spent in those systems was a second too long."

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Consider your springtime allergens, muddy messes, and stressful travel plans handled thanks to these products.

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They"ll likely win in the end, but for now us humans can laugh at these dumbass robots.

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Clean house, full heart, can"t lose.

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You"ll be occasion-ready in an instant.

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If you thought winter was bad, just wait for the bug bites, allergies, and chafing to kick in.

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I was today when I learned this food used to be called "Dachshund Sausage."

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And yet...you"ll find yourself getting excited to use your new spray-and-walk-away window cleaner.

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They probably skipped a grade they"re so good...

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"I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

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Fortysomething and fun, but with compression socks.

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If the toilet is your porcelain throne, you can think of your bathroom as your personal kingdom. Time to give it the cleaning and organizing it deserves.

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From head...to tail!

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I can already see Paul Hollywood"s steely blue eyes looking disappointed at me while I"m taking this.

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The recalled chips were sold at retailers in 13 states

Shoppers ave been expressing concern after itemas lengthy absence

As one property company announces that they are offering wellbeing perks for tenants, Katie Rosseinsky explores the complex relationship between renting and mental health in the UK

Men are the worse culprits when it comes to curtain twitching over a dispute

aI canat just go out on a week night to a pub to meet someone,a presenter said

Spring cleaning can be fun until it comes to the chaos of the kitchen

The event is part of the coupleas four-day state visit to the country

Obama opened up about recent struggle in surprise admission

Researchers have known for years that this friendly bacteria is associated with good health

Hanks was married to Susan Dillingham from 1978 to 1987

Actor was told that his recurring symptoms were the result of a childhood accident

Hailie revealed she gave birth to her son on March 14

Sean OaGrady tests the latest iteration of a family vehicle that has stood the test of time

As new data suggests that almost three-quarters of young people are impacted by fear of social situations, Helen Coffey investigates if itas the state of the world or our devices to blame a and whether weave lost the art of resilience in the modern age