It’s right to focus on what the PM knew about Peter Mandelson, but many pointing the finger also knew and chose to ignore it

Everything Donald Trump touches dies. He put his name on the Kennedy Center in Washington, prompting artists and performers to flee in such numbers that the venue will now shut down for “approximately” two years. The Washington Post under owner Jeff Bezos sought to ingratiate itself with the second Trump presidency; this week it announced 300 layoffs and the withering of that once great institution. And now we can add one more, unexpected item to the list poisoned by the touch of Trump: Britain’s Labour government.

It’s easily forgotten, but it was because of Trump that Keir Starmer appointed Peter Mandelson to serve as the UK ambassador to Washington. The prime minister decided it would take a snake to navigate the serpentine backchannels of the new administration and that Mandelson had the skill set. The result is an irony rich enough to make you retch. The Epstein files, which contain more than 38,000 references to Trump, his Mar-a-Lago estate and other related terms, seem set to bring down a national leader who is not mentioned by Epstein even once.

Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist

As his new version of Lord of the Flies comes to the BBC, we count down the 20 boldest and most moving productions by the quintuple Bafta-winning scriptwriter

He has been hailed as the hardest-working writer in Britain. Looking at Jack Thorne’s astonishing list of credits, it’s hard to argue. The prolific playwright and screenwriter’s output includes many of the best homegrown TV dramas of the past two decades.

That’s without the many hit plays and films he has also written. There’s more to come, too. Next out of the Thorne pipeline is Channel 4’s forbidden romance Falling, with Keeley Hawes and Paapa Essiedu, and the film Enola Holmes 3, which will be followed by the small matter of Sam Mendes’ four Beatles biopics.

UK’s research funding body says best scientists are taking posts overseas due to lack of job stability at home

Hundreds of early career researchers have warned the UK will lose a generation of scientists after the announcement of significant cuts to physics projects and research facilities.

Scientists working in particle physics, astronomy and nuclear physics have been told their grants will be cut by nearly a third, with project leaders asked to report back on how their research would fare with cuts up to 60%.

Darlington Hippodrome
Perkins’ return to live comedy features some lurid stories of her personal and professional ineptitude, and jaunty tales about vacuum cleaners and a drug-addled trip to a shaman

Shame is what Sue Perkins promises us in this return to live comedy after years away: her public personae withdrawn like the layers of a Russian doll to reveal the true, humiliated person beneath. Who wouldn’t want to see the former Bake Off star, after “30 years in our living rooms”, put on such a show? But it’s not quite what Perkins delivers. Like Dawn French before her, in a touring set purporting to show what a “huge twat” she was, The Eternal Shame of Sue Perkins compiles a series of perky professional and personal anecdotes only loosely connected to that theme, and is judicious with its intimacies.

It is stronger in its second half, which cleaves more tightly to the theme and affords more glimpses behind our host’s brisk demeanour. Act one begins with Perkins alluding to her shame at being middle-aged and tired in an industry dedicated to youthful vigour. The ensuing anecdotes have nothing to do with that whatsoever, as she relates an inconclusive tale about local drug dealers cloning her car registration, and a literal shaggy dog story, more suggestive of pride than shame, about rescuing a wounded pup on a trip to Bolivia.

When the likeness of the populist leader as an angel was painted into a cheesy tribute to Italy’s last king, it caused outrage. But far better artists have been similarly profane for centuries

It must be the ugliest wall painting in Rome - and that’s even without the bizarre portrait of Giorgia Meloni as an angel. Artist Bruno Valentinetti painted his tribute to Umberto II, the last king of Italy, earlier this century in a side chapel of the ancient church of San Lorenzo in Lucina in its historic heart, the Centro Storico. It’s the kind of unsightly accretion you try to ignore when enjoying the city’s artistic glories which include, in this particular church, a staggering, stormy vision of the Crucifixion by the 17th-century painter Guido Reni, his most unforgettable masterpiece.

Valentinetti’s mural, by contrast, is a glib, tacky, photorealist effort that didn’t even last two decades before water damage demanded restoration. Valentinetti, now 83, carried out the repairs himself and had the genius idea of giving an angel the face –highly recognisable because obviously based on photos of her – of Italy’s populist prime minister. What was he thinking? Is he in love? Or was this an insidious piece of propaganda?

There will be twists, flips and turns to savour in a Games whose financial and environmental costs nonetheless continue to spiral out of control

Pierre de Coubertin never wanted a Winter Olympics. He spent the best part of two decades lobbying, politicking and organising before he finally got the first summer Games up and running in Athens in 1896. Its winter sibling though, well, “the great inferiority of these snow sports …” de Coubertin once wrote, “is that they are completely useless, with no useful application whatsoever.” He allowed ice skating and ice hockey, the two stadium sports, to be part of the roster for the early summer Games, but it was another two decades before he was persuaded to hold a separate winter event.

That was in 1924, in Chamonix. The 100th anniversary fell midway between the last Winter Games in Beijing and this one in Milan-Cortina. It’s an interesting event to look back on. It was described at the time as a 10-day “winter sports week”, an “appendage” de Coubertin called it to that year’s summer Games in Paris. There were 16 countries competing in five sports, with four more, including “military patrol”, included as demonstration events. It was only later, after the International Olympic Committee had become more interested in burnishing its own history, that this knockabout event was officially designated as the very first Winter Olympic Games.

Billie Eilish and Biebers wore ‘ICE out’ pins at the Grammys, as more and more celebrities find their political voices

The red carpet is being used increasingly as a platform for protest – and one accessory in particular has become key: the pin badge.

At Sunday night’s Grammy awards, stars including Hailey and Justin Bieber and Billie Eilish wore black and white pins that read “ICE out”, a condemnation of the recent actions of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

From keeping whites white to preventing ‘bacon neck’, keep your clothes looking better for longer with these expert hacks

First, be sure to buy the best quality you can. Layla Sargent, founder of The Seam, which connects people with skilled menders, cleaners and restorers, advises going for “a slightly higher denier, a good amount of elastane/Lycra, and reinforced toes and gussets”. Brands such as Falke, Heist and Swedish Stockings should last longer than a supermarket three-pack.

Government plans to protect species by increasing woodland and removing greys, but campaigners say it needs to go further

When Sam Beaumont sees a flash of red up a tree on his Lake District farm, he feels a swell of pride. He’s one of the few people in England who gets to see red squirrels in his back garden.

“I feel very lucky to have them on the farm. It’s an important thing to try and keep a healthy population of them. They are absolutely beautiful,” he said.

Police investigating whether blast that injured at least 169 at Friday prayers in Islamabad was suicide attack

An explosion has ripped through a Shia mosque on the outskirts of Pakistan’s capital during Friday prayers, killing 31 people and injuring at least 169 others, according to officials. Police said they were investigating whether the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber.

There were fears the death toll from the blast at the Khadija al-Kubra mosque in Islamabad could rise as some of the injured were reported to be in a critical condition. Television footage and social media images showed police and residents transporting the injured to nearby hospitals.

From minting coins featuring his own face to covering buildings with gold, the president’s proposals for marking America’s semiquincentennial say a lot about the country’s backwards outlook

When the United States celebrated its bicentennial on 4 July 1976, it marked the occasion with the opening of the National Air and Space Museum’s exhibition hall on Washington DC’s National Mall. Designed in a boldly modernist style by the blue-chip firm Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum (now HOK), it stood as a testament to American aeronautical derring-do, from the Wright brothers to the moon landings.

At the time, even though the stench of Republican political shenanigans was never far off, with Gerald Ford replacing the disgraced Richard Nixon in 1974, there was a sense of a nation embracing progress, looking forward, not back. For all the historical re-enactments of Washington crossing the Delaware, the US chose to see itself through the prism of modernity and technological puissance.

• US star clocks successful practice run a week after injury

• Olympic medal race is set for Sunday at Cortina

Lindsey Vonn moved a step closer to one of the most improbable Olympic starts in Alpine skiing history on Friday, producing an aggressive and largely clean downhill training run on the Olimpia delle Tofane course less than a week after fully rupturing the ACL in her left knee and being airlifted off a mountain in Switzerland.

The 41-year-old American clocked 1min 40.33sec in a fog-delayed session, but the time itself was secondary to what the run represented: proof that she can still attack a course at speed – and survive it – as she targets Sunday’s medal race.

From a £149 John Lewis version to LA’s gorpcore take, the ‘good intention’ bag is intended to look good but hold more

It’s not a multi-thousand pound handbag from Hermès that best captures the new era of It bags, but a £149 tote from John Lewis.

Launched this season, it’s deeper (45cm) and taller (33cm) than your average handbag, and comes loaded with good intentions. It’s able to hold your packed lunch, flask and book, as well – at a push – as your gym kit. The high street retailer is calling it the Intentional tote bag.

Singer says articles about his health and birth of son ‘outside even the most basic standards of human decency’

Elton John has said articles about his health and the birth of his son by the publisher of the Daily Mail were an “abhorrent” invasion, and that its behaviour was “outside even the most basic standards of human decency”.

Appearing briefly at the high court via video link on Friday, John said he was “incensed” when he was told about allegations that private investigators working for Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL) had tapped phone calls and accessed private medical information.

Sergei Lavrov blames shooting of Vladimir Alekseyev on Ukraine but does not back up Kremlin claim with evidence

Hundreds of protesters gathered in Milan on Friday to oppose the presence of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and the closure of schools and streets in the city ahead of the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina Winter Games.

Reuters reported that protesters – mostly students with signs reading “ICE out” – assembled in Piazzale Leonardo da Vinci, in front of a building of the Politecnico University in the eastern part of the city.

There is a huge buzz for the Games that are the pinnacle for the athletes but competing through illness and injury is all part of the test

One of the great joys of being an Olympian is arriving at the athletes’ village and, with it, the shift in your identity from just being a skeleton athlete to being a part of Team GB. There is a real belonging in putting on the T-shirt or jacket with your country’s flag on, and of course with the Olympic rings – a symbol of hope and peace and togetherness.

When I arrived in Sochi, my first Winter Olympics in 2014, I went into my room and I remember collapsing on to the bed with huge pride but also an overwhelming initial feeling of loneliness. I remember being emotional, crying. There was the relief that I had finally made it to the Games, but also a question of “what do I do now?” Fortunately, I didn’t dwell on that for long and dragged myself to the Team GB food hall.

Wigmore Hall, London
Grammy-winning Giddens fused folk, opera, jazz, pop and classical elements in a recital ‘honouring composers who don’t often get called composers’

‘Hopefully you didn’t come for banjos and guitars,” Francesco Turrisi quipped, seated at the Wigmore Hall’s grand piano. A ripple of laughter passed around the hall – which had sold out on the strength of the artists alone, with no hint of what they might perform. But then, when half of your duo is Rhiannon Giddens – multi-Grammy-winning folk singer and instrumentalist, MacArthur “genius” grant recipient and now a Pulitzer prize-winning composer to boot – the name is all it takes.

For this second concert in their Wigmore Hall residency, Giddens and long-time musical partner Turrisi asked a question: what might our version of a recital look like? The answer was an eclectic fusion with folk, opera, jazz, pop and classical elements all adding their accent to a traditional voice and piano concert – a performance “honouring composers who don’t often get called composers”.

After weeks of breakup talk, the Bucks and their superstar stayed together. The Knicks and Timberwolves, meanwhile, made smart additions

It’s hard to match the absolute insanity that was the 2024-25 NBA trade deadline, and to the majority of the league’s credit, teams didn’t really try. But there was still some notable movement ahead of Thursday’s 3pm EST deadline – to varying degrees of success. Let’s do the early assessment of who came out on top, and who left us scratching our heads.

• Gus Kenworthy says ‘enough is enough’ over ICE in US

• ICE agents are in Milan with US vice-president JD Vance

Team GB skier Gus Kenworthy has launched a blistering attack on US Immigration and Custom Enforcement officers by urinating the words “Fuck Ice” on the snow just before the start of the Winter Olympics.

In a post on Instagram the 34-year-old, who will compete for Team GB in the free-ski half-pipe in Milano Cortina, also urged Americans to write to their senators to “rein in” ICE and border patrol.

Nintendo’s monster-collecting franchise was pilloried as a ‘pestilential Ponzi scheme’ in the 90s. But as its celebrates its 30th birthday, it now stands as a powerful example of video games’ ability to connect people

When I was 11, it was my dream to compete in the Pokémon World Championships, held in Sydney in 2000. I’d come across it in a magazine, and then earnestly set about training teams of creatures, transferring them between my Pokémon Red Game Boy cartridge and the 3D arenas of Pokémon Stadium on the Nintendo 64. I never made it as a player but I did finally achieve this dream on my 26th birthday, when I went to Washington DC to cover the world championships as a journalist. I was deeply moved. Presided over by a giant inflatable Pikachu hanging from the ceiling, the competitors and spectators were united in an unselfconscious love for these games, with their colourful menageries and heartfelt messaging about trust, friendship and hard work.

It is emotional to see the winners lift their trophies after a tense final round of battles, as overwhelmed by their success as any sportsperson. But it’s the pride that the smaller competitors’ parents show in their mini champions that really gets to me. During the first wave of Pokémania in the late 90s, Pokémon was viewed with suspicion by most adults. Now that the first generation of Pokémaniacs have grown up, even becoming parents ourselves, we see it for what it is: an imaginative, challenging and really rather wholesome series of games that rewards every hour that children devote to it.

In clip amplifying false claim that Trump won 2020 election, the Obamas’ faces are superimposed on bodies of apes

• US politics live – latest updates

Fury erupted early on Friday after Donald Trump posted a racist video that depicts Barack and Michelle Obama as apes.

The clip appeared during one of the 79-year-old US president’s increasingly frequent late-night posting sprees to his Truth Social account, and shows the laughing faces of the former president and first lady superimposed on the bodies of primates in a jungle setting, bobbing to the song The Lion Sleeps Tonight.

The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world

PC; Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel
This mischievous roguelike escapade featuring utterly fiendish felines is compelling, and impressively tasteless

You know that old saying about cats having nine lives? Well, as far as Mewgenics is concerned, you can forget it – and you can also forget the idea that a game about cats has to be in any way cute. These kitties are red in tooth and claw, prone to strange mutations, and strictly limited to just the one life, which often ends swiftly and brutally.

Such is the nature of roguelike, a format that has spawned some of the biggest indie hits of the past 20 years. In these games, failure is permanent; dying sends you back not to the last checkpoint but back to the beginning, the game reshuffling its elements into a new shape for your next run. And so it goes in Mewgenics. You gather a party of four felines and send them out on a questing journey, from which they return victorious or not at all.

Obsessing over individual players and political chaos leaves less time to focus on the misogyny. And that’s for the best, isn’t it guys?

Fair play to Bill Gates’s ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, a woman who fronted up to appear on a podcast this week while so many of the men who feature in the latest Epstein files drop found that their diaries had them scheduled to stay hiding under their rocks. Melinda was asked about Jeffrey Epstein, obviously, and executed a very graceful drive-by. “Whatever questions remain there of what I don’t – can’t – even begin to know all of it, those questions are for those people, and for even my ex-husband. They need to answer to those things, not me. And I am so happy to be away from all the muck that was there.” Oof. Yet she also said, more generally: “I think we’re having a reckoning as a society, right?”

Cards on the table, I don’t think we’re having one at all. Look at the headlines, or what’s dominating all the news bulletins. We’re talking about anything but the things that most need to be reckoned with. In the UK, we’re talking round the clock about Peter Mandelson, the one guy in this we at least know wasn’t making sexually abusive use of Epstein’s trafficked women and girls. Even if he did offer Epstein image rehab advice, which, as discussed here in depth on Tuesday, was a foray into the moral abyss. (Again.) But the frenzied and remorseless focus on political fallout – and not the male-on-female debasement that is the entire heart of this story, and always has been – is weird, isn’t it? I had a mirthless laugh at the New Statesman’s cover this week, which characterised the Mandelson affair as “the scandal of the century”. Guys, it’s not even the biggest scandal of the scandal.

Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist