• Premiership Rugby final: Bath 23-21 Leicester

• Johann van Graan’s side cling on to complete treble

There was barely a cloud in the clear summer sky in south-west London and blue was also the primary colour on the field. For the first time in 29 years, Bath are the champions of England and any debate about the big-game nerve of Johann van Graan’s multi-talented squad can now be quietly laid to rest alongside Leicester’s shredded dreams.

Bath will have some idea of how their old rivals are feeling, having suffered a similarly agonising fate against Northampton in last year’s final. They were not at their absolute best by their own high standards, but once they finally remembered how to catch a rugby ball – a recurring problem in the first half – they had a touch too much for their opponents whose spirited final quarter rally came too late.

Steve ‘Dinoman’ Springer turned his suburban home into a makeshift carnival and public education center: ‘You come here to get away from the world’

Amid the endless winding streets of Henderson, Nevada, one house breaks the mold. Its front yard – no grass, just desert rock – is home to 62 rainbow-painted dinosaurs, dragons, turtles and spiders. A sign on the garage reads: “Shan-gri-la Prehistoric Park”, complete with visiting hours.

On a recent spring Friday at noon, the garage door hums open, letting in the harsh sun. Steve Springer, or “Dinoman” as he’s lovingly known by regulars of the park, ties a short black apron printed with cartoon dinosaurs around his waist. At 72, he likes to wear flip-flops with black socks and round glasses that make his eyes look tiny.

Police say suspect was dressed as law enforcement and shot at responding officers before escaping

A prominent Democratic state lawmaker in Minnesota and her husband have been killed in a politically motivated shooting, and another Democratic state lawmaker and his wife were shot in the early hours of Saturday.

Democratic state representative Melissa Hortman has died, as has her husband, Mark, the state’s governor, Tim Walz, confirmed at a press conference on Saturday. He said the shooting “appears to be a politically motivated assassination”. Hortman was the top Democrat in the Minnesota house and the former speaker.

• Slovenian sets record with 98th career stage win

• Has 61sec lead over Jonas Vingegaard with one day to go

For the second straight day, Tadej Pogacar rode away from his main rivals on the final ascent as he cemented his grip on the Critérium du Dauphiné yellow jersey in Saturday’s mountainous Queen Stage. “I launched it and maintained a good pace to the top,” he said. The Slovenian had grabbed the overall lead the day before when he shot clear on the short closing climb.

On the penultimate stage, a 131.7km run from Grand-Aigueblanche, Pogacar’s UAE Team Emirates teammate Pavel Sivakov reduced the leading pack by setting a ferocious tempo at the front at the start of the 20km final climb to Valmeinier ski resort.

• ‘As a country, it’s a chance for us to rejoice in something’

• South Africa beat Australia by five wickets in final

After generations of disappointment and heartbreak South Africa shrugged off the tag that has long haunted them with victory in the World Test Championship here. For years they have been smeared as chokers, but no more.

“While we were batting we could hear the Aussies using that dreaded word: choke,” said Temba Bavuma, the South Africa captain. “We came in with a lot of belief and a lot of doubters. We got ourselves into the final, there were doubters as to the route we took. This win squashes that. Here’s an opportunity for us as a nation, divided as we are, to unite.”

• French forward joined Spurs on loan in February

• Thomas Frank looks to reunite with Brentford’s Mbeumo

Tottenham are expected to seal the permanent signing of Mathys Tel for a fee of about €35m (£30m) in the next 48 hours. Spurs paid Bayern Munich a €10m loan fee to sign the forward for the second half of the Premier League season.

The 20-year-old scored two goals in 13 league appearances, 11 of which were starts, but was an unused substitute for Spurs’ Europa League final triumph over Manchester United, which resulted in their first trophy for 17 years.

Telecoms group says it strongly refutes claim by 62 franchisees that it ‘unjustly enriched’ itself at their expense

Vodafone has terminated the contracts of 12 franchisees who have continued running the brand’s high street stores while also being part of a £120m high court claim against the telecoms group.

The legal case was launched in December, when 62 franchisees claimed Vodafone had “unjustly enriched” itself at the expense of scores of vulnerable small business owners by slashing commissions to franchisees operating the mobile phone company’s retail outlets.

Administration’s actions signal move away from technology as health agencies see vaccine-related shakeups

As top US health officials turn against some mRNA vaccines, experts fear for the country’s preparedness for the next pandemic and worry that other vaccines will be targeted next.

Donald Trump’s administration recently canceled a $766m award to Moderna on the research and development of H5N1 bird flu vaccines, and officials have announced new restrictions and regulations for Covid mRNA vaccines – actions that signal a move away from the breakthrough technology.

• Veteran qualifier beats third top-20 player at event

• Australian Open champion outclassed in straight sets

Tatjana Maria knows a thing or two about fairytales, coming from the land of the Brothers Grimm and the Pied Piper of Hamelin. But not even she can quite comprehend the impossible magic of her last seven days at Queen’s Club.

When the 37-year-old arrived in west London she had lost nine matches in a row and looked in danger of dropping out of the world’s top 100. Now, unfathomably, she has powered into a WTA 500 final after winning six matches in a row – including two in qualifying – and beaten three players in the world’s top 15.

Critics of war will be more reluctant to press for its end while missiles from Tehran are killing people in Tel Aviv

• Middle East crisis – live updates

In the hours after Israel attacked Iran, food shipments and distribution in Gaza stopped and a French-Saudi summit meant to pave the way for wider recognition of a Palestinian state was postponed indefinitely.

International pressure over starvation and civilian killings in Gaza had apparently dissipated in little more than the time it took for the smoke of the first missile strikes to clear over Tehran.

The Olympic great is rebuilding after a messy divorce with billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, all while trying to bring SailGP to the masses and win the sport’s ultimate prize

Just off Manhattan last weekend, a dozen 50ft catamarans soared across the water at speeds of up to 52mph. Navigating a precariously tight course, in the shadow of the city’s myriad skyscrapers, teams battled challenging conditions in a series of rapid, hectic races.

“A lot of people don’t really know what SailGP is about,” says Sir Ben Ainslie, the four-time Olympic champion sailor. “And when they see it, it blows their mind. It’s not what anyone would think sailing is about.”

Derek Guy, a popular fashion writer, revealed his family escaped to the US without documentation. It sent the far right into an online frenzy

Derek Guy was a relatively unknown menswear writer with 25,000 followers on Twitter in 2022. Now, in 2025, Guy has 1.3 million followers on the platform, now called X, where this week both the vice-president of the United States and the Department of Homeland Security posted threats to deport him from the US – the country he has called home since he was a baby.

“Honestly didn’t expect this is what would happen when I joined a menswear forum 15 years ago,” Guy quipped on X on Monday. “Was originally trying to look nice for someone else’s wedding.”

Critics see echoes of authoritarianism, a break from the US’s usual restraint on military display

To Donald Trump, the inspiration is the pomp and pageantry of Bastille Day, France’s annual celebration of the 1789 revolution.

For his critics, it is redolent of the authoritarian militarism proudly projected by autocracies like Russia, China and North Korea.

• Live updates from the 3pm kick-off at Twickenham

• How Brian Ashton led Bath to the double in 1995-96

• You can email Lee with your thoughts

This is final game for Leicester’s Dan Cole and Ben Youngs, bringing to an end two outstanding domestic and international careers. They’ve already had one eye on the post playing days, however, with the groundbreaking idea of launching a podcast – and pretty descent it is to, in fairness to them.

Pre match reading

‘No Kings’ organizers canceled Minnesota’s demonstrations after shooting of two lawmakers, one fatally

It will be a parade fit for a king – which is precisely why critics worry what message it will send the rest of the world about the future of democracy in America.

On Saturday, there will be tanks on the streets of the nation’s capital as Washington hosts a celebration of the US army’s 250th anniversary, which happens to coincide with Donald Trump’s 79th birthday.

North Korea: military parades. China: military parades. Russia: military parades.

These aren’t parades to celebrate a victory and it’s certainly not to celebrate the United States army’s birthday. This is a parade to aggrandise Donald Trump’s ego. No one who knows either Trump or his pattern of behavior would think for a minute this is anything else.

The Man’s Best Friend image has reopened a debate: sex-positive feminism or soft porn for the male gaze?

Please join me for a quick game of “is this sex-positive feminism or just a lazy repackaging of the patriarchy”? Today’s protagonist is Sabrina Carpenter, a pop star whose music videos have got a Brooklyn priest demoted and might have played a small role in getting the mayor of New York, Eric Adams, indicted.

Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist

Campaigners say they have spoken to Scottish government about lack of action on prisons and schools guidance amid focus on toilets

For Women Scotland, the group responsible for April’s landmark supreme court ruling on biological sex, is considering further legal action against the Scottish government as they warned the key motivation for bringing the case was being lost amid debates about policy on toilets.

At a fringe event at the Scottish Conservative conference in Edinburgh, the gender critical campaign group’s co-director Susan Smith said there had been “extraordinary pushback” since five judges ruled unanimously that the legal definition of a woman in the Equality Act 2010 did not include transgender women who hold gender recognition certificates.

Similarly, how cities have long planned their responses to a Trump-led escalation, which is finally here

The White House’s escalating response to street protests echoes talk before Donald Trump’s inauguration of forcibly quelling resistance in urban America. Those plans are now the present.

After the use of federalized national guard units and marines in response to protests in Los Angeles, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) plans to deploy Swat-style special response teams to Seattle, Philadelphia, northern Virginia, New York and Chicago – cities led by Democrats that have long been the target of Trump’s invective – before expected protests this weekend, according to reports by NBC and others.

Police received nearly 700 false ‘collision’ 999 calls from Leicestershire heavy metal event in 2023

When hundreds of 999 calls came in from fans at the Download festival two years ago, the emergency services must have thought a disaster was unfolding at the three-day heavy metal gig in Leicestershire.

In fact, the calls were made automatically from smartwatches and other devices worn by fans because “the tech assumed that people in moshpits had been in a collision”, according to Leicestershire police.

Guardian analysis sharply contradicts president’s claim that officials are targeting ‘criminals’ for deportation from US

The federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agency has exponentially increased the arrest and detention of immigrants without any criminal history since the second Trump administration took office, a data analysis by the Guardian shows.

The information sharply contradicts Donald Trump’s claims the authorities are targeting “criminals” for deportation as part of his aggressive anti-immigration agenda.

France international impressed with his flicks and tricks from a young age at Lyon. Now City hope he can fire their creative rebuild

“To win the Ballon d’Or and the Champions League,” came the response from Rayan Cherki to the Lyon academy director Jean-François Vulliez’s question. Even as a 15-year-old the playmaker was ambitious, knowing his talent would take him to the top. He might have expected to reach the Premier League earlier but he is ready to take the next steps at Manchester City.

Vulliez worked at Lyon for 12 years and from the moment he witnessed an eight-year-old Cherki he knew the club had a glorious talent on their hands. This week City paid £30.5m for the France international, who could make his debut against Wydad AC on Wednesday at the Club World Cup. Lyon’s academy coaches were soon gossiping about the two-footed generational talent who dribbled past opponents, created chances and plundered goals in the youth setup.

Described by judges as ‘London’s most decadent dining room’, the 119-year-old venue topped the National Restaurant awards’ list this week

It is lunchtime in central London and hungry patrons are filing into the newly crowned best restaurant in the country.

This time, it is not a sparsely furnished warehouse conversion where you have to squint to see your natural wine. Nor is it a buzzy A-list hotspot, where the chefs will vet your social media before you have even arrived.

As a queer child in the early 2000s, I never fitted in with the hyper-masculine world of Action Man. But in the gender-nonconforming Pokémon universe, I found safety

Woolworths, Woking, Surrey. I’d walk up to the till, place my Barbie or Britney Spears CD player on the counter, and before the cashier had the chance to ask if we wanted a bag, I’d blurt out: “This is a present for my sister, it’s not for me!” Sharing a smirk with my mum, they’d offer replies such as, “Wow, she’ll love it!” and “Aren’t you a kind brother?” (If you hadn’t already guessed, I do not have a sister.)

This was a regular occurrence in my childhood in the early 2000s. I was acutely aware, even as early as the age of five or six, that these were not the usual toys a little boy should be playing with. Where was my Action Man or Scalextric track? Why were my bedroom walls covered in posters of pop stars wearing crop tops and not footballers with muddy knees?

• Final, D4: SA, 138 & 282-5, bt Aus, 212 & 207, by five wkts

• Verreynne sees Proteas home against Australia

• First trophy since 1998 banishes ‘chokers’ barb

There were a couple of stutters along the way, moments when South African backsides started to twitch like a rabbit’s nose. But in the end, guided by a masterful 136 from Aiden Markram, they squeezed out the remaining 69 runs of their target to claim a five-wicket victory over Australia and win the World Test Championship.

The winning moment came at 12.45pm as Kyle Verreynne crashed Mitchell Starc through the covers and the South African-dominated crowd at Lord’s – assisted by a fair few English “neutrals” – let out an almighty roar of relief. A target of 282 runs had been reeled in and Temba Bavuma, a captain whose own personal journey has been one of overcoming doubters, could get his hands on the International Cricket Council’s mace.

• British No 1 loses Wimbledon seeding as a result

• Confident of playing at Eastbourne

Emma Raducanu will miss next week’s Berlin Tennis Open as she continues to manage a back problem. The 22-year-old has been struggling with her back since competing in Strasbourg last month before the French Open and took an off-court medical timeout during her quarter-final loss to Zheng Qinwen at Queen’s Club on Friday.

After the match Raducanu said: “It’s been lingering for the last few weeks and I have had back issues before. I think it’s just a vulnerability of mine. I’m not overly concerned that it’s something serious, but it’s something that’s very annoying and needs proper and careful management.”

Aviation ministry says Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner reached height of 650ft before rapidly descending and hitting ground 2km from airport

“Mayday, mayday,” was the final radio message sent by the pilot of the Air India 171 flight bound for London, moments before it crashed to the ground, killing more than 270 people.

In a briefing by India’s aviation authorities on Saturday, authorities confirmed that Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who was piloting the flight, sent a distress call to air traffic control less a minute after it took off from Ahmedabad airport at 1.39pm on Thursday.

To meet this moment in US history, we need to revisit the rich – and successful – tradition of nonviolent disruption

Most of us are no longer free.

People are aware of this condition to varying degrees. Some, nostalgic for the world that was, reject “unfreedom” as an exaggerated description of our situation. Others, seeing reality clearly, nevertheless hide from the unnerving implications.

Leah Lendel was snorkeling with her mother and younger siblings when the animal bit her

A 9-year-old girl nearly lost her hand after a shark attacked her while she swam just off the coast of Florida recently, according to her family and witnesses.

The harrowing attack served up a grim reminder that the Sunshine state is a world leader in unprovoked shark bites against humans – though such cases remain rare and were evidently waning as of late.

Trump’s crackdown in LA and his planned military parade have united people in opposition. As we resist, we gain courage

We are relearning the meaning of “solidarity”. This week, across the US, people have been coming together.

We may disagree on immigration policy, but we don’t want a president deploying federal troops in our cities when governors and mayors say they’re not needed.

A president who vowed to end global conflicts has instead presided over their escalation – his agenda is in disarray

In his inaugural address this January, Donald Trump declared that his proudest legacy would be that of “a peacemaker and unifier”, pledging that US power would “stop all wars and bring a new spirit of unity to a world that has been angry, violent, and totally unpredictable”.

Five months later, his second presidency is witnessing the spectacular unraveling of that lofty aspiration.

Newspaper could join legacy media brands in embracing newsletter platform

The Washington Post has held talks with Substack about hosting pieces by its writers, the site’s co-founder has said, as a host of legacy media brands embrace the newsletter platform in the battle for readers.

In an interview with the Guardian, Substack’s Hamish McKenzie said he had spoken to the Post about its plans to widen the types of opinion pieces on its website.

A neon sign reflected in a puddle in New York City’s Theater District inspired this enigmatic shot

It had been raining all day in New York City. After meeting a friend in a coffee shop near Manhattan’s Theater District, professional photographer Eric Van Nynatten decided on a spontaneous street photography session.

“The rain had been nonstop, which most people would find messy and chaotic, but I feel it brings out a cinematic quality in the city,” he says. “The wet streets become shiny and reflective, and at night it looks a lot like a painting. I ended up walking down Broadway as evening fell. It’s an area that’s already a visual spectacle – there are all these amazing retro marquees, billboards and neon signs. I spotted this sign reflected in a puddle just off the sidewalk and set up my composition.”

This is what we know so far after Israeli strikes on multiple Iranian targets

• Middle East crisis – live updates

More than 200 Israeli jets were involved in initial air raids on at least 100 targets in Iran in five waves of strikes, including at the key Natanz nuclear site as well as at ballistic missile sites. Israel also killed at least nine senior Iranian nuclear scientists and a number of senior Iranian officials, including its most senior military officer and the head of the Revolutionary Guards.

Dozens of sites appear to have been attacked in the widening campaign, including in Tehran, Shiraz and Tabriz, and reportedly in Isfahan and Kermanshah.

The internet has been divided over the suggestive cover of the pop princess’s new album, but it’s possible some might be missing the point

By all accounts, Sabrina Carpenter is in control.

The 26-year-old singer, who signed a record deal with Disney at 12 and became a star in her teens, worked through 10 years and five albums before Espresso, a cheeky and dementedly catchy single from her album Short n’ Sweet, became the song of summer 2024. She writes or co-writes all of her songs with a signature imprint – saucy, clever, unabashedly horny and in on the joke of being both attracted to and disappointed by men. (“Did you say you’re finished? Didn’t know we started,” she teases in new single Manchild.) A recent Rolling Stone cover profile espoused her intelligence, craftiness and deadpan humor. (Asked which famous ex Manchild is about, she answered, “It’s about your dad.”) She’s taking the now-unusual step of releasing a new album only a year after her breakout for no more reason than she has ideas, feels creative, and wants to – “my brain is sharp, let’s write”, she told Rolling Stone.

City leaders claim days-long event will bring in riches but opponents say it will not benefit ordinary Venetians

Marta Sottoriva, a teacher in Venice, has tirelessly campaigned for various causes in her cherished lagoon city, from railing against giant cruise ships to battling soaring rents. Now she is busy preparing banners, handing out flyers and shouting through megaphones in squares as she joins dozens of activists in whipping up resistance to the “umpteenth gigantic event” she says that risks turning the world heritage site – which has long suffered from the effects of excessive tourism – into a playground for the rich.

Sottoriva is referring to the star-studded nuptials between the billionaire Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, and Lauren Sánchez, a former TV journalist. The days-long shindig, expected to begin from 24 June, will be the biggest wedding held in Venice since George Clooney married Amal Alamuddin in 2014.

Vasili Mitrokhin defected in 1992 after spending years copying top-secret documents on Soviet spies and operations

One of the most consequential Russian defectors in history was turned away several times by the US before he was eventually accepted by Britain and exfiltrated with his family from Russia, according to revelations in a new book.

Vasili Mitrokhin, a KGB archivist who spent years copying top-secret documents on some of the most sensitive Soviet spies and operations, was brought out of Russia in 1992 by MI6. His archive of copied documents was exfiltrated separately. But London got hold of his trove only after Mitrokhin gave up trying to get the US to take him seriously.

The singer-songwriter on a childhood painting disaster, the literary ‘greats’ and her George Clooney crush

Born in south Wales, Marina Diamandis, 39, released her first album, The Family Jewels, in 2010. Her second, Electra Heart, went to No 1 in the UK in 2012 and gave her the hit single Primadonna. Her other albums are Froot, Love + Fear and Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land, which featured the Ivor Novello-nominated Man’s World. Last year, she published a poetry collection, Eat the World. Her new album, Princess of Power, has just been released. She lives in California.

When were you happiest?
My late 20s, writing my third record.

If Trump wants to be the peacemaker he claims to be, he must negotiate a new deal with Tehran

Before dawn on Friday, Israel unleashed a wave of air strikes against more than 100 targets in Iran, including nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and air defense systems. The surprise Israeli attack also killed some of Iran’s most senior military commanders and nuclear scientists. The Iranian regime called it a “declaration of war” – and western powers raced to prevent a wider regional conflict that could draw in the US along with other countries in the Middle East.

While the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, claims that he’s trying to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, the attack is as much intended to blow up ongoing negotiations between Tehran and Donald Trump’s administration. While Trump’s overall foreign policy has been a disaster, for months he had resisted Netanyahu’s pleas to give Israel a green light to attack Iran, with US assistance. Trump insisted he wanted a chance to negotiate a deal with Iran’s leaders that would compel Tehran to give up its nuclear program in exchange for relief from US and other international sanctions.

Mohamad Bazzi is director of the Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies, and a journalism professor at New York University

• South Africa chasing a target of 282 to win at Lord’s

• Read the latest edition of The Spin | And email Geoff

60th over: South Africa 218-3 (Markram 106, Stubbs 0) So it is Tristan Stubbs to the middle. Starts at the non-striker’s end, but immediately gets strike as Markram guides a single. Lots of pressure on Stubbs, more a white-ball player but one of huge talent, who Shukri Conrad has backed in this team. Small target, plenty of time, and in a short-form game he might knock off these last 64 runs in five overs. But this is different. Hit on the pad early, Hazlewood appealing but it’s going down leg. Two slips and a gully, but the second slip is Webster and the gully is Green, so effectively four slips and two gullies. Cover, mid off, mid on, midwicket up closer. Deep point and deep backward square saving boundaries. Stubbs defends his first five balls.

59th over: South Africa 217-3 (Markram 105) Oh, there it is! The first tremor? South Africa’s captain battled through the pain yesterday and has put his team in a winning position, but can’t see that win through. The over starts with another ball that stays low, Cummins this time getting it to burrow. Markram keeps it out, and remains confident enough to follow up by playing a quality straight drive for three. Positivity was the key to innings yesterday, so it’s good to see him starting the same way. But after the rotation of strike, from the last ball of the over, Cummins gets one seaming away, down the hill from the Nursery End, and it takes the edge of the defensive push, a little too wide to play. Straightforward for Carey.