US and Ukraine officials meet in Jeddah after Moscow authorities said one person was killed in a drone attack on the Russian capital

Ukraine wants peace and is ready to negotiate to end the war, a top adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said as he entered talks with US counterparts in Saudi Arabia.

“We are ready to do everything to achieve peace,” Ukrainian presidency chief of staff Andriy Yermak told reporters, AFP reported.

American Civil Liberties Union decries attack on free speech after immigration authorities arrest Mahmoud Khalil

The World Health Organization has started a process of fixing new priorities and announced a one-year limit on staff contracts, an internal memo showed on Tuesday, as it aims to make the UN agency more sustainable after the US withdrawal.

The memo, dated 10 March and signed by WHO’s Assistant Director-General Raul Thomas, laid out further cost-cutting measures – the latest in a series of such steps since US president Donald Trump’s announcement in January.

Today’s Jeddah summit will be crucial. But so too is the need for European unity to punish Russian aggression now, and deter it in the future

• Andriy Yermak is head of the Ukrainian presidential office

As I arrive in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a ceasefire in the three-year war the Russian Federation has waged on my country has never seemed closer. Recent talks between Ukraine and its partners have given rise to great hope that the Ukrainian people will very soon return to the peaceful lives that they enjoyed before the war began in 2014 or the extreme escalation since 2022.

I believe that together with strong American leadership we can reach this goal. The prospect of peace – long hoped for – forces every Ukrainian to reflect on our shared gratitude, concern and determination. Gratitude for the support and confidence that we have received in recent years, concern for the future of Europe and determination to reaffirm Ukraine’s democratic, European convictions. No one wants the current war to end more than our people – but a peace must be found that is both just and sustainable.

She was a master archivist of lies, enabling my stepfather’s crimes against me and my siblings. Despite everything, I needed to believe she loved me

The church, though aware of our abuser’s crimes, had kept Father Francis Melfe employed and in our lives throughout our childhoods.

At Saint Patrick’s, where he was a priest, we were told to call him Father Melfe. At home, we were to call him dad.

The belief that technology will usher in a golden age for humanity is in vogue once more with billionaires. But can the left offer its own vision for the future?

Techno-optimism – the belief that technology will usher in a golden age for humanity – is in vogue once more.

In 2022, a clutch of pseudonymous San Francisco artificial intelligence (AI) scenesters published a Substack post entitled “Effective Accelerationism”, which argued for maximum acceleration of technological advancement. The 10-point manifesto, which proclaimed that “the next evolution of consciousness, creating unthinkable next-generation lifeforms and silicon-based awareness” was imminent, quickly went viral, as did follow-up posts.

Last Take: Rust and the Story of Halyna pays tribute to the cinematographer killed in a freak on-set accident

Anyone who loved Halyna Hutchins expected her to become a name. At 42, Hutchins had worked her way from photojournalism to cinematography, building an impressive portfolio that was beginning to court attention in Hollywood. Her work alone attracted Joel Souza, a writer-director, who hired her in 2021 to be his director of photography for a new western called Rust, to film in Santa Fe that October. “She absolutely would have become a household name as a cinematographer,” said Rachel Mason, one of Hutchins’s close friends and the director of the new Hulu documentary Last Take: Rust and the Story of Halyna. “Anyone who knew her had absolutely no doubt she was going to be on the highest level, winning awards, becoming well-known for that.”

Hutchins didn’t get the chance. Instead, she became a household name in death, after a weapon actor Alec Baldwin was holding accidentally discharged during filming, which unbeknownst to him, was loaded with live rounds. A bullet from the prop revolver passed through Hutchins, who was leaning in close directing the camera, and lodged in Souza’s shoulder. Souza was hospitalized and recovered.

The anarchic Barça goalkeeper may not be an idealised athlete but he is writing an extraordinary closing chapter to his career

Accounts differ on just how late Iñaki Peña was to that team meeting in Jeddah. Some reports say two minutes; some go as high as four. Either way, Hansi Flick is nothing if not a coach of fine margins, and by such fine margins was Peña summarily dropped for the Supercopa semi‑final against Athletic Club in January. His replacement: Barcelona’s third goalkeeper, a 34‑year‑old smoker by the name of Wojciech Szczesny.

I think it matters that Szczesny smokes. Not because smoking is cool, which any eye-rolling Gen Z will tell you is no longer actually true, but because there is the idea here of competing motivations: of instant versus delayed gratification, of compromise in a sport that brooks none. The bible of modern football reads: your body is your work. Hone it. Optimise every detail. Squeeze out every last drop of capital it has to offer. Szczesny responds by blowing a cloud of Marlboro Light right in your passive face.

I used to struggle with living alone, but now I’m thriving. Should I give it all up?

My boyfriend and I are in our late 50s. He never married and doesn’t have kids, while I am divorced with two grown-up children. We each have our own place near to each other but he very much wants us to move in together. I am reluctant and feel guilty about it because I, too, was initially keen to do so. It was very difficult to find myself alone after my marriage broke up – I felt like a cast-off, a failure, and feared I wouldn’t cope financially. Now, 15 years down the line, I am very content because not only have I coped, I have thrived. I have a happy social life, enjoy my work and am part of a community. I also love – need even – my own space and time alone. Although my partner and I enjoy our time together, some issues that I can live with for a couple of evenings a week would be a burden to me on a 24/7 basis. For instance, he has a big dog who sleeps in the bedroom and interrupts every cuddle, making intimacy awkward and rare. I have tried talking about these issues, but he won’t engage. What can I do? I fear I’ll lose him if I tell him I don’t want us to move in together.

Why would you even consider jeopardising the self-sufficient life you have worked hard to achieve? You already know it would not work. It sounds as though he would have to step up a long way to be worthy of sharing your life, so you could tell him that – without making any promises. He is going to try to cajole you because he wants an easy life on his own terms, but what would you get out of it? Sometimes people think the availability of regular sex in a shared location is highly desirable, but it can come at far too high a price. You know what you want. Stay strong. Say a quiet “no” as one does to a whiny child, and even be prepared to lose him with a great plan B.

Pamela Stephenson Connolly is a US-based psychotherapist who specialises in treating sexual disorders.

If you would like advice from Pamela on sexual matters, send us a brief description of your concerns to private.lives@theguardian.com (please don’t send attachments). Each week, Pamela chooses one problem to answer, which will be published online. She regrets that she cannot enter into personal correspondence. Submissions are subject to our terms and conditions.

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Dried fruit three ways: a celebratory stunner of fish pilaf with green tahini sauce, a spicy apricot chicken traybake for weeknight show-offs, and a heady date and ginger cake for pudding

As well as condiments, legumes, rice and pasta, I always have dried fruit in my pantry. While they’re great to nibble on, mixed with toasted nuts and seeds for a moreish trail mix, at this time of year, when pickings are sparse, they bring a concentrated, jammy decadence to savoury and sweet things alike. Raisins, sultanas, currants and barberries add a sweet surprise to rice dishes, and to fillings for filo pies or spicy sausage rolls; apricots, prunes and figs bring a honeyed sweetness to roast meat, while sticky dates add a sublime fudginess to cakes.

After Trump’s vow to take over Greenland, which is part of the kingdom of Denmark, pro-independence voices are growing louder. Ukrainian photographer Evgeny Maloletka visited the strategically important Arctic island to check the mood before elections on Tuesday

Economic uncertainty and polarisation are a potent cocktail that extremist politicians such as Cǎlin Georgescu thrive on

In a forest outside Bucharest, a woman cradled her infant in one arm while raising the other in a Nazi salute. She was one of about 70 people who gathered on 30 November last year to commemorate the anniversary of the death of Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, a leader of Romania’s interwar fascist Legionary Movement and head of its paramilitary wing, the Iron Guard.

Codreanu and his ally, Ion Antonescu – Romania’s virulently antisemitic wartime dictator – were central figures in the country’s Holocaust history. Codreanu was assassinated in 1938 and Antonescu was executed as a war criminal in 1946.

• Test coach may be afforded time off before the Ashes
• Andrew Flintoff currently with England Lions

Andrew Flintoff has been earmarked as a potential caretaker coach of the England senior white-ball teams this year if Brendon McCullum requires a break before the Ashes.

The England Test coach took over the national limited-overs sides two months ago in a new dual role but, given the gruelling schedule, McCullum may be given the option to miss some series, particularly as his family remain based in New Zealand.

Hardluck lecturer Dinklage stands to receive a mansion from rich widow Shirley MacLaine in underpowered comedy

This low-key oddity has the potential for some proper horsepower given the odd but intriguing casting of Peter Dinklage and Shirley MacLaine, but it never manages to build up much comic or dramatic speed – much like Dinklage’s electric scooter, his main mode of transport throughout. The film feels ill-considered somehow, like one of the half-sketched fantasies that Dinklage’s protagonist, a university lecturer named Phil, often indulges in, such as imagining a pair of identical twins (Rebecca Olson) are his sister wives ready to minister to his every need. There’s a reason why it’s best not to know other people’s dreams.

Phil’s other big desire is to own a proper home instead of the shabby condo he rents near the lesser-level Massachusetts college where he teaches cultural economics. One day Phil finds a deal that looks too good to be true. If he buys a granny flat inside the sprawling mansion occupied by eccentric widow Astrid (Shirley MacLaine on sparky form) as a live-in, he will inherit the full $5m spread when she dies. Advised to go for it his by his greasy friend/realtor Dell (Matt Dillon), Phil scrapes together every bit of cash he can and moves in. There are a number of baffling strings attached, of course, including hangers-on who may or may not be Astrid’s children; one of whom, Maggie (Kimberly Quinn), is a lawyer specialising in probate, so she’s naturally keeping a close eye on things. Nevertheless, like nearly every woman in the film, she eventually falls into bed with him, unable to resist that rumbling voice and languid charisma.

A woman is confined to the attic by her mother in a thrillingly told novel that revels in squalor

Heather Parry’s Carrion Crow sets out its stall magnificently from the off, throwing the reader right into the deep end of a claustrophobic gothic grotesque. It catalogues one young woman’s steady descent into incarcerated madness, becoming, as it goes, exponentially unsettling and increasingly stomach-churning.

Marguerite Périgord lives a stone’s throw from the “shit-stink” of the River Thames in Victorian London with her family in a crumbling house that once was grand, but is no more. She has been confined to the attic, the sinister opening lines convey, “for the sake of her wellbeing. That’s what her mother had said.”

Athiak Dau Riak was traditionally married for a record bride price last year, despite her mother’s insistence that she was only 14, which led to threats of reprisals

The mother of an alleged child bride has left a safe house in South Sudan to travel to be with her daughter after discovering the teenager is pregnant.

Deborah Kuir Yach made headlines last year when she opposed a competition for her daughter’s hand in marriage, insisting that her child Athiak Dau Riak was only 14. Fear of reprisals from her husband and family forced her to leave her home in the capital, Juba, and go into hiding.

There are plenty of ways to save money when travelling. Follow these tips and the world is your oyster, for longer

From staying with locals and sleeping in a hammock to clubbing together with other travellers, there are plenty of ways to save money while backpacking.

It might be 21 years since my first backpacking adventure – a 15-month trip that included travelling overland across parts of south-east Asia and working in Sydney – but fast forward to today, and here I am with an even larger backpack and making my way from Mexico to New York by bus for six months.

Stripped back iPhone offers latest chips, AI and longer battery life, but with only a single camera on the back

Apple’s cheapest new smartphone is the iPhone 16e, which offers the basic modern iPhone experience including the latest chips and AI features but for a little less than its other models.

The iPhone 16e costs £599 (€699/$599/A$999) and is the spiritual successor to the iPhone SE line. Where the iPhone SE still had the old-school chunky design with home button, the 16e has the body of the iPhone 14 with the chips of the £799 iPhone 16.

In his seven years as Bank of England governor, Carney was charming and self-confident but had a volcanic temper

Smart, smooth, tough and a liberal globalist to the ends of his fingertips. That was how Mark Carney came across in his near seven-year stint as governor of the Bank of England. Judging by how he ran the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street, Donald Trump should not expect too much flattery from Canada’s new prime minister.

Quite the opposite, in fact. From the moment he took over as governor from Mervyn King in 2013, it was clear Carney considered himself to be the smartest man in the room and wanted to make sure everybody knew it. He was not a man to suffer fools gladly, so the scene is set for a mighty clash of egos when prime minister meets president.

Icons such as Tina Turner and Jerry Hall brought zinging colour to the iconic photographer’s work during the decade of decadence, but his intimate family shots captured a tenderness, too

The president has slashed $400m in funding from Columbia University. He wants to stifle criticism of Israel – but the real target is dissent

For those who fear Donald Trump is a despot in the making, don’t worry: he has an answer. “I’ve stopped all government censorship and brought back free speech in America,” he triumphantly declared in his State of the Union address. “It’s back!” JD Vance scolded Europe in his speech at the Munich security conference last month, declaring that “free speech is in retreat” across the continent.

Like all authoritarian creeds, Trumpism turns reality on its head and empties words of their meaning in an effort to sow confusion and disarray among its critics. On the same day Trump announced the revival of free speech in Congress, he posted on Truth Social that federal funding for educational institutions that allow “illegal protests” will be ceased. Notably, illegality was not defined, but the issue Trump is referring to, of course, is Palestine. “Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came,” he declared. “American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on the crime, arrested. NO MASKS!”

Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist

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Air defences engaged in repelling Russian attack on Ukrainian capital; Zelenskyy says ‘significant’ part of talks in Saudi Arabia will concern security guarantees

Budding coach talks role models, marathon running and the excellence of Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly

If there are nerves when Jack Wilshere walks into the room and sits behind the table emblazoned with the England logo, they are not evident.

The 33-year-old has been in press conference rooms many times as a player, but as a head coach it is an alien proposition. He is at St George’s Park and is part of a cohort of 25 on the Uefa Pro Licence course who are briefed on a fictional scenario they might face as a head coach before they take a seat in front of a small group of journalists to be brutally grilled on it. The process is a little extreme and not entirely true to life, but it is designed to put them under pressure and test the media skills they have learned that day.

As Cate Blanchett steps out of the shadows in her latest role as a spy, she opens up about activism, marital secrets and finding pleasure in life. Read the full article here

With 80% of 10-year-olds unable to read for meaning, the government is prioritising literacy and numeracy among pre-school pupils as it tackles its education problems

When she noticed children hanging around with nothing to do after school in the sprawling Johannesburg township of Soweto in 2016, Faith Nedoboni decided to start an after-school programme. But as she helped them with their homework, she realised many, some as old as 13, were struggling to read and write.

Nedoboni, a 57-year-old single mother of three adult children, had never been a teacher. But she was an entrepreneur, first taking over her father’s restaurant and grocery store business after his death and then also selling secondhand clothes.

Checkpoints backed by education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, follow complaints from teachers of children arriving in nappies

Toilet training and the ability to use cutlery are two key checkpoints in a new list of “school-readiness” skills developed by a coalition of early-years educators and endorsed by Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary.

The group said the guidance was the first of its type, intended to help parents to prepare children starting in reception classes in England from the age of four and came after complaints from teachers of children arriving at school in nappies, lacking basic skills and unable to play with others.

Campaigners to argue in court of appeal that plan is not in public interest and special administration is best option

Environmental campaigners will challenge the granting of a high-interest £3bn emergency loan to struggling Thames Water at an appeal on Tuesday, arguing the “eye-watering” costs for a short-term fix are not in the public interest.

With protests planned outside the court of appeal, Charlie Maynard, a Liberal Democrat MP who represents the campaigners, will argue in a three-day hearing that the public and consumer interest is not served by the debt package, which comes with a bill of almost £1bn in interest payments and financial adviser fees.

Tributes have been paid to singer who had a string of hits in South Korea including a cover of Craig David’s Insomnia

The South Korean singer Wheesung has died aged 43, with police reportedly planning to conduct an autopsy to determine his cause of death.

The singer, whose name was Choi Whee-sung, was found unconscious in his apartment on Monday night by emergency responders after his mother called for help, local media reported.

Tetrodotoxin immobilises the female – who is about two to five times bigger than the male – so mating can occur, researchers observed

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Male blue-lined octopuses inject females with venom during sex, paralysing their larger mates to avoid being eaten, new research has found.

The blue-lined octopus is a tiny, highly dangerous cephalopod found commonly in shallow reefs and tide pools.

Each year, hundreds of potentially world-changing treatments are discarded because scientists run out of cash. But where big pharma or altruists fear to tread, my friend and I have a solution. It’s repugnant, but it will work

Twenty miles outside Geneva, beneath the towering magnificence of a mountain called the Rock of Hell, is a long, pleasant road that runs past the Brocher mansion. Set in acres of gentle lawns and specimen trees, on the edge of the medieval village of Hermance, it is a blissful place. My friend Dominic Nutt and I have been trying to break in for years.

La Fondation Brocher is the world’s leading institute for research into “the ethical, social and legal implications of new medical developments”. It’s the bioethics equivalent of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton: only the admin staff and the cleaners are permanently employed here; academic fellowships last a maximum of four months. Billions of pounds’ worth of pharmaceuticals are influenced by the scholarly judgments that emerge from this idyllic lakeside building. Dom and I want to force entry because we’re advocates for patients, and we think we’ve solved a small corner of a major problem that’s holding back the discovery of new medicines. The trouble is, neither of us has a PhD – and in the rarefied world of academic medical ethics, that matters.

Symon Hill paid £2,500 by Thames Valley police over his arrest at proclamation of Charles III’s accession in 2022

Police have admitted acting unlawfully in arresting a trainee Baptist minister who called out “Who elected him?” at a local proclamation of the accession of King Charles III.

After a two-and-a-half-year battle, Symon Hill, 47, has been paid £2,500 in compensation from Thames Valley police over his arrest in September 2022.

British comedian Dave Gorman joins Grace for another scrumptious helping of Comfort Eating. Across the noughties, Dave took the British comedy scene by storm, and is known for taking the mundane, adding some sparkle and creating an Edinburgh festival fringe show, a UK tour and a book. Now he is back with a reboot of Dave Gorman: Modern Life is Goodish. Dave recounts how his hero comedian Frank Skinner gave him his big break; how fish and chips equals celebration; and what he munches on to fuel his frequent all-night writing sessions

New episodes of Comfort Eating with Grace Dent will be released every Tuesday

MPs prepare to debate a motion of confidence that looks likely to topple centre-right government

Portugal is bracing for its third snap general election in as many years as MPs prepare to debate a motion of confidence that looks set to topple the centre-right government and trigger a return to the polls in May.

Luís Montenegro, the prime minister, who heads the Democratic Alliance (AD) platform that has governed Portugal since its narrow victory in last year’s election, called the vote of confidence, which is due to take place on Tuesday, in response to growing questions over his family’s business activities.

Amid aggressive interest from US president Trump and growing calls for independence ahead of polls, outcome will have far-reaching repercussions

• Greenland prepares to vote amid Trump interest – in pictures

Greenland goes to the polls on Tuesday in what could be the most consequential election of the Arctic island’s history.

With an electorate of approximately 40,000 – of a population of 57,000 – the margins are small.

An ugly fight has ripped through Galloway in south-west Scotland, with rival campaigns complaining of dirty tricks and murky finances. How could the mere possibility of a new national park stir up so much ill will?

As soon as the green fields of Galloway, in south-west Scotland, were selected as the preferred site for Britain’s first new national park in 15 years, Denise Brownlee sprang into action. The 64-year-old retired civil servant had served two seasons as a park ranger in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs, and knew a thing or two about the chaos brought by thoughtless day-trippers and campers. “The detritus!” she says. “I’ve seen a two-man tent used as a human litter tray. You think dog poo on the pavement is bad? Try wandering up any remote little area in a national park. Your faith in humankind gets lost.”

In July, Galloway was chosen as the frontrunner from a shortlist of five areas as part of the Scottish government’s pledge to designate at least one new national park – the country’s third – by 2026. The park’s creation, however, is by no means assured. The other areas in the running had faced varying degrees of opposition (especially Lochaber in the west Highlands), but no one could have predicted the ugly fight that was to tear through one of Scotland’s most picturesque regions, rip apart friendships and turn neighbours against each other.

Defence, the Palestinians and Irish-American trade will all be on the agenda as Micheál Martin heads to Washington

St Patrick’s Day has long been one of the sacred moments of the Irish-American calendar with more than 200 years of parades in New York and a shamrock reception at the White House launched by Dwight Eisenhower in 1953 to cement political ties between the two nations.

But this year’s annual meeting between the taoiseach and the US president, a week early because of a congressional recess on 17 March, is laden with anxiety over the future of Ireland’s economy, which is heavily reliant on US multinationals Donald Trump wants to repatriate.

The Mars we know now is arid and dusty, with punishing radiation levels. But, as science correspondent Nicola Davis tells Madeleine Finlay, two new studies add weight to the idea that billions of years ago the red planet was a much wetter place. Nicola explains why researchers now think it was once home to sandy beaches, what a study looking into the type of rust on the planet has revealed about its damp past, and what all this might tell us about the former habitability of Mars

Mars once had an ocean with sandy beaches, researchers say

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Annual survey by IQAir based on toxic PM2.5 particles reveals some progress in pollution levels in India and China

Nearly every country on Earth has dirtier air than doctors recommend breathing, a report has found.

Only seven countries met the World Health Organization’s guidelines for tiny toxic particles known as PM2.5 last year, according to analysis from the Swiss air quality technology company IQAir.

Duterte is wanted by the international criminal court over his so-called ‘war on drugs’, which rights groups say left 30,000 people dead

The former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has been taken into custody after the international criminal court issued a warrant for his arrest for his so-called “war on drugs”.

The former leader, who will turn 80 this month, is accused by ICC prosecutors of crimes against humanity over his anti-drugs crackdowns, in which as many as 30,000 people were killed. Most of the victims were men in poor, urban areas, who were gunned down in the streets.

The president’s office said Duterte was arrested on Tuesday morning at Manila airport after flying back from Hong Kong.

New book by spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism will raise the stakes in a dispute with Beijing over control of Tibet

The Dalai Lama’s successor will be born outside China, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism says in a new book, raising the stakes in a dispute with Beijing over control of the Himalayan region he fled more than six decades ago.

Tibetans worldwide want the institution of the Dalai Lama to continue after the 89-year-old’s death, he writes in Voice for the Voiceless, which was reviewed by Reuters and is being released on Tuesday.

The EU has announced an unprecedented new defence drive – but will it be enough to deter Russia? Jon Henley reports

On Thursday, after the US decided to halt military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine, European leaders in Brussels agreed to a massive and unprecedented increase in defence spending.

The Guardian’s Europe correspondent, Jon Henley, explains to Michael Safi that this €800bn fund marks a new era for the union and will mean tearing up fiscal rules to loosen borrowing.