Learning to discuss topics in which you differ is something that people can get better at and can benefit relationships

Why can’t the dirty plates go straight into the dishwasher? Whose turn is it to pick up the kids? And why do you insist on doing that thing you do when you know how much it annoys me? No honestly, don’t worry, I’m fine.

Perhaps – if you are part of a long-term couple – that kind of conversation sounds familiar. Or perhaps you are George and Amal Clooney, and you never, ever argue. That, at least, was the actor’s boast this week to a US morning show: in almost 12 years of marriage, he said, he and his lawyer wife have never had a single argument. “We’re trying to find something to argue about,” he joked.

Choose your moment. “Timing is everything when you want to talk about a difficult topic,” says Harrison. Instead of blurting out a grievance when everyone is busy, she says, “have a conversation about having a conversation. Is there a time that we could talk about this issue?”

Be curious. “Be sure you are asking questions, you’re not trying to dominate,” says Blair.

Take responsibility. “Don’t say, ‘you make me angry.’” says Blair. “Say, ‘I feel angry when you …’”

Take a step back if things are becoming too heated. “If things feel like they’re really, escalating, that’s a sign to pause the conversation that is no longer a conversation,” says Harrison. Agree to come back to it later when everyone has cooled down.

Try to win all the time. Try to make the problem your mutual enemy.

Store up grievances as ammunition to use later. If now isn’t a good time to thrash things out, “I think there should be a promise that it’s done within 24 hours,” says Walters.

While it can be helpful to model conflict resolution for your children, says Harrison, don’t have blazing rows in front of them.

Don’t show contempt, even in the heat of the moment, as it’s much harder to repair in the aftermath, says Blair. “You’re not better than they are”.

Decision by Ploiești city appeals court over cancelled result is likely to be overturned before two-round ballot in May

• Europe live – latest updates

Piling confusion on controversy, a Romanian district appeals court has ruled barely a week before the rerun of the country’s presidential election that the constitutional court’s decision cancelling the original vote should itself be annulled.

Romania’s central electoral bureau said on Thursday night that the ruling by the Ploiești city appeals court would not affect the two-round ballot, due to be held on 4 and 18 May, and legal experts have said constitutional court decisions are final.

Tech company predicts rise of ‘frontier firms’ – where a human worker directs AI agents to carry out tasks

Microsoft has good news for anyone with corner office ambitions. In the future we’re all going to be bosses – of AI employees.

The tech company is predicting the rise of a new kind of business, called a “frontier firm”, where ultimately a human worker directs autonomous artificial intelligence agents to carry out tasks.

• Allen makes history but trails Chris Wakelin 10-3
• Hearn: ‘We love the Crucible but it has to love us’

Mark Allen has made a maximum 147 break at the World Snooker Championship, writing his name into Crucible history – but still faces an uphill battle to avoid elimination in his second-round match with Chris Wakelin.

Resuming 6-2 behind, Allen endured a nightmare first half of the morning session, losing all four frames to fall 10-2 down, at risk of losing with a session to spare. Wakelin hit breaks of 119, 71 and 75 as Northern Ireland’s Allen failed to pot a ball for three frames, immediately heading to the practice table at the interval.

To solve three conflicts simultaneously would be a daunting task for anyone, but it is especially for a man entirely new to diplomacy

• Europe live – latest updates
• Steve Witkoff: from property developer to global spotlight

Donald Trump’s version of Pax Americana, the idea that the US can through coercion impose order on the world, is facing its moment of truth in Ukraine, Gaza and Iran.

In the words of the former CIA director William Burns, it is in “one of those plastic moments” in international relations that come along maybe twice a century where the future could take many possible forms.

With the film’s promising teaser trailer, the world’s eyes have flipped silver and it’s party time in the cryo-sarcophagus aisle of Space Ikea!

Welfare fraud bill would allow funds to be taken from bank accounts and driving licences to be cancelled

• Should benefit claimants risk having their bank accounts spied upon and driving licences revoked? I don’t think so

Keir Starmer is facing a rebellion over his plan to use direct deductions from people’s bank accounts and the cancellation of driving licences as part of a government crackdown on welfare fraud and over-claiming.

In an attempt to claw back the annual £9.7bn in benefit overpayments made by the Department for Work and Pensions due to fraud or error, the government has adopted Conservative plans for debt recovery.

One of the most singular talents, and lives, in movie history is ready to tell you a thousand things about his dizzyingly various career. Now’s your chance to ask

There aren’t many actors who transcend the roles they play in quite the unique way as Nicolas Cage. Born Nicolas Coppola (his uncle is Francis Ford), Cage rebranded to avoid nepotism. He started acting because he wanted to be like James Dean.

Cage’s early roles include 1982 coming-of-age movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High and 1983 romantic comedy Valley Girl. He then went on to period drama Racing With the Moon with Sean Penn, and musical crime drama The Cotton Club and Peggy Sue Got Married, both directed by Uncle Francis. By the time he’d done the Coen Brothers’ Raising Arizona in 1987, and won the best actor Oscar for Leaving Las Vegas in 1995, he had entered the big league.

The actor has long been an activist for LGBTQ+ rights and has a transgender sister who often accompanies him on the red carpet

The actor Pedro Pascal has attacked author JK Rowling on X, calling her a “heinous loser”.

Pascal responded to a comment reporting the words of activist Tariq Ra’ouf in an Instagram video, in which he urged people to boycott Rowling’s work.

Rodney Taylor, whose legs were amputated as a toddler, just one of many people with disabilities at risk from detention

In his three months locked up at Stewart detention center in Lumpkin, Georgia, Rodney Taylor has missed meals and showers, lived with increasing pain in his hips, developed a swollen thumb on his right hand and blisters on the stumps where his two legs were amputated when he was a toddler.

Taylor’s mother brought him to the US from Liberia on a medical visa as a small child. He went through 16 operations and is a double amputee. He has two fingers on his right hand. Now 46, he has lived in the US nearly his entire life, works as a barber, is active in promoting cancer awareness in his community, and recently got engaged.

A gosling grows up; a campaign to save trees; the impact of partition; thorny dilemmas; wearing a hijab in Essex and more

Gozzle by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Sara Ogilvie, Macmillan, £12.99
When a bear finds a goose egg, rather than breakfast, it hatches sweet, tenacious Gozzle, who’s convinced goslings can do everything bears do. But what will happen when she learns to fly? A comically adorable picture book about family, growth and change.

Leave the Trees, Please by Benjamin Zephaniah, illustrated by Melissa Castrillon, Magic Cat, £12.99
Zephaniah’s posthumously published picture book, featuring a dynamic repeated refrain and soaring, swirling illustrations, calls on young listeners to safeguard trees and the riches of the natural world.

Ten years on from his death and just before what would have been his 77th birthday, take a deep dive into the funny, fantasy works of one of the most loved British writers

With more than 75m copies of his books sold around the world, Terry Pratchett is one of the most loved British writers, best known for his comic fantasy novels set on a fictional planet, Discworld. Ten years on from the author’s death, and justbefore what would have been his 77th birthday, Pratchett’s biographer Marc Burrows has put together a guide to his hero’s work.

***

People think that stories are shaped by people. In fact, it’s the other way around.

Sin, young man, is when you treat people like things. Including yourself. That’s what sin is.

The Trump administration is working overtime to intimidate funders from supporting racial and gender justice but this is the time for everyone to do what we can with what we have

When Jair Bolsonaro rose to power and moved to dismantle Brazil’s democracy, he faced a formidable foe. A powerful wave of Black women were at the forefront of the resistance that led to his defeat.

Beyond defeating an authoritarian, Black women helped elect a tranche of new officials, including record numbers of women and trans leaders. As the vanguard of a young, diverse, representative government, they epitomise Brazil’s best future as a thriving democracy. A future that Bolsonaro came close to foreclosing.

Van Gogh’s favourite Japanese artist is at the British Museum, Lisa Milroy’s memories of Canada are on show in London, and new thresholds are crossed by Do Ho Suh – all in your weekly dispatch

Hiroshige: Artist of the Open Road
It’s not hard to see why Hiroshige was Van Gogh’s favourite Japanese printmaker – his colours have a radiant intensity almost without equal in art.
• British Museum, London, from 1 May until 7 September

The president aims to boost US manufacturing, but insiders warn tariffs will increase costs and destroy businesses

Across the US, many executives leading apparel and textiles businesses are scratching their heads.

Tariffs of 145% on goods from China, and tariffs of 10% on goods from much of the rest of the world, have been billed by the White House as a once-in-a-generation efffort to boost domestic manufacturing.

Lt Gen Yaroslav Moskalik named as victim of explosion that appears similar to previous attacks claimed by Ukraine

• Europe live – latest updates

A senior Russian military official has been killed in a car explosion near Moscow, hours before a Kremlin meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff.

The Russian authorities named the officer as Lt Gen Yaroslav Moskalik, the deputy head of the main operations directorate of the general staff of the Russian armed forces.

Report suggests tech firm – swept up in Donald Trump’s trade war – will make change as soon as 2026

Apple is reportedly planning to switch assembly of all iPhones for the US market to India as the company seeks to reduce its reliance on a Chinese manufacturing base amid Donald Trump’s trade war.

The $3tn (£2.3tn) technology company aims to make the shift as soon as next year, the Financial Times reported.

Welcome to our new series highlighting the best emerging artists – first up, a former firefighter and US Navy recruit who counts Samuel L Jackson as a fan

From Alabama
Recommended if you like Luke Combs, Tony Joe White, Charles Bradley
Up next Supporting Leon Bridges in the US

Kashus Culpepper’s story has something of the Hollywood movie about it. A former firefighter who went on to enlist in the US Navy, he only picked up a guitar five years ago to entertain his fellow troops when they were locked down in barracks during the pandemic. On his return to the US, he began working for a cement company while posting clips of covers and his own songs to social media: one attracted the attention of Samuel L Jackson, who reposted it to his 9 million followers. Within a few months, Culpepper had both a record deal and a co-sign from another navy veteran, country star Zach Bryan. By the end of last year, Culpepper was performing at Nashville’s legendary Grand Ole Opry.

The pontiff shunned fanfare by picking a small niche in the basilica he visited more than 100 times during his papacy

As a priest, and then cardinal, Jorge Mario Bergoglio would always call into Santa Maria Maggiore (Saint Mary Major), one of the four papal basilicas in Rome, during his regular visits to the Italian capital.

The fourth-century basilica with its distinctive bell tower is perched on one of Rome’s seven ancient hills in Esquilino, a neighbourhood that lies between the Colosseum and Termini train station which during the Roman empire served as a burial ground for slaves.

The region has grappled with dictatorships, coups and inequality. But its democratic spirit remains vital – and offers a lesson for the US

Inspiration on how to beat back authoritarianism is in short supply, but those searching for hope in these dark times might consider Latin America.

It’s not the first place that comes to mind when thinking about democracy, associated as it is with coups, death squads, dictatorships, inequality, drug violence and now a country, El Salvador, offering itself up to Donald Trump as an offshore prison colony for deportees.

Jean Chrétien, 91, appears keen to wield his influence to fight for a Liberal victory, drumming up support for Carney

In the frenzy of a Canadian general election campaign, few things drain party activists more than the relentless travel, as they crisscross the country’s vast geography to drum up support in far-flung electoral districts.

But ahead of what has been described as the most consequential general election in a lifetime, the 91-year-old former prime minister Jean Chrétien has campaigned for the Liberals in 30 electoral districts across the country as the party seeks to match – or even eclipse – his 1993 landslide victory.

Questions on general knowledge and topical trivia, plus a few jokes, every Thursday. How will you fare?

Gather round, faithful quizzers, for another adventure is at hand. Dare you tackle our 15 questions on topical news, general knowledge and pop culture trivia? If you do, you will be excited to find you are being treated to a brand new regular feature. The quiz is also, as ever, littered with a few silly in-jokes and references, which you can point out in the comments when you spot them. Enjoy!

The Thursday quiz, No 207

• Premier League and FA Cup semis: 10 things to look for
• Fixtures | Latest tables | And you can also email David

If you’re planning an idle non-football related trip to Liverpool this weekend this weekend, I’d probably advise against it. No doubt the city will be absolutely packed with fans ready to bask in the warm glow of the club’s 20th league title – and second in the Premier League era.

That previous title was in the 2019/20 Covid season, so this will be a proper chance to celebrate drawing level with Manchester United. Slot said he hoped Liverpool’s fans would bring their usual level of noise and support … I think it might be a little louder than normal, Arne.

US peace envoy to meet Vladimir Putin to discuss Donald Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine ahead of US president’s 100 days in office next week

Reuters has also published details of another document, which it says are the counterproposals for a deal put forward by Ukrainian and European officials.

These are as follows:

Commit to a full and unconditional ceasefire in the sky, on land and at sea

Both sides immediately enter into negotiations on technical implementation with the participation of the US and European countries. This is in parallel to preparation of the agenda and modalities for a full peace deal

Ceasefire monitoring, led by the US and supported by third countries.

Russia must unconditionally return all deported and illegally displaced Ukrainian children

Exchange of all prisoners of war (the principle of “all for all”)

Russia must release all civilian prisoners

Ukraine receives robust security guarantees including from the US (Article 5-like agreement), while there is no consensus among Allies on Nato membership

No restrictions on the Ukrainian Defense Forces

The guarantor states will be an ad hoc group of European countries and willing non-European countries. No restrictions on the presence, weapons and operations of friendly foreign forces on the territory of Ukraine

Ukraine pursues accession to the EU

Territorial issues will be discussed and resolved after a full and unconditional ceasefire

Territorial negotiations start from the basis of the line of control

Ukraine regains control of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant with US involvement, and also the Kakhovka Dam

Ukraine enjoys unhindered passages on the Dnipro River and control of the Kinburn Spit

US and Ukraine implement economic cooperation/minerals agreement

Ukraine will be fully reconstructed and compensated financially, including through Russian sovereign assets that will remain frozen until Russia compensates damage to Ukraine

US sanctions imposed on Russia since 2014 may be subject to gradual easing after a sustainable peace is achieved and subject to resumption in the event of a breach of the peace agreement

Permanent ceasefire

Both sides immediately engage in technical implementation negotiations

Ukraine receives robust security guarantee

Guarantor states will be an ad hoc grouping of European states plus willing non-European states

Ukraine will not seek to join Nato

Ukraine may pursue EU membership

US provides de jure recognition of Russian control of Crimea

US provides de facto recognition of Russian control of Luhansk

US provides de facto recognition of Russian-controlled parts of Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Kherson

Ukraine regains territory in Kharkiv oblast

Ukraine regains control of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant through US control and administration of the plant, with electricity distributed to both sides, and also the Kakhovka Dam

Ukraine enjoys unhindered passage on Dnipro River and control of the Kinburn Spit

United States and Ukraine will implement economic cooperation/minerals agreement

Ukraine to be fully reconstructed and compensated financially

Sanctions on Russia resulting from this conflict since 2014 will be removed

US-Russian economic cooperation on energy and other industrial sectors

Polling predicts victory for party in Greater Lincolnshire and Hull/East Yorkshire with the Greens possibly taking West of England

There are six mayoral elections next week. Two of them are for single-authority mayors (Doncaster and North Tyneside), but the others are for combined-authority mayors (or regional mayors – like metro mayors, but not just covering city regions). Today YouGov has released polling covering all four of these contests and it suggests Reform UK is on course to win two of them easily. And the Green party is narrowly ahead in a third, the poll suggests.

Here are the polling figures.

In theory the Tories should be winning in Lincolnshire as they hold most of the parliamentary seats in the area and have dominated local politics forever. But it’s also the most Reform-friendly part of the country. It contains Richard Tice’s constituency and numerous seats in which they came second. Plus their candidate is a former Tory MP – Andrea Jenkyns, famous for her Boris Johnson obsession and making a middle finger gesture at a crowd outside Downing Street. She is, by all accounts, quite a few sandwiches short of a picnic but, nevertheless, is strong favourite to win. Large chunks of local Conservative parties, including several councillors, have already defected.

Beijing will ‘strengthen bottom-line thinking’ as reports say it could drop tariffs on some US products

• Business live – latest updates

Xi Jinping has announced a plan to counter China’s continuing economic problems and the impact of the US trade war, as reports swirl that it could drop tariffs on some US products, including semiconductors.

Friday’s meeting of the politburo was convened to discuss China’s economic situation, which since the pandemic has faced difficulties fuelled by a housing sector crisis, youth unemployment, and Donald Trump’s tariffs on all Chinese exports.

The Lake District after the 1957 Windscale nuclear disaster is a great setting for a game – and gorgeously rendered. That doesn’t mean I want to endlessly keep traversing it

‘Fast travel”. The greatest two words in gaming. Greater even than “infinite lives”, Clive Sinclair or “moustachioed plumber”. It is to go from one location in a game where you are doing something important to another location in the blink of a loading screen, cutting out the repetitive kerfuffle in between. (Trivia break: Repetitive Kerfuffle might have been the working title for Tetris!)

We’ve had it since the 80s. Dragon Quest had a Return spell and the original Zelda had the recorder to take you to different dungeons, and even they were preceded six years earlier by a certain big fat yellow mouth who had dots for supper and ghosts for dessert. Because that guy could go out of one side of the screen and appear on the other instantly. That’s fast travel isn’t it? My advocacy for this is however tempered by the depression I feel that PacMan may have thought going off the right hand side would mean an escape from his corridor hell, only to return, Sisyphus-like, back where he started.

Authorities warn of mudslides during intense rainfall, as Kenya is hit by deadly flash flooding

• Europe live – latest updates

After Storm Hans battered northern Italy in the runup to Easter, severe weather continued to lash much of the country this week. Since Tuesday, the conditions have triggered potent showers and thunderstorms, and yellow and orange weather warnings have been issued.

With winds generally remaining light this week, the greatest concerns surround the risks from intense rainfall, as slow-moving heavy showers can deliver a prolonged downpour to a fairly localised area. The authorities have warned people to avoid high-risk areas such as roads with steep embankments amid a threat of flash flooding and mudslides.

With the arrival of a new video store in Brooklyn, we asked you to tell us about your most memorable anecdotes

After a film had been in the cinema but before a film was on general sale (also called ‘Home Release’) there would be a window of perhaps a few months where the retail price of a single VHS tape would be about £100 [$133]. In a world of digital media that now feels mad, but it was obviously profitable for the rental shops to buy tapes at that price.

They are everywhere – and they may be messing with your body more than you realise. They’re linked to obesity, gut issues, even chronic disease. But how exactly are UPFs making us sick?

Neelam Tailor speaks to the food philosopher and former industry insider Prof Barry Smith, who breaks down what UPFs do inside your body, how food companies keep us hooked, and how you can reduce how much UPF you eat

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

Advertising group WPP has reported that its clients are waiting to see how the trade conflict unfolds.

Mark Read, chief executive officer of WPP, told investors this morning:

“While WPP is not itself directly affected by tariffs, they will impact a number of our clients as well as the broader economy. At this point we have not seen any significant change in client spending and we reiterate our full-year guidance which already reflected a challenging environment.”

“They voted for change because they didn’t think that the economy worked well enough for them and their families. They saw the erosion of good jobs that paid a decent wage. They saw industries that once powered their towns disappear. And as elected politicians we have to respond to that”.

“Some may say that under this very consequential president we have at the moment, this is a rollercoaster period and therefore a challenge to us all. But we would say that a rollercoaster is fine, as long as we are rolling in the right direction.”

Have you been following the big stories in football, cricket, snooker, athletics, rugby, boxing and tennis?

Rodrigo Nunes, a senior lecturer in political theory, explains how delivery drivers are taking to the street to demand better pay and conditions, while worker-owned delivery app services are thriving

On 1 April, Brazilian couriers organised a day of action in which thousands of workers engaged in pickets and protests in at least 60 cities, with places such as São Paulo reporting a sharp drop in deliveries. While companies are yet to respond to the demands for better pay and conditions, the mobilisation was a clear step-up for a process of national organisation that began in 2020.

Between 2016 and 2021, the number of people working for delivery apps in Brazil rose by 979.8%, with the number of delivery and passenger drivers in the sector now around 1.4 million. This boom coincides with the period in which the country finally felt the effects of the post-2008 recession. Economic decline, corruption and the impeachment of the then president, Dilma Rousseff, ended 13 years of successful left-leaning governments by the Workers’ party (PT). In the years that followed, a series of austerity measures and labour reforms were put in place, the political spectrum moved steadily to the right and the far-right libertarian politician Jair Bolsonaro was elected president in 2018.

The world No 1 swept the board with a result comparable to the great performances of Bobby Fischer, Anatoly Karpov and Alexander Alekhine, but it won’t count for Fide ratings

Magnus Carlsen, the world No 1, soared to a new landmark in chess history last weekend, when the 34-year-old won all his nine games in the Grenke Freestyle Open at Karlsruhe, Germany.

It was a result comparable to the great historical performances. Bobby Fischer won the 1963-64 US Championship with an 11/11 “picket fence”, then defeated both Mark Taimanov and Bent Larsen by 6-0 in the 1971 Candidates. Anatoly Karpov triumphed at Linares 1994 with a 11-2 total, while further back the yardstick performance was Alexander Alekhine’s 14-1 at San Remo 1930.

Shooting of marsupials has sparked outrage but government says ‘compassionate’ response was needed after bushfire destroyed 2,200 hectares of national park

The Victorian government has used aircraft to shoot about 700 koalas in south-west Victoria.

The government says the unprecedented step was taken to prevent further suffering of the animals, after a fire in Budj Bim national park burned through 2,200 hectares, including a large area of manna gum, a key food source for koalas in the park.

A social and personal history that refuses to gloss over the rage, envy and hurt that form part of every close bond

Falling out with a friend can feel oddly shameful. Romantic relationships are meant to have passionate highs and lows, but by the time you reach adulthood, you expect your friendships to have reached some kind of equilibrium. I have this image in my head of myself as an affectionate, devoted friend – but sometimes I examine my true feelings towards the women who are closest to me and feel shocked by my own pettiness. It is embarrassing to be a grownup but still capable of such intense flashes of rage, and envy. When my friendships become distant or strained, I wonder why I still struggle to do this basic thing.

Bad Friend represents a kind of love letter to female friendship, but doesn’t gloss over how difficult it can be. Tiffany Watt Smith is a historian, and this book is a deeply researched study of 20th-century women’s relationships, but the reason for writing it is intensely personal. In the prologue, she says that she fell out with her best friend, Sofia, in her early 30s, and has been battling with the feeling that she is incapable of close friendship ever since. In one passage, she describes hiding a sparkly “BFF” (best friends forever) T-shirt from her five-year-old daughter, because she felt so conflicted about having no BFF of her own. But the idea that underpins this book is that we expect too much of female friendship, and that leaves every woman feeling inadequate.

​Readers share their ​favourite experiences that benefit local people, including community cottages in Northern Ireland, an anti-mafia tour of Palermo​ and an eco project in Ecuador

Global Mamas, in the port town of Elmina, creates financial prosperity for local women through the production of handcrafted goods using traditional techniques. We joined them at a batik workshop, where Mavis Thompson showed us how to dip our chosen designs into melted wax, and stamp a length of cream cotton. After dyeing the fabric using natural pigments, we plunged it into boiling water to remove the wax. As the cotton had to be sun-dried between each stage, we sat on low stools and watched the other Global Mamas produce larger, more complex designs. Our vibrantly coloured tablecloths are a reminder of a happy afternoon with Mavis and the mamas.
Helen Jackson

The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world

From a Norfolk windmill-watermill to a Sussex oast house with micro vineyard, conversions worth a toast