Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

• Trump’s foreign film tariffs could ‘wipe out’ UK movie industry, ministers told

Associated British Foods has confirmed it is in talks with the parent company of Hovis about selling its Allied Bakeries business.

ABF’s shares have risen by 1% after telling the City “it is in discussions with Endless LLP regarding a potential transaction” for Allied Bakeries, whose brands include Kingsmill, Allinson’s and Sunblest.

Allied Bakeries continues to face a very challenging market. We are evaluating strategic options for Allied Bakeries against this backdrop and we remain committed to increasing long-term shareholder value.

A further announcement will be made as and when appropriate.

CDU/CSU leader set to be sworn in to replace outgoing Olaf Scholz

• Scholz to hand over power to sound of feminist anthem

If you’re wondering why, oh, why is it all taking so much time, it’s because it’s a secret ballot, with all parliamentarians going out of the main chamber to the lobby to physically cast their vote.

The meeting has just been adjourned for 20-25 minutes as they count the votes.

Ian Wilkinson, whose wife was among three who died, tells Victorian court the triple murder accused ‘just seemed like a normal person to me’

• Who are Erin Patterson and the other key figures in Australia’s mushroom murders trial?

The only surviving guest of the beef wellington lunch at Erin Patterson’s house has told her triple murder trial he was happy and excited about being invited for the meal.

Ian Wilkinson, the pastor at the Korumburra Baptist church, is the sixth witness in the supreme court trial at the Latrobe Valley law courts in Morwell.

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Carmaker Ford says tariffs will cost it about $1.5bn this year as toymaker says it will reduce imports from China

• Business live – latest updates

Barbie maker Mattel has said it will increase prices for some products in the US as Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs bump up costs for the toymaker.

The US represents about half of Mattel’s global toy sales, and the company imports about 20% of its goods sold in the country from China. Mattel said it would reduce imports into the US from China to below 15% by 2026.

Booing and flashpoints are commonplace in a sport further along on a journey that others are taking to varying degrees

Let me tell you the moment I realised Boris Johnson was fucked. It was late 2021 and there had been some talk about parties in Downing Street during Covid, but in these febrile siloed times, when the entirety of human existence has blurred into a single personalised scrolling feed, who even knows what constitutes “the news” any more? Who knows what fragments of reality ever emerge from Westminster’s furiously spinning vortex of unintelligible jargon: prorogue, backstop, Aukus, Slapps? What is a Morgan McSweeney and what time does it start?

But then came the magical night, a few days before Christmas, when the darts crowd turned. As Florian Hempel swept to a routine first-round win against Martin Schindler (bit of an upset, to be honest, but you never write off Flo at the Palace), Alexandra Palace rocked to strains of “Boris is a cunt”. Fans held up signs reading “Work Event”, drew pictures of cheese and wine and gleefully held them up to the cameras. And you realise, with a piercing we’ve-lost-Cronkite clarity: oh wow, he’s fucked.

Riyad Mahrez and Roberto Firmino starred in tournament but unbalanced format reflects political power in continent

It’s been quite a journey for Roberto Firmino, Riyad Mahrez and Al-Ahli, who lifted the AFC Champions League Elite trophy for the first time just before midnight on Saturday in front of 60,000 fans in Jeddah after a 2-0 win over Kawasaki Frontale of Japan.

Firmino has not been registered in the Saudi Pro League (SPL), where teams are allowed only 10 foreign players, this year. The former Liverpool man’s spot was taken by Galeno, his fellow Brazilian signed from Porto in January for around £45m. In Asia, however, there are no such restrictions and “Bobby” has come back into the fold and played so well that he was named tournament’s MVP.

Co-founder and CEO Will Shu in line for a £172m payout and staff will receive £65m from deal

• Business live – latest updates

Food delivery company Deliveroo has agreed a £2.9bn takeover by US rival DoorDash that will result in a £65m payday for its staff.

The London-based delivery company, which was founded in 2013 by Will Shu and Greg Orlowski, received an offer worth 180p a share last month and on Tuesday its board recommended the deal to shareholders.

Loud explosions reported at dawn and plumes of smoke as RSF targets Sudanese government’s seat of power

Drones have struck the airport and targeted an army base in Port Sudan, officials said, the third straight day the seat of power of the government, which is aligned with the Sudanese army, has come under attack.

The country’s main fuel depot was hit on Monday, causing a massive blaze just south of the eastern city that had until Sunday been considered a safe haven for hundreds of thousands of displaced people fleeing a two-year war.

A definitive new biography takes in adventures on the Mississippi, racist stereotypes and get-rich-quick schemes

In his lifetime, Mark Twain was the greatest literary celebrity the world had ever known. In the US, he hobnobbed with presidents; on his many travels, he would dine privately with the German kaiser, the Austrian emperor, or the Prince of Wales. Visiting England to collect an honorary degree from Oxford University, he was cheered off his ship by the stevedores of the London docks, before making his way to Windsor Castle for tea with the king and queen.

He was the bracing, irreverently humorous voice of America. Like Charles Dickens, whom he heard read from his own work in New York, he became a performer as well as an author. In London he was feted when he read passages from his travelogue of the Wild West, Roughing It. Everyone loved the “twang of his drawl”. He went on to take his work in progress, Huckleberry Finn, round more than 100 American towns and cities, earning handsomely.

Saved from tourist development by a ‘favourite daughter of Andalucía’, Cabo de Gata is a spectacular national park perfect for an adventure on foot

If you study a map of Spain, in the south-east corner you’ll see a strip of empty space along the edge of the Mediterranean. It contains no major towns and barely any roads. Its coastline is equally barren – no ports or resorts; just a few tiny villages tucked away in intriguingly named coves – “raven”, “coal”, “bitter water”. This patch of emptiness is the Cabo de Gata-Níjar national park, a protected haven of desert wilderness on the edge of Europe.

Having been forced to cancel an expedition to the Algerian Sahara earlier in the year, this park appears to be the answer to my yearning for the arid warmth and stark beauty of desert travel. Zooming in on the satellite view, a network of paths appears, suggesting a walking route of around 40 miles (64km) – from the Cabo itself, up the coast, along the cliffs, to the beach town of Agua Amarga. My husband, a keen Iberophile and relentless explorer of España vacia (literally, empty Spain) is always up for a wilderness adventure, so we get in the van and head south.

Saint John boasts Canada’s largest oil refinery – and a huge gulf between rich and poor. Chris Donovan captured life in a city overshadowed by pollution

Nick Cave and Richard Ayoade are among those reading out the posthumously discovered missives that inspired an album by Emilíana Torrini, who soundtracks this gorgeous film

You’d be forgiven for not having heard of Geraldine Flower, the subject of A new film from artists Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, the pair behind the 2014 Nick Cave documentary 20,000 Days on Earth. (Cave makes an appearance here reading a letter or two.) Flower was not famous in her lifetime and in fact, after watching the film we’re none the wiser about how she spent her later years. But when she died in 2019, a suitcase packed with hundreds of love letters written to her by smitten men in the 60s and 70s was found in her London flat.

The letters inspired a 2024 album by Icelandic singer-songwriter Emilíana Torrini (called Miss Flower) and also this intriguing, gorgeous and creative documentary – a film somewhere between an installation with songs and an extended music promo. It features Torrini and her band performing songs from the album, some dramatised scenes (actor Caroline Catz plays Flower), plus a bit of modern dance. This description makes it sound like art school navel gazing, but while it can be mildly frustrating, The Extraordinary Miss Flower is a real pleasure: luxuriant like a good glass of red wine. Partly that’s down to the songs, vivacious pop-electronica numbers sung with seductive intimacy by Torrini, who is pretty extraordinary herself.

The picture is complex, experts say, despite two resounding wins for liberal parties in national elections, after polls had put them on track for defeat

Pierre Poilievre and Peter Dutton began the year as leaders in waiting. With national elections in Canada and Australia on the horizon, both leaders were consistently leading in the polls. But a mere four months later, the votes have come and gone and their parties remain out of government. In the process, both suffered the indignation of losing the seats they held for more than two decades.

On Sunday, as the results of the Australian elections were broadcast across the world, international media were quick to blame one man: Donald Trump. “First Canada, now Australia?” asked the Wall Street Journal, with the paper claiming the “Trump factor” had boosted Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese’s chances. CNN called it “the Trump slump” and suggested the phenomenon was spreading.

Hundreds of women forced to confess to ‘moral crimes’ they did not commit have been publicly lashed in Afghanistan

Three Afghan women who were brutally flogged in public by the Taliban after being accused of “moral crimes” have bravely spoken out about the cruelty they endured.

More than 1,000 people – at least 200 of whom were women – are now known to have been humiliated in public floggings since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, according to court records and media reports. The true numbers are probably much higher.

Researchers call for urgent action as fragments of plastic found in human brains and pollute food, water and air

The UK is falling behind on international efforts to tackle microplastics, scientists have said, as the pollutants continue to infiltrate food, ecosystems and human bodies.

The tiny fragments of plastic have been found in human testicles and brains, and they burrow into plants, inhibiting their ability to photosynthesise. The impact on human health is largely unknown, but they have been linked to strokes and heart attacks.

Rapid, highly visible action in communities and a forthright attack on the new right – that is what’s needed now

If you thought these elections were bad, just wait for the locals next May. Expect far worse for Labour, unless they act fast. As they tussle over which way to turn, left or right, stop and consider what’s ahead. They will be challenged by Reform UK in towns such as Barnsley, while their progressive city heartlands will be ravaged by Greens, Liberal Democrats, and pro-Palestine and other independents. Expect shocks in London boroughs that have been forever Labour. (Worth recalling that amid Labour’s landslide, Keir Starmer’s vote share in Holborn and St Pancras dropped by 17% in the general election when challenged by a pro-wealth tax radical.) With council elections in a third of seats in English cities, expect an eruption of local leftward rebellions.

Those around Starmer may well be misidentifying the threat that matters most. Heavy vote losses to Lib Dems and Greens in a general election would cost Labour twice as many seats as the same number of votes lost to Reform. Analysis by Persuasion UK finds 123 seats vulnerable to Reform switchers, but 250 Labour seats at risk from flight to progressive parties. While 11% of Labour voters are “Reform-curious”, 29% would consider voting Green and 41% would consider supporting the Lib Dems.

Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist

Professionals call for a fundamental transition including controlling flight numbers

The aviation industry is “failing dramatically” in its efforts to tackle its role in the climate crisis, according to a newly formed group of aviation professionals.

They say they are torn between their passion for flying and their concern for the planet and are calling for a fundamental transition of the industry, including controlling flight numbers.

Spring onion and baby spinach locked in a light batter, deep-fried and served with a moreish coriander and peanut chutney

One of my favourite ways of celebrating whatever vegetable is in season is by turning it into pakoras. Cooking them quickly allows the vegetable to sing, and a simple pakora batter is light enough to let spring onions and spinach do just that. With just enough gently spiced chickpea flour to bind the chopped veg, there is no claggy coating here. Serve as is with a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of sea salt, or with this addictive, punchy coriander and peanut chutney.

Visitors to one of San Francisco’s most popular tourist destinations point to cost, feasibility and its legacy of Indigenous incarceration

In the choppy waters of the San Francisco Bay, on a windswept rock, lies a crumbling former federal prison that’s now at the center of Donald Trump’s latest real estate proposal: “REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ!” he announced on Truth Social over the weekend, to “serve as a symbol of Law, Order and JUSTICE.”

On Monday, the day after Trump’s declaration, throngs of tourists queued up for the ferry at Fisherman’s Wharf to visit the island.

Exclusive: Health secretary to challenge Reform on how it would fund investment in NHS

Wes Streeting will launch a vocal defence of the party’s tax rises on Tuesday, pledging an extra 8.3m GP appointments to “end the 8am scramble” and telling his opponents that the investment would not be possible without the national insurance rise.

The health secretary, who has been the party’s most vocal challenger on Reform, is expected to step up the attacks on opposition parties, which have dubbed the NICs rise for employers a “job tax” and said he would challenge those who had criticised the rise on how they would fund investment in the health service.

Now the subject of a documentary, the former striker opens up on his strict upbringing in Argentina, the heart troubles that ended his career and that Manchester City goal

During a visit to Madrid in 2007, Anatoliy Byshovets, the then head coach of Lokomotiv Moscow, said watching Sergio Agüero was like visiting the Prado. Pep Guardiola said he was a legend. Jorge Valdano said he could invent anything, anywhere, a unique footballer who had lost all fear, although he was wrong on that. Lionel Messi said he did the impossible. Diego Maradona said Agüero reminded him of himself, phoning one day to apologise for not playing him more. “I was a dickhead,” Maradona said.

Sometimes it can feel like the one person who never said Agüero was good was the one person he really wanted to. When the former Manchester City striker announced he was retiring at the age of 33, forced to stop by a heart problem, all the stress accumulated beneath the surface since his debut at 15, his dad called and said he had never seen a better footballer. He had played 786 games and scored 427 goals by then. “You waited until I retired to tell me that?!” Agüero replied. “I was happy and sad at the same time,” he says. “At last, he said something good.”

Gérald Darmanin, now justice minister, called night of 2022 Champions League final ‘biggest failure’ of his career

The former French interior minister has apologised to Liverpool fans for using them as a “scapegoat” for the chaos surrounding the 2022 Champions League final in Paris, where supporters of the club, including children, were teargassed by police amid false claims they had caused a riot.

Gérald Darmanin, who is now France’s justice minister, called the night “the biggest failure” of his career. On 28 May 2022, Liverpool supporters said they feared for their lives as they were forced to enter Stade de France via a narrow subway and boxed-in lanes that could not accommodate the thousands of people that had arrived.

By going public now Benjamin Netanyahu hopes to squeeze Hamas for concessions and please the far right

• Israel to expand military operations in Gaza to establish ‘sustained presence’
• Middle East crisis – live updates

The announcement of Israel’s plan to launch imminently a new, expanded offensive in Gaza and to retain the territory it seized is a significant moment, at least in terms of public rhetoric.

Throughout the nearly 19-month war, Israeli troops have carried out large and frequently bloody operations that have covered all except central parts of Gaza, but they have largely restricted their permanent presence to a buffer zone about 1km deep along the devastated territory’s perimeter and two relatively narrow east-west corridors.

Apartment building hit and debris falls on highway, according to reports, with major airports serving Russian capital closed temporarily

• Ukraine war briefing: Moscow drone raids, new Kursk incursion

Ukrainian drones targeted Moscow for the second night in a row, forcing the temporary closure of the capital’s airports, Russia’s military reported.

The consecutive attacks came ahead of Moscow this week marking the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies over Germany in the second world war. Vladimir Putin tried to call a three-day ceasefire for the 8-10 May anniversary; however, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, characterised the idea as self-serving and pointless unless it lasted 30 days in line with a US proposal that the Russian president has ignored.

During the decade-long conflicts, the major powers dithered as Serb militias carried out their brutal campaigns of ethnic cleansing. Guardian reporters became more passionate and more outspoken in their condemnation, attracting praise and criticism

Among many courageous correspondents covering the war in the former Yugoslavia, the reporting of Ed Vulliamy and Maggie O’Kane received plaudits and numerous awards. Both were inexorably drawn to where the action was, and wrote unblinking, vivid accounts. But what made their work controversial was their refusal to be neutral. For many journalists, including some of their colleagues at the Guardian, it was vital to maintain the distinction between being a witness – a “neutral” observer – and becoming actively caught up in the conflict. Some felt they crossed a line that should not have been crossed.

The war – a series of ethnic conflicts that started in 1991 and lasted for nearly a decade – left more than 200,000 dead and 1 million displaced. During the course of their reporting, Vulliamy and O’Kane became involved partisans, in the cause of the Bosnian Muslims, in particular. For O’Kane, “There really was no parity of guilt in this”. Vulliamy, too, saw the Muslims, more than any others, as the “victim people” of the war, and his reporting became a passionate indictment of their oppressors.

Exclusive: Poll before 80th anniversary of VE Day finds tensions with Russia seen as most probable cause

Eighty years after the second world war, polling shows many Americans and western Europeans believe an even more devastating third global conflict could break out within a decade, with tensions with Russia seen as the most probable cause.

As Europe prepares to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, the YouGov polling also showed large majorities felt that events during and before the second world war were relevant today and must continue to be taught to younger generations.

Whistles recruits ex-Topshop design chief, while M&S, Uniqlo and Cos thrive with women in top creative roles

The health of the British high street is a much-discussed topic in fashion. The latest secret weapon set to resuscitate the sector? A wave of female designers at much-loved brands.

Jacqui Markham, previously the design director at Topshop and Asos, was named the new creative director at Whistles last week. She joins Maddy Evans, promoted to director of womenswear at Marks & Spencer this year, and Clare Waight Keller, the former Givenchy designer who joined Uniqlo last year. Meanwhile, Cos, the fashion insiders’ current favourite, has had Karin Gustafsson at the design helm since the brand began in 2006.

Direct to consumer tests that claim to tell us our biological – as opposed to chronological – age are getting a lot of attention, but what can they really tell us about our health? Science editor Ian Sample talks to Dr Brian H Chen, an epidemiologist at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, who has conducted research into a variety of these tests called epigenetic clocks. He explains what exactly they are measuring and whether, once we have the results, there are any evidence-based strategies we can adopt to lower our biological age

Real age versus biological age: the startups revealing how old we really are

Support the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod

Military armistice ending second world war was signed in this nondescript Reims schoolhouse before VE Day

For a building that witnessed one of the pivotal moments of European history, it is oddly unremarkable: a nondescript red-brick schoolhouse on an unexceptional street on the wrong side of the railway tracks in Reims, eastern France.

In May 1945 it was the Collège Moderne et Technique. Students came and went. Passersby may have wondered, briefly, at the two US military police officers outside the doors, but Americans were everywhere – the city had been liberated in August 1944.

It would be open to the UK, Norway and Switzerland, and give governments more bang for their buck as the continent rearms

Of all the shocks to have hit Europe over the past three months, none is more devastating than the realisation that the continent may no longer be able to count on a US security guarantee. Even if Donald Trump’s disdain for Europe had been telegraphed well in advance, few imagined a world in which a US president would publicly humiliate the head of state of a European ally in the Oval Office, cut off intelligence sharing in the middle of a war or cook up a one-sided peace deal with Russia over the heads of Kyiv and its European allies.

What has made the shock worse is the brutal revelation of Europe’s inability to defend its own interests. Even as European leaders plead with Trump that a peace without robust security guarantees for Ukraine is no peace at all, their position is fatally weakened by the fact that they are in no position to provide those security guarantees themselves. When JD Vance and Pete Hegseth accused Europeans of being pathetic freeloaders in a leaked chat, the barb was all the more hurtful because it was partly true. Britain and France have struggled even to put together a “coalition of the willing” that can provide a bare-bones peacekeeping force, let alone make up for the loss of critical US air defence and battlefield intelligence should America withdraw entirely.

Simon Nixon is a journalist and economics commentator

Exclusive: First minister of Wales hoping to counter threats to Welsh Labour from Reform and Plaid Cymru

The Welsh first minister will criticise Keir Starmer’s welfare reforms in a major speech on Tuesday, saying she will pursue a leftwing “red Welsh way” and put a clear dividing line between Welsh Labour and the national party.

Eluned Morgan will distance herself from Starmer’s government in a speech on Tuesday billed by allies as a reset moment for Welsh Labour to counter the threats from Reform UK and Plaid Cymru.

Remember Johnny Depp v Amber Heard? If you thought that was ugly, wait till you see Blake Lively v Justin Baldoni. As the stars of It Ends With Us swap lawsuits over claims of sexual harassment, the conservative media has picked its side – and it’s not pulling any punches

Rarely has a film been so un-presciently named as It Ends With Us. This domestic abuse drama was released in August 2024 and was a huge success, earning over $350m worldwide. But that was only the beginning. What has followed is an offscreen conflagration that is not only threatening to consume the careers of the film’s lead actors, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, but continues to set social media and the entertainment industry ablaze. We’ve still got a long way to go before it really ends – a trial is set for March 2026.

It’s easy to see why this case attracted so much attention initially – everyone loves a good celebrity dust-up – but having begun as just another Hollywood feud destined to be adapted into a prestige miniseries a decade hence, the Lively/Baldoni saga is morphing into something larger and possibly more ominous.

Candidates for Merseyside chief constable and Met deputy commissioner set to be appointed without competition

Two of the most senior jobs in British policing paying more than £200,000 a year have attracted only one applicant each, the Guardian has learned.

The roles were deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan police and chief constable of Merseyside police, based in Liverpool.

The draft bill is modelled on Australian laws and would force digital platforms to verify the age of users or face heavy fines

New Zealand’s prime minister has proposed banning children under 16 years old from using social media, in an effort to protect young people from harms such as exposure to violent content and cyberbullying.

Christopher Luxonsaid on Tuesday the draft law would force social media companies to verify users were at least 16 before allowing them to create an account, or face fines of up to NZ$2m ($1.2m).

Foreign minister Olivier Nduhungirehe confirms talks on agreement that appears to bear hallmarks of policy pushes that failed in UK and Australia

Rwanda confirmed on Monday that discussions were “underway” with the United States regarding a potential agreement to host deported migrants.

Rwanda’s foreign minister, Olivier Nduhungirehe, told state media on Sunday that the talks were in the “early stage.” When asked by the Associated Press on Monday, he confirmed the talks.

Former vice-president says tariffs ‘not a win for the American people’ and predicts public pressure will grow

Donald Trump’s tariffs policy will trigger a “price shock” and possible shortages, and lead to public pressure on him to change his approach, the former vice-president Mike Pence has said.

In one of his most wide-ranging critiques yet on the policies of the president he used to serve, Pence, speaking to CNN, derided the White House’s “wavering” support for Ukraine and declared – in direct contradiction of repeated assurances from Trump – that President Vladimir Putin of Russia “doesn’t want peace”.

Rebels’ media office say at least six strikes hit the crucial Hodeida port on Monday afternoon

Israel’s military has carried out a fresh round of airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen’s Red Sea city of Hodeida, a day after the Iranian-backed rebels launched a missile that hit Israel’s main airport.

The rebels’ media office said at least six strikes hit the crucial Hodeida port on Monday afternoon. Other strikes hit a cement factory in the Bajil district in Hodeida province, the rebels said. Israeli media reported that dozens of Israeli aircraft took part in the operation.

Issa Amro shares videos of confrontations with balaclava-clad military who he claims ‘want revenge’ after the BBC film The Settlers

A Palestinian activist who appeared in a Louis Theroux documentary about settlers in the West Bank has reportedly had his home raided by Israeli soldiers.

Issa Amro, co-founder of the non-violent activist group Youth Against Settlements, shared videos on social media of confrontations with Israeli military at his home, and another of a group of Israeli settlers forcing entry to the property.

Australian woman has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and attempted murder relating to a lunch she served at her Leongatha home in 2023. Follow live updates

• Who are Erin Patterson and the other key figures in Australia’s mushroom murders trial?

Ian Wilkinson says late wife Heather ‘fairly excited’ about lunch

The examination now turns to the invite for the mushroom lunch.

There was no reason for the lunch.... We were very happy to be invited. It seemed like maybe our relationship with Erin was going to improve.

Just seemed like a normal person to me... when we met, seemed quite friendly. We never had arguments or disputes.

She just seemed like an ordinary person.

• Eastern Conference semi-final: Knicks 108-105 Celtics (OT)
• Defending champions miss 45 three-pointers in defeat

Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby each scored 29 points before Mikal Bridges stole the ball from Jaylen Brown with a second left in overtime as the New York Knicks stunned the Boston Celtics 108-105 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semi-finals series on Monday night.

Karl Anthony-Towns added 14 points and 13 rebounds for New York, who lost all four games against their longtime rival during the regular season and trailed by 20 points in the second half of Monday’s game.