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Cub found alone in US woods now being raised by wildlife staff in bear costumes

Two-month-old black bear, who was starving in a California forest, is youngest cub the San Diego center has cared for

Human bears, some would say, are taking care of a two-month-old cub that spent days without his mother, starving in a California forest.

The small black bear cub was rescued by campers in Los Padres national forest after being found alone and starving. The infant bear is now recovering at San Diego Humane Society’s Ramona Wildlife Center, and is believed to be the youngest cub the organization has ever cared for.

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© Photograph: San Diego Humane Society

© Photograph: San Diego Humane Society

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Trump signs executive orders to spur US ‘nuclear energy renaissance’

President aims to construct new nuclear reactors as he implements his own energy policies and undoes Joe Biden’s

Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders on Friday intended to spur a “nuclear energy renaissance” through the construction of new reactors he said would satisfy the electricity demands of data centers for artificial intelligence and other emerging industries.

The orders represented the president’s latest foray into the policy underlying America’s electricity supply. Trump declared a national energy emergency on his first day in office over and moved to undo a ban implemented by Joe Biden on new natural gas export terminals and expand oil and gas drilling in Alaska.

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© Photograph: Mike Stewart/AP

© Photograph: Mike Stewart/AP

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Sciver-Brunt inspires England to wrap up T20 series win over West Indies

Forget Bondi to Coogee – England are queens of a different seaside town. On Friday night at Hove they sealed their T20 series against West Indies with a nine-wicket win, thanks to a three-wicket haul by new-kid-on-the-block Em Arlott and a captain’s innings of 55 not out from their new skipper, Nat Sciver-Brunt.

The 27-year-old Warwickshire seamer Arlott, having been handed her England cap just 48 hours previously, apparently impressed Charlotte Edwards, the new coach, so much on debut that she was promoted to open the bowling from the Sea End. She subsequently sent down a consecutive four-over spell of such accuracy that it yielded just 14 runs, despite three of the overs being inside the powerplay.

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© Photograph: Ben Whitley/PA

© Photograph: Ben Whitley/PA

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Georgian man extradited to US to face charges over poison-candy terror plot

Officials say Michail Chkhikvishvili is the leader of a neo-Nazi group that promotes violence against minorities

The leader of an eastern European neo-Nazi group has been extradited to the United States from Moldova following his arrest last summer for allegedly instructing an undercover federal agent to dress as Santa Claus and hand out poisoned candy to Jewish children and racial minorities, prosecutors said.

Michail Chkhikvishvili, a 21-year-old from the republic of Georgia, was arraigned on Friday before a federal judge in Brooklyn on multiple felonies, including soliciting hate crimes and acts of mass violence.

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© Photograph: Kena Betancur/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Kena Betancur/AFP/Getty Images

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Freddie Mercury had secret daughter, new biography claims

According to Love, Freddie, Queen frontman had close relationship with child conceived accidentally in 1976

Freddie Mercury had a secret daughter with whom he had a close relationship until his death in 1991, according to a new biography of the Queen frontman.

The book, Love, Freddie, claims the child was conceived accidentally during an affair with the wife of a close friend in 1976.

Mercury is said to have visited his daughter regularly and gave her 17 volumes of detailed personal journals which she kept a secret.

The woman known only as B – who is aged 48 and works as a medical professional in Europe – has shared the contents with the rock biographer Lesley-Ann Jones for the book.

In the book, reported in the Daily Mail, a handwritten letter from Mercury’s daughter, who wants to keep her identity a secret, says: “Freddie Mercury was and is my father.

“We had a very close and loving relationship from the moment I was born and throughout the final 15 years of his life.

“He adored me and was devoted to me. The circumstances of my birth may seem, by most people’s standards, unusual and even outrageous.

“That should come as no surprise. It never detracted from his commitment to love and look after me. He cherished me like a treasured possession.”

Her existence is understood to be known only to Mercury’s inner circle.

The singer started writing the diaries on 20 June 1976 when he first learned about the pregnancy, two days after Queen released their single You’re My Best Friend from their 1975 album A Night at the Opera.

He chronicled his childhood in Zanzibar where he was born Farrokh Bulsara, to Parsi-Indian parents, on 5 September 1946, and attending a British-style boarding school in India.

It also details how the family was forced to flee Zanzibar in the 1964 revolution before settling in Middlesex, north-west London.

He wrote his final entry in his notebook on 31 July, 1991, as his health deteriorated. The singer died aged 45 of bronchial pneumonia caused by Aids.

In another letter included in the book, B explains her reasons for sharing Mercury’s journals after 30 years.

“After more than three decades of lies, speculation and distortion, it is time to let Freddie speak.

“Those who have been aware of my existence kept his greatest secret out of loyalty to Freddie.

“That I choose to reveal myself in my own midlife is my decision and mine alone. I have not, at any point, been coerced into doing this.

“He entrusted his collection of private notebooks to me, his only child and his next of kin, the written record of his private thoughts, memories and feelings about everything he had experienced.”

Jones said she was first approached by B three years ago. She told the Daily Mail: “My instinct was to doubt everything, but I am absolutely sure she is not a fantasist.

“No one could have faked all this. Why would she have worked with me for three and a half years, never demanding anything?”

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© Photograph: Ian Dickson/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Ian Dickson/Shutterstock

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Boeing to avoid prosecution over 737 Max crashes in justice department deal

Airplane giant will pay and invest $1.1bn after misleading US regulators, including $445m for crash victims’ families

The justice department has reached a deal with Boeing that will allow the airplane giant to avoid criminal prosecution for allegedly misleading US regulators about the 737 Max jetliner before two of the planes crashed and killed 346 people, according to court papers filed on Friday.

Under the “agreement in principle” that still needs to be finalized, Boeing would pay and invest more than $1.1bn, including an additional $445m for the crash victims’ families, the justice department said. In return, the department would dismiss the fraud charge in the criminal case against the aircraft manufacturer.

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© Photograph: Allison Bailey/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Allison Bailey/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images

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‘I was sure salvation lay in art’: Marina Otero on death, dance and mental illness

The Argentinian choreographer, known for working out her traumas and neuroses on stage, is bringing her provocative new work, Kill Me, to Australia

Long ago, Marina Otero decided she would film her life until she dies, as part of an attempt to understand her pain and her preoccupation with death. “I was sure that salvation lay in art,” she says. So when she suffered a mental breakdown in 2022, the Argentinian choreographer decided to keep recording.

“It seemed interesting to me, recording the darkest parts of a person,” Otero tells Guardian over Zoom from Madrid, where she is based.

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© Photograph: Marina Caputo/Marina Otero

© Photograph: Marina Caputo/Marina Otero

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Five New Orleans jailbreak fugitives still at large as police arrest alleged helpers

Several people held in connection with jailbreak as manhunt enters second week and criticisms mount over jail management

Several people have been arrested on accusations of helping some of the 10 men who broke out of New Orleans’ jail on 16 May – and half of the escapers remained on the run as a manhunt for them entered its second week, according to authorities.

Police said on Friday that they had booked Casey Smith, 30, a day earlier on allegations that she provided transportation to at least two of the escapers in the hours after the jailbreak. She had allegedly admitted to doing that alongside another woman whom police took into custody on Wednesday, identified as 32-year-old Cortnie Harris, Smith’s cousin and the girlfriend of one of the escaped men, Leo Tate, 31.

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© Photograph: Brett Duke/AP

© Photograph: Brett Duke/AP

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‘I treasured that kit’: Leah Williamson’s Arsenal journey from mascot to mainstay

The Arsenal defender knows she must manage her emotions in the Champions League final – 18 years after she was a mascot for the equivalent fixture

There is no bigger test of how Arsenal’s Leah Williamson balances the emotion of the occasion as a fan with her life as a player than a first Champions League final after years of working on her feelings when she is wearing red and white. “Do your job, Leah, and then the fan in you gets to enjoy it afterwards,” her internal monologue will run as she prepares to step on to the pitch when the Gunners take on Barcelona in Lisbon.

“It’s funny, Less [Alessia Russo] was asking me about this today,” the 28-year-old says, sitting in the sunshine by the small lake at Arsenal’s London Colney training centre. “Maybe it’s age, maybe it’s having the experience of doing it in other moments. The Euros final was fairly level to this in terms of testing my ability to manage the emotions of the day and occasion. I’m just going to enjoy it.

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© Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

© Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

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Fear on campus: Harvard’s international students in ‘mass panic’ over Trump move

Students at the oldest US university are feeling shocked and frightened by an attempt to ban foreign scholars

Harvard’s foreign students described an atmosphere of “fear on campus” following an attempt by the Trump administration to ban international scholars at the oldest university in the US.

On lush, grassy quads filled with tents and chairs ready for end of year graduation celebrations, international students said there was “mass panic” after Thursday’s shock announcement by the Department of Homeland Security.

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© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

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Trump threatens 25% tariff on Apple and Samsung phones not made in US

Announcement wipes about $70bn off Apple shares amid pressure on company to build smartphones in US

Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 25% tariff on iPhones if they are not made in the United States, as he stepped up the pressure on Apple to build its signature product in the country.

The president wiped approximately $70bn (£52bn) off the company’s shares with a post on the Truth Social platform that said iPhones sold inside the US must be made within the country’s borders.

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© Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP

© Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP

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England v West Indies: second women’s T20 international – live

Em Arlott has two wickets in the over and Sophia Dunkley has taken a blinder! James scuffed Arlott towards midwicket, where Dunkley threw up her left hand to take a brilliant reaction catch. There has been lots of focus on England’s fielding after the Ashes defeat; catches like that will change the narrative very quickly.

A huge wicket for Em Arlott! Hayley Matthews wafts all around an excellent delivery that nips back to hit leg stump. Matthews had driven the previous ball majestically over extra-cover for four but Arlott kept pitching it up and got her reward.

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© Photograph: Ben Whitley/PA

© Photograph: Ben Whitley/PA

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Serie A title decider: Napoli win the Scudetto to deny Inter – live reaction

Scott McTominay and Romelu Lukaku scored the goals against Cagliari that claimed a second title in three years

Caledonia’s Simon McMahon gets in touch: “Gilmour and McTominay starting for Napoli and on the verge of winning Serie A is just insane, John. Really hope they do it, got the pizza and beers in, COME ON NAPOLI!!!”

Naples is getting game ready, too. Mathías Olivera is being given a penant for his 100th game. The sound of Live Is Life can be heard at the Diego Armando Maradona.

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© Photograph: Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images

© Photograph: Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images

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Trump says Samsung and other smartphone manufacturers will also be subject to 25% Apple tariff – business live

US president says 50% tariff on EU goods to come in 1 June; Apple iPhones and those of other manufacturers made overseas to face 25% tariff

As well as cutting UK energy costs (see earlier), Donald Trump can also take credit for growing the German economy!

New GDP data this morning shows that Germany’s GDP rose by 0.4% in January-March, twice as fast as the first estimate of 0.2% growth in the quarter.

“The reason for the slightly higher growth compared to the initial estimate was the surprisingly positive economic development in March.”

“In particular, production in the manufacturing sector and exports performed better than initially expected.

The German economy had its best quarterly performance since the third quarter of 2022, and the reason for it seems to be Donald Trump. As a result of the announced tariffs and in anticipation of ‘Liberation Day,’ German industrial production and exports surged in March.

Net exports and private consumption drove economic activity in the first quarter, while government consumption and inventories dragged on growth.

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© Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP

© Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP

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Four men guilty of Kim Kardashian jewellery heist in Paris

Three pensioners and a man in his 30s jailed as four others convicted of related charges

Four men have been found guilty of breaking into a luxury residence in Paris and stealing jewellery worth millions of euros from the American reality TV star Kim Kardashian when she attended fashion week in 2016.

Three pensioners and one man in his 30s were convicted of carrying out the armed heist, which was thought to be the biggest robbery of an individual in France in 20 years. Four other people were found guilty of assisting in the plot or related charges. Two people were acquitted of accusations they handed out information about Kardashian’s whereabouts.

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© Photograph: Piroschka Van De Wouw/Reuters

© Photograph: Piroschka Van De Wouw/Reuters

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Trump’s Harvard visa threat could wipe out several of school’s sports teams

  • Trump visa move threatens 21% of Harvard athletes

  • Foreign-heavy teams like crew, squash could fold

  • Harvard: Ban ‘unlawful,’ vows to fight for students

Some of Harvard’s sports teams would be virtually wiped out by a Trump administration decision announced on Thursday that would make the Ivy League school with the nation’s largest athletic program ineligible for international student visas.

Seven of the eight rowers on the men’s heavyweight crew team that just won the Eastern Sprints title – and is headed to the national championships – list international hometowns on the school’s website. Mick Thompson, the leading scorer last season, and Jack Bar, who was a captain, are among a handful of Canadians on the men’s hockey roster; 10 of the 13 members of the men’s squash team and more than half of the women’s soccer and golf rosters also list foreign hometowns.

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© Photograph: Boston Globe/Getty Images

© Photograph: Boston Globe/Getty Images

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Mountainhead review – tech bros face off in Jesse Armstrong’s post-Succession uber-wealth satire

Weapons-grade zingers come thick and fast in this chamber piece about four plutocrats on a weekend in a lodge that goes awry when the planet descends into chaos

Jesse Armstrong has returned with what feels like a horribly addictive feature-length spin-off episode from the extended Succession Cinematic Universe – though without Succession cast members. It is set in a luxurious Utah megalodge which winds up resembling the Dr Strangelove war room, mixed with the apartment from Hitchcock’s Rope. Mountainhead is a super-satirical chamber piece about the deranged, cynical and facetious mindset of the uber-wealthy, the kind of people who think about ancient Rome every day, though not about Nero and his violin. It may not have the dramatic richness of Armstrong’s TV meisterwerk while the pure testosterone of this all-male main cast (minus any Shiv figure) is oppressive – though that is kind of the point. The pure density of weapons-grade zingers in the script is a marvel.

Our heroes are four unspeakable American tech plutocrats, a billionaire boys club with one mere centi-millionaire who isn’t up to “bill” status; this beta-male cuck of their peer group is nicknamed “Soup Kitchen” because of his poverty, and he is their eager host. They are exactly the kind of people with whom legacy media aristocrat Logan Roy (played in Succession by Brian Cox) would once grit his teeth and take meetings, vainly hoping for investment. These masters of the universe are getting together for an alpha bros’ hang-slash-poker-weekend, razzing and bantering with each other with deadly seriousness about their respective wealth levels, at this mega-lodge that is called Mountainhead. As one guest asks: “Is that like The Fountainhead? Your interior designer is Ayn Bland …?”

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© Photograph: Home Box Office/PA

© Photograph: Home Box Office/PA

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Northampton’s Fin Smith: ‘We love being written off. We’d back ourselves against anybody’

England and Lions fly-half on run to Champions Cup final, controlling his inner demons and playing junior tennis alongside Jack Draper

“I was always angry,” Fin Smith remembers as he explains his transition from a volatile young tennis player into the decisively calm fly-half for Northampton, England and the Lions who is as serene as he is interesting. Smith has had a remarkable year so far but there is an understated lightness about him as he recalls playing in tennis tournaments alongside Jack Draper, the current world No 5.

“As an 11-year-old tennis player I was very angry,” he says at Franklin’s Gardens, having just completed Northampton Saints’ final training session before they face Bordeaux on Saturday in the Champions Cup final. “I used to blow up and smash rackets a lot. But getting that out of my system at a young age, while facing set points and match points, can only benefit me when I’m playing rugby under pressure and really taking on an internal battle.”

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© Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

© Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

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The Mastermind review – Josh O’Connor is world’s worst art thief in Kelly Reichardt’s unlikely heist movie

Cannes film festival
Reichardt’s quietist, observational style is unexpectedly successful at creating a super-naturalistic depiction of an art gallery robbery

It needs hardly be said that the title is ironic. The abject non-hero of Kelly Reichardt’s engrossingly downbeat heist movie, set in 1970s Massachusetts, is weak, vain and utterly clueless. By the end, he’s a weirdly Updikean figure, though without the self-awareness: going on the run with no money and without a change of clothes, to escape from the grotesque mess he has made for himself and his family.

This is James, played with hangdog near-charm by Josh O’Connor; he is an art school dropout and would-be architectural designer with two young sons, married to Terri (a minor complaint is that the excellent Alana Haim is not given enough to do). James depends on the social standing of his father Bill, a judge, formidably played by Bill Camp, and is borrowing large sums of money from his patrician mother Sarah (Hope Davis), ostensibly to finance a new project.

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© Photograph: Mastermind Movie Inc

© Photograph: Mastermind Movie Inc

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Judge blocks Trump administration’s ban on Harvard accepting international students

Ivy League school filed suit accusing White House of unconstitutional retaliation for defying its demands

A US federal judge on Friday blocked the government from revoking Harvard University’s ability to enroll foreign students just hours after the elite college sued the Trump administration over its abrupt ban the day before on enrolling foreign students.

US district judge Allison Burroughs in Boston issued the temporary restraining order late on Friday morning, freezing the policy that had been abruptly imposed on the university, based in nearby Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Thursday.

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© Photograph: Faith Ninivaggi/Reuters

© Photograph: Faith Ninivaggi/Reuters

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Bennett scores Zimbabwe’s fastest Test century before England regain grip

There were a few sideways glances during the first day of Zimbabwe’s first Test match in England for 22 years, followed by calls for cricket’s longest format to adopt a two-­division structure. After a flogging like the one their players had just ­suffered across three sessions, ­perhaps this was to be expected.

But on day two, cheered on by some wonderful pockets of support, the tourists mustered a pushback. First came an improved showing with the ball, England losing three for 67 to declare on 565 for six, followed by something of a fairytale century from the opener Brian Bennett. Though bowled out for 265, and closing on 30 for two following on, Zimbabwe had given their hosts a far stiffer outing.

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© Photograph: Mike Egerton/PA

© Photograph: Mike Egerton/PA

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Twelve injured after woman stabs people at Hamburg train station

Police say six victims critically wounded in attack by 39-year-old assailant in Germany’s second-largest city

German police have arrested a woman after at least 12 people were injured in a knife attack at the main station in the northern city of Hamburg.

Some of the injured sustained life-threatening injuries in the stabbing, emergency services said, although the exact number remained unclear.

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© Photograph: Fabian Bimmer/Reuters

© Photograph: Fabian Bimmer/Reuters

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Military intervention must be used to stop the genocide in Gaza | Ahmed Ibsais

In Kosovo, Nato intervened in 1999 after mass killings and the threat of further ethnic cleansing. Why aren’t Gazans being protected in the same way?

On 20 May, the secretary-general for humanitarian affairs at the United Nations stated that 14,000 babies would be dead unless the blockade was lifted immediately. The day before, the former Knesset member Moshe Feiglin said: “Every child in Gaza is the enemy.” And now, world leaders in the UK and France threaten vague “concrete actions” if Israel “does not cease the renewed military offensive and lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid”. But undefined “concrete actions” are woefully insufficient. To those leaders I say: Gaza’s children cannot eat statements.

Bezalel Smotrich, the Israeli finance minister, declared last week: “We are destroying everything in Gaza, the world isn’t stopping us.” So let’s say what must be said, without apology: military intervention to defend Gaza is not only justified – it is required. It is humanitarian. It is overdue. Israel must be stopped.

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© Photograph: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters

© Photograph: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters

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Arsenal’s comeback queens face ultimate Barcelona test in Champions League final

New chapter in Arsenal’s storied history awaits as they aim to end continental drought in a sold-out Lisbon final

After 18 years, Arsenal are back in the biggest game in women’s European football with a dream to end their long wait for continental glory. They face the holders, the favourites and the much-revered Barcelona, who are aiming to win the Champions League for a third consecutive season on a picture-perfect weekend in Lisbon.

Strolling along tree-lined paths through the Portuguese capital’s sun-kissed Parque Eduardo VII, as a group of Barcelona fans cross paths with two Arsenal supporters wearing full red-and-white kit and exchange a few friendly quips about Saturday’s final, it is hard not to feel a pang of sympathy for the 3,467 attendees who saw Arsenal lift the Uefa Women’s Cup – as it was known in 2007 – in the somewhat less glamorous surroundings of Boreham Wood FC’s Meadow Park. In those days, the competition concluded with a two-legged home-and-away final. Arsenal followed up their 1-0 away win against the Swedish club Umeå – thanks to an Alex Scott scorcher – with a goalless draw to deliver what remains the greatest moment in the club’s history.

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© Photograph: Ángel Martínez/UEFA/Getty Images

© Photograph: Ángel Martínez/UEFA/Getty Images

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The Guardian view on billionaire Britain: tax wealth fairly or face democratic unravelling | Editorial

Without bold reform which makes the rich pull their weight, rising inequality risks eroding public trust and fracturing social stability

Britain for the last decade has experienced a bleak paradox: rising child poverty alongside a dramatic increase in billionaire wealth. This inequality has been tolerated partly because greed has been rehabilitated as virtue. The Billionaire Britain report, published this week by the Equality Trust, reveals what many instinctively feel but few in parliament will admit: the UK economy has become a machine for the upward redistribution of wealth.

Using Sunday Times Rich List data, the report found that the 50 wealthiest UK families now own more than the poorest half of the population combined. Their opulence is no accident. It’s largely built on the labour and consumption of those 34 million other Britons. The gains of society are being hoarded by those least in need. There’s a lexicon that sells it all as “entrepreneurial spirit” and business dynamism. But the very markets that reward the wealthiest so handsomely are constructed and policed by the state. Governments entrench intellectual property rights, strengthen legal monopolies and write policies that benefit banks and asset markets.

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.

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© Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA

© Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA

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The Guardian view on the BBC World Service: a boon to the UK, as well as audiences elsewhere | Editorial

Britain would benefit from pledging more sustained and committed support in this age of disinformation and global turmoil

Two years ago, BBC Arabic radio left the airwaves after decades. Soon afterwards, Russia’s Sputnik service began broadcasting on the frequency left vacant in Lebanon. That detail illuminates a larger picture. China, Russia and others see global-facing media as central to their global ambitions and are investing accordingly – pumping out propaganda to muddle or drown out objective, independently minded journalism. These outlets are state-controlled as well as state-owned.

Meanwhile, conspiracy theories and disinformation proliferate online, attacks on press freedom intensify and the Trump administration is dismantling media organisations including Voice of America and Radio Free Asia (RFA), which have been essential sources of information for audiences under repressive regimes. Official Chinese media were gleeful at what RFA’s president, Bay Fang, called “a reward to dictators and despots”.

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.

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© Photograph: Ian West/PA

© Photograph: Ian West/PA

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British Chagossians accuse UK government of betrayal over sovereignty deal

Bertrice Pompe and Bernadette Dugasse won a brief victory in bid to stop transfer of Chagos Islands to Mauritius

Two women who brought an 11th-hour legal challenge to try to stop the UK transferring sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius have accused the government of betrayal.

British Chagossians Bertrice Pompe, 54, and Bernadette Dugasse, 68, who were both born on the largest of the islands, Diego Garcia, vowed to keep fighting to try to realise their dream of returning to their place of birth.

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© Photograph: Lucy North/PA

© Photograph: Lucy North/PA

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NCA freezes £90m of London property linked to former Bangladesh regime

Two men linked to Sheikh Hasina prevented from selling properties, including apartments in Grosvenor Square

The UK’s serious and organised crime agency has frozen almost £90m of luxury London property belonging to two men linked to the deposed ruler of Bangladesh.

In a development that comes after mounting pressure on the UK to assist Bangladesh in tracing assets linked to the former regime, the National Crime Agency (NCA) obtained nine freezing orders, official records show.

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© Photograph: Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters

© Photograph: Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters

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Iran-US nuclear talks end with no agreement but ‘possibility of progress’

There were fears latest meeting could collapse but both sides appear willing for more talks on uranium enrichment

Talks between Iran and the US on whether Iran will be allowed to continue to enrich uranium inside the country have ended without an agreement, but apparently without the feared breakdown.

The indirect talks between the two sides were mediated by Oman and held in Rome.

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© Photograph: Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters

© Photograph: Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters

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A biblical hatred is engulfing both sides in the Gaza conflict – and blinding them to reason | Jonathan Freedland

Israel starving Palestinians, two killings at a Jewish museum: both are atrocities. But vanishingly few can see it

I sat this week with Hussein Agha, a man who has given his working life to seeking peace between Israelis and Palestinians, negotiating from the Palestinian side of the table. He was gloomier than I have ever seen him, adamant that peace between the two sides can never, ever come. Because, Agha explained, this conflict was not about mere lines on a map or forms of words, the goods in which diplomats trade. This was about emotions, and specifically hatreds. Hatreds that, he feared, are becoming too murderous to contain. “It’s biblical,” he said.

What he had in mind was the fury that drove Hamas to slaughter around 1,200 Israelis on a sleepy Saturday morning nearly 20 months ago and the fury that has driven the government of Benjamin Netanyahu to bombard Gaza ever since, killing more than 50,000, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry, and, over the last 80 days, denying food to those who remain. He fears that the hatreds that fuelled these events, and that are fuelled by them, will grow larger and more venomous until nothing and no one is left. The whole land shall be laid waste and made desolate.

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© Photograph: Quique Kierszenbaum/The Guardian

© Photograph: Quique Kierszenbaum/The Guardian

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Billy Joel cancels tour after diagnosis with brain disorder normal pressure hydrocephalus

The 76-year-old singer has canceled all concerts owing to condition, which can affect hearing, vision and balance

Billy Joel has canceled all upcoming concerts after he was diagnosed with the brain disorder normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), the singer announced on Friday.

The condition “has been exacerbated by recent concert performances, leading to problems with hearing, vision and balance”, according to a statement posted to the 76-year-old singer’s official Instagram. “Under his doctor’s instructions, Billy is undergoing specific physical therapy and has been advised to refrain from performing during this recovery period. Billy is thankful for the excellent care he is receiving and is fully committed to prioritizing his health.”

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© Photograph: Future Publishing/Getty Images

© Photograph: Future Publishing/Getty Images

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Endgame ennui: are Marvel’s end-of-credits scenes still worth the wait?

They used to tease the future. Now, the movie-maker’s post-credits sequences are mostly cryptic cameos and empty gestures. Perhaps we just shouldn’t bother

Let’s face it, hanging around to watch post- or mid-credits sequences is a pretty weird thing. The movie is over, we’ve all had our fill – of CGI skybeams, multiversal migraines and superheroes punching each other in the feelings – and it’s time to head out into the night to debate whether the film was brilliant, baffling or just a $250m trailer for the next one. But leave we cannot, because something monumental might just happen after the credits roll. Or during them. Or, increasingly, not at all. Still we stay, we hope, we watch.

Remember the end of 2012’s The Avengers when Thanos turned and smirked, sparking a good six years of movies in which the Mad Titan was definitely going to do something totally crazy very soon – and then, to everyone’s surprise, actually did? Or that glorious moment after Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) when Marisa Tomei’s aunt May walked in on Peter Parker mid suit change? Back then, Marvel credit scenes usually felt earned, and vital. They were windows into the future of the saga, at a time when Kevin Feige and his team seemed to be able to do no wrong. What made those early years so intoxicating was the sheer audacity of it all. Marvel wasn’t just making superhero movies. They were building a connected universe on screen, one meticulously cross-pollinated character cameo at a time, like a giant, exploding beehive of superhero synergy.

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© Photograph: Disney/Sportsphoto/Allstar

© Photograph: Disney/Sportsphoto/Allstar

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Formula One optimistic tyre decree can inject life into ageing Monaco GP

Mandate forcing two pit stops aims to bring back sparkle to jewel in F1’s crown that has become tedious procession

The Monaco Grand Prix might still be considered one of the jewels in Formula One’s crown but beyond the exceptional challenge of the unforgiving circuit which is relished by drivers, the race itself has long since become something of a tiresome trudge through the streets of Monte Carlo. This weekend however F1 hopes it has found a way to bring the lustre back to its jaded gem.

In Sunday’s race the sport has mandated three sets of tyres must be used, ensuring all the drivers will have to take at least two pit stops, a decision taken since the difficulties of passing on the narrow track have become all but insurmountable.

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© Photograph: Diogo Cardoso/DeFodi Images/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Diogo Cardoso/DeFodi Images/Shutterstock

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US university scholars and international students: are you considering working or studying elsewhere?

We’d like to hear from scholars and students from abroad in light of the Trump administration’s attack on universities

International students at Harvard University were ordered this week to transfer schools or lose their legal status following the Trump administration’s revocation of the university’s eligibility to enroll students from abroad.

While that order was swiftly blocked by a judge, it is one of a series of events creating uncertainty on campuses across the US. It follows the US government’s revocation of hundreds of student visas on various grounds, including minor infractions or participation in protests against the war in Gaza. (Some of those visas have been reinstated.) Academics have also felt the impact of funding cuts and subsequent hiring freezes, leading to hundreds looking to leave the US to work elsewhere.

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© Photograph: Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty Images

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Falling palm trees and a faltering Palme d’Or director: how Cannes 2025 went – and who will win

In a Cannes film festival where the greatest movies were about dictatorships and political cruelty, our chief critic shares his picks for the prix

Cannes this year had a lot to live up to after last year’s award-winners, headline-grabbers and social media meltdowners Anora, The Substance and Emilia Pérez. It makes reading the signs now that bit more difficult: the bizarre event on the Croisette boulevard this year was a palm tree falling over. If it happened in a film, the metaphor would be unbearable.

Whether 2025’s Cannes movies are going to spark a new burst of overwhelming excitement remains to be seen, though this year’s vintage feels good – often excellent, although even the biggest names can get it wrong: former Palme d’Or winner Julia Ducournau presented an incoherent drama called Alpha.

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© Photograph: Lewis Joly/Invision/AP

© Photograph: Lewis Joly/Invision/AP

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Russian-led cybercrime network dismantled in global operation

Arrest warrants issued for ringleaders after investigation by police in Europe and North America

European and North American cybercrime investigators say they have dismantled the heart of a malware operation directed by Russian criminals after a global operation involving British, Canadian, Danish, Dutch, French, German and US police.

International arrest warrants have been issued for 20 suspects, most of them living in Russia, by European investigators while indictments were unsealed in the US against 16 individuals.

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© Photograph: Andrew Brookes/Getty Images/Image Source

© Photograph: Andrew Brookes/Getty Images/Image Source

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Court halts Trump administration’s effort to send eight men to South Sudan

The group is in temporary custody of homeland security in Djibouti following challenges in court

Eight men the Trump administration attempted to send to South Sudan are in temporary custody in Djibouti after a federal court ruling halted their removal, officials confirmed on Thursday.

The Trump administration had attempted to send the men, who it said had been convicted of criminal offenses, to their home countries: officials said two each were from Myanmar and Cuba and the others were from Vietnam, Laos, Mexico and South Sudan.

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© Photograph: Justin Hamel/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Justin Hamel/AFP/Getty Images

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The Guide #192: How reality TV and streaming has shaped 21st-century TV

In this week’s newsletter: In the second of our new miniseries looking back at the last quarter-century of pop culture, we chart the transformation of television since 2000

To try to get our heads round the fact that we’re somehow a quarter of the way into the 21st century, the Guide is running a miniseries of newsletters looking at how pop culture has changed over the past 25 years. We tackled music last month and we’ll be looking at the state of film next month, before sharing our favourite culture of the century so far, and asking for yours too, in July.

Today, we’re taking the temperature of TV. Like the music industry, television has seen its entire business model upended by the streaming revolution this century. That has meant what was once a universal activity – an entire nation sat around the glow of the old cathode ray tube – has been replaced by people watching a galaxy of different shows, or watching the same show but at completely different times.

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© Composite: Love Productions/ ITV/ AP

© Composite: Love Productions/ ITV/ AP

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Giro d’Italia: unstoppable Pedersen pips Van Aert in uphill sprint on stage 13

  • Isaac del Toro finishes third and extends overall lead

  • Denmark’s Pedersen proves too strong on gruelling finish

Mads Pedersen won his fourth stage of this year’s Giro d’Italia when he sprinted to victory on Friday’s stage 13, beating Wout van Aert to the line while Isaac del Toro maintained his overall lead to retain the maglia rosa.

As the riders neared the finish of the 180km ride from Rovigo to Vicenza, Pedersen was fourth when he launched his bid for victory on the uphill sprint as Van Aert stayed close on his wheel. Del Toro had done well to earn bonus seconds in the intermediate sprint but the 21-year-old did not have the legs to challenge the sprint heavyweights as he settled for third, leaving Pedersen and Van Aert to battle it out for victory.

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© Photograph: Luca Zennaro/EPA

© Photograph: Luca Zennaro/EPA

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