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UK foreign secretary criticises Israel for denying two Labour MPs entry

David Lammy says it is ‘unacceptable’ that the parliamentary delegation had been detained and deported

The UK’s foreign secretary has criticised Israeli authorities for denying two Labour MPs entry into the country and deporting them.

Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed were rejected because they were suspected of plans to “document the activities of security forces and spread anti-Israel hatred”, according to a statement from the Israeli immigration ministry cited by Sky News and Politics UK.

Yang, who represents Earley and Woodley in Berkshire, and Mohamed, the MP for Sheffield Central, both flew into Ben Gurion airport from Luton with their aides, according to reports.

The foreign secretary, David Lammy, said in a statement on Saturday: “It is unacceptable, counterproductive, and deeply concerning that two British MPs on a parliamentary delegation to Israel have been detained and refused entry by the Israeli authorities.

“I have made clear to my counterparts in the Israeli government that this is no way to treat British parliamentarians, and we have been in contact with both MPs tonight to offer our support.

“The UK government’s focus remains securing a return to the ceasefire and negotiations to stop the bloodshed, free the hostages and end the conflict in Gaza.”

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© Composite: Antonio Olmos, The Observer / House of Commons

© Composite: Antonio Olmos, The Observer / House of Commons

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Biologist whose innovation saved the life of British teenager wins $3m Breakthrough prize

Prof David Liu is among the winners of 2025’s ‘Oscars of science’, with honours also going to researchers for landmark work on multiple sclerosis, particle physics and ‘skinny jabs’

For the past five years, David Liu – a professor at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, a biomedical research facility in Massachusetts – has marked Thanksgiving by handing over his entire annual salary, after taking care of taxes, to the staff and students in his laboratory.

It started as the pandemic broke and Liu heard that students who wanted to cycle instead of taking public transport could not afford bicycles. Given how hard they worked and how little they were paid, Liu stepped in. He couldn’t unilaterally raise their incomes, so emailed them Amazon eGift cards. This ran into problems too, however. “Everyone thought they were being scammed,” he recalls. And so he switched to writing cheques.

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© Photograph: Boston Globe/Getty Images

© Photograph: Boston Globe/Getty Images

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Mahmoud Khalil says his arrest was part of ‘Columbia’s repression playbook’

Green-card holder and activist led campus pro-Palestinian rallies and is now fighting Trump effort to deport him

Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University student activist who led campus pro-Palestinian rallies and is now resisting the Trump administration’s deportation efforts, has accused the university of laying “the groundwork for my abduction” and called on the student body to continue demonstrations and protests.

Khalil, a green-card holder who is in custody in Louisiana as his case moves through the courts, was detained on 8 March. The Trump administration is seeking to deport him under a provision in federal immigration law that permits the state department to deport non-citizens considered to be a threat to US foreign policy.

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© Photograph: Jeenah Moon/Reuters

© Photograph: Jeenah Moon/Reuters

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Firefighters tackle wildfire spreading over large forest area in Scotland

Police urge people to stay away, as helicopters try to extinguish flames in Galloway and surrounding region

Firefighters are dealing with a wild blaze that has spread over a large area of forest in Scotland with police urging people to stay away from the area.

Emergency services were called to Glentrool in Galloway, southern Scotland, at about 11.50pm on Friday with fire crews still on the scene on Saturday afternoon.

Police Scotland said the wildfire was expected to reach the Loch Doon area of East Ayrshire at about midnight

Helicopters are being used in efforts to extinguish the flames which have also affected Merrick Hill, Ben Yellary and Loch Dee, police said. One appliance from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) is at the scene.

Another wildfire had been reported in around the same area on Thursday and covered about 1.5 miles (2.4km).

On Wednesday, crews in Scotland tackled a large grass fire at Gartur Moss in Port of Menteith, Stirling.

The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) has warned it needs “long-term and sustained investment” to cope with the climate crisis and “increased demand” on its services, after firefighters battled wildfires across the UK this week.

This year has seen 286 wildfires hit the UK, according to the NFCC, more than 100 above the number recorded in the same period in 2022, a year that had record-breaking temperatures and unprecedented wildfire activity.

The NFCC warned the government that it could not continue to cope with “significant increases in wildfires” with current budgets “already under strain”.

Phil Garrigan, chairman of the NFCC, said: “There is no getting away from the fact that climate change is driving increases in extreme weather events, such as wildfires.

“Responding to wildfires requires a lot of resource, and often over long periods of time, which puts pressure on other fire and rescue service activities.

“Rising resilience threats mean there is an increased demand on fire and rescue services and that has to be met with long-term and sustained investment. This is really crucial to ensuring we can continue to keep our communities safe.”

Fire services in Scotland, Wales and England have all warned against barbecues and campfires in open spaces this weekend, as well as urging people to dispose of cigarettes properly.

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© Photograph: Galloway MRT

© Photograph: Galloway MRT

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Sierra and Josh Kerr: father-daughter duo who are the past, present and future of surfing | Kieran Pender

Surfing pioneer Josh will join Sierra in the Challenger series as the former child prodigy competes for a spot in the World Surf League

Sierra Kerr’s qualification for the Challenger series, the second-tier of international surfing and pathway to the World Surf League, has been long foretold. Kerr, who recently turned 18, was a child surf prodigy; it was just a matter of time before the Australian – a former junior world champion – started climbing the competitive ladder.

Less foreseen was what happened late last month, when the final qualifying event wrapped up and the 2025 Challenger series field was announced. Alongside Kerr on the list of surfers contesting the five-stop, five-country competition was none other than her father, Josh Kerr.

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© Photograph: Paul Harris/The Guardian

© Photograph: Paul Harris/The Guardian

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Handle with care: the international community sending parcels of pure joy through the mail

Anna Ryan-Punch was 15 when she received her first friendship book. It was the start of a lifelong hobby

Australian Anna Ryan-Punch was 15 when she received her first friendship book – a handmade and decorated pocket-sized booklet full of names and addresses of people looking for pen pals. Recipients were invited to add their details to the list, send a letter to other signatories, and then pass the booklet on to someone new.

“They were included in letters as a side thing,” Ryan-Punch, now 44, says. When it was full of potential pen pals, the friendship book would, hopefully, be returned to the person who made it. “I didn’t have anyone to send them on to, but I wrote to people out of them and that kind of grew into a circle.”

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© Photograph: Eugene Hyland/The Guardian

© Photograph: Eugene Hyland/The Guardian

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Will you look at that! Why we are delighted by random, beautiful marvels | Patti Miller

They cannot be sold, made into a tasty dish or set to work. So what qualifies as a marvel? And why do we respond to them with such deep pleasure?

Last Sunday, while I was walking along a coastal path in Sydney, I was stopped in my tracks by a marvel. It was first noticed, as these things often are, by a small boy who was walking with me. Look at that! We both stopped and gazed at the marvel.

It sat on a low sandstone rock near the edge of the sea. We squatted down to examine it more closely. It was only a walking boot, but it was laced delicately all over the back and sides and tongue, and even the rim of the sole, with small white conical seashells, as if someone had stitched the shells into the fabric. The shells’ bright whiteness was tinged with a faint pink and there was a dark narrow opening where, with careful observation, we could see in each shell a soft living creature.

Full fathom five thy father lies/ Of his bones are coral made/ Those are pearls that were his eyes/ Nothing of him that doth fade/ But doth suffer a sea change/ Into something rich and strange.

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© Photograph: Stephen Stringer CPAGB/Getty Images/500px

© Photograph: Stephen Stringer CPAGB/Getty Images/500px

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I went searching for the grandmother I never met. Under a tree where she once sat with Leonard Cohen, I broke | Gina Chick

When adoption laws changed in Australia, we discovered her name: Charmian Clift. I felt instant recognition. This explained everything

When I was young, I had no idea that my mother was such an extraordinary woman. She was just my mother, swirling in and out of the house, singing to her jonquil bulbs, tripping over the animals I rescued, all while reading five books at once. If she was in the kitchen, my sisters and I hid downstairs as she clattered and crashed all the saucepans and swore like a sailor at the latest ruined batch of biscuits.

She wept at whatever devastation the nightly news delivered into the lounge room. She loved and was loved in return by my father, Douggie. She birthed four babes, grew the surviving three into formidable women and instilled in us a fierce belief that there was nothing we could not do.

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© Photograph: Mark Rogers

© Photograph: Mark Rogers

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José Mourinho fined and banned for pinching rival manager’s nose

  • Incident took place after Fenerbahce’s Turkish Cup loss
  • Galatasaray coach collapsed on pitch holding his face

José Mourinho has been banned for three matches and fined around £6,000 for grabbing the nose of the Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk after Wednesday’s dramatic Istanbul derby.

Mourinho, coach of Fenerbahce, approached Buruk at the end of the Turkish Cup quarter-final in the wake of a mass scuffle, and was seen on camera pinching Buruk, who fell to the ground clutching his face.

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© Photograph: Ümit Bektaş/Reuters

© Photograph: Ümit Bektaş/Reuters

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Thousands in Spain join nationwide march to protest against housing crisis

Organisers say 150,000 joined protest in Madrid urging the government to ‘end the housing racket’ and to demand access to affordable housing

Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Spain in the latest protest against housing speculation and to demand access to affordable homes.

Organisers claim that up to 150,000 joined the protest in Madrid while smaller demonstrations were held in about 40 cities across the country. Protesters from Málaga on the Costa del Sol to Vigo in the Atlantic northwest chanted “end the housing racket” and “landlords are guilty, the government is responsible”.

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© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

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Film-maker Paul Schrader accused of sexually assaulting personal assistant

Writer and director behind Taxi Driver and American Gigolo accused by former employee in lawsuit

Paul Schrader, the writer of Taxi Driver and director of American Gigolo, has been accused in a lawsuit of sexually assaulting his former personal assistant, firing her when she wouldn’t acquiesce to advances and reneging on a settlement that was meant to keep the allegations confidential.

The former assistant, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, sued the filmmaker and his production company on Thursday. She is seeking a judge’s order to enforce the agreement after Schrader said he couldn’t go through with it. The terms, including a monetary payment, were not disclosed.

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© Photograph: Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP

© Photograph: Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP

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Get Real: serial Champions League winners Madrid face fresh threat | Jonathan Wilson

Paris Saint-Germain, who beat Liverpool with verve and energy, are the upstart newcomers among big-name quarter-finalists

Narratives are never as straightforward as they may appear. One era does not yield easily to another. What constitutes an era changes over time. While history is happening it’s often hard to make sense of it; patterns seem to emerge that, from the perspective of 20 years later are meaningless, or culs-de-sac. That seems particularly true this season. As the Champions League reaches its quarter-final stage this coming week, it feels that one age has ended and another has yet to materialise.

The past was a simpler place. First there was the age of dominance by Real Madrid and Benfica, teams from the capitals of Iberian nations under right-wing dictatorships, packed with great individuals. Then came systematisation, catenaccio and the Italian ascendancy, followed, with a brief period of crossover, by the era of domination by the northern European industrial powers, skipping swiftly over Celtic and Manchester United to the Dutch and Total Football and then Bayern Munich. Then came the long period of English superiority before the Heysel ban, after which everything gets more complicated.

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© Photograph: Allstar Picture Library Ltd/Richard Sellers/Apl/Sportsphoto

© Photograph: Allstar Picture Library Ltd/Richard Sellers/Apl/Sportsphoto

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For the age of Amorim, this Manchester derby feels like a decisive moment

Against a backdrop of internal strife, facing their sky blue rivals provides a struggling team with chance to rebuild the brand

This brave overhanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted with golden fire, this collection of generic spires with a massive plastic handkerchief chucked over the top. Three weeks on from first sight of the conceptual drawings for Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s stately pleasure dome, also known as the proposed Manchester United Stadium Soccer Product Hub, there is still a sense of double-take about the whole thing.

Early impressions of the new ground ranged from a defunct Venusian mercury mine, to Dubai Butlin’s, to a pointed corporate monument to our divided world. Welcome to the Staff Lunch Arena, embodiment of the 21st-century conviction that if you just stopped buying so many sandwiches and also fired the tea lady you could probably afford a vast and unattainable house.

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© Photograph: MI News/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock

© Photograph: MI News/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock

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Trump administration apologizes for telling Ukrainian refugees to leave US

Some resettled Ukrainians reportedly were told Homeland Security would terminate their legal protections

Donald Trump’s presidential administration has acknowledged and apologized after it says it accidentally informed some Ukrainian refugees fleeing their country’s invasion by Russia that they needed to leave the US because their legal status was being revoked.

About 240,000 Ukrainians have been settled in the US as part of the Uniting for Ukraine – or U4U – program launched during Joe Biden’s presidency. But according to CBS News, some resettled Ukrainians received emails this week telling them that the US Department of Homeland Security would be terminating their legal protections.

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© Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

© Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

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Rogers’ and Malen’s fast start earns Aston Villa win over Nottingham Forest

How Aston Villa were made to sweat for a seventh successive victory. At least the manner in which Nottingham Forest swarmed their goal as they pushed for a second-half equaliser may prove a decent dress rehearsal for Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg at Paris Saint-Germain.

Forest pulled a goal back through the half-time substitute Jota Silva and then dialled up the pressure but the visitors, determined to emulate Villa by gatecrashing Europe’s elite, were beaten by early goals from Morgan Rogers and Donyell Malen. For Villa, who cut the gap to third-placed Forest to six points, attention will quickly turn to analysing the Ligue 1 champions.

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© Photograph: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images

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‘The fighter still remains’: Paul Simon kicks off comeback tour in New Orleans

The 83-year-old played his first date of an intimate 20-city tour after quitting live performances back in 2018

Paul Simon largely avoided mention of the health problems that had kept him off the road for the previous seven years when the storied singer-songwriter kicked off his return – and evident farewell – tour in New Orleans on Friday.

Yet, having strummed and crooned his way through some of his catalogue’s more discreet entries, and having reached a part where he treated the audience to a finishing salvo of three of his mega hits, Simon made apparent reference to those issues by letting some lyrics from The Boxer hang in the air.

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© Photograph: House/Ericka Goldring

© Photograph: House/Ericka Goldring

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Christian missionary group accused of public shaming and rituals to ‘cure’ sexual sin

Exclusive: young volunteers also allege spiritual abuse and controlling behaviour at bases of Youth With a Mission

The world’s biggest youth Christian missionary organisation is facing allegations of spiritual abuse and controlling behaviour from young people who say they were left “traumatised”.

An Observer investigation has revealed evidence of safeguarding failings within Youth With a Mission (YWAM), a global movement that trains young Christians to spread the gospel. A spokesperson for YWAM said the organisation was “heartbroken” by the claims and was “deeply committed to the safety and wellbeing” of everyone in its care.

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© Photograph: Gerald Herbert/AP

© Photograph: Gerald Herbert/AP

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Red Bull risk losing Max Verstappen after show of force at Suzuka

Team’s fall from grace has been similar to Manchester City’s and rivals are circling around the world champion

Turbulence and turmoil, infighting and instability, the past 12 months have been trying for Red Bull to the extent it was a wonder that Max Verstappen stood in the eye of the storm and calmly dragged a recalcitrant car to his fourth Formula One title. A fifth this year already looks to be a tall order as the team swing from a period of undisputed dominance to being left impotent by a car they cannot tame and in no little disarray, so much so that Verstappen may be considering his options.

In Japan, all eyes have been on the home hero Yuki Tsunoda, promoted to Red Bull from the sister team, Racing Bulls, with indecent haste, after Liam Lawson was sent packing the other way after two races. Even by F1 standards it was a brutal decision but indicative of the disorder that embroils Red Bull.

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© Photograph: Mark Sutton/Formula 1/Getty Images

© Photograph: Mark Sutton/Formula 1/Getty Images

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A benign, perfectly sculpted picture of vitality… or the palatable face of toxic masculinity?

The viral response to US influencer Ashton Hall’s morning routine shows that the manosphere is now mainstream

How does the perfect morning begin? With gentle stretching, a coffee in bed? It could be a walk in the sun, a hot breakfast or simply managing to spend the first 20 minutes off your phone before spending the next 20 on Instagram. Lately, it may feel like the answer is being more productive.

The optimised morning routine has become a near-mythical ideal for young people, sold by fitness influencers posting obsessively about their 5.30am starts, claiming to finish their weight training, macronutrient-rich meals and emails before our first alarm – promising that everything in your life would be better if you, too, had the discipline to just get up early.

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© Photograph: Instagram

© Photograph: Instagram

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King Charles will have to tone down support for net zero after Badenoch says 2050 is ‘impossible’

Constitutional expert says Tory leader’s break from political consensus over target for greenhouse gasses will require monarch to choose his words carefully

King Charles will have to temper his public support for net zero after Kemi Badenoch broke the political consensus over the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Senior royal sources have conceded that the 76-year-old monarch, who has spent more than half a century highlighting environmental challenges, will have to choose his words more carefully now that the Conservatives under Badenoch have said it will be impossible for the UK to hit net zero by 2050.

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© Photograph: Getty Images

© Photograph: Getty Images

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France braced as far right and leftwing parties plan rallies in wake of Le Pen decision

French prime minister calls for rival gatherings to be held in a spirit of ‘calm, mutual respect and responsibility’

France’s far right is hoping for a massive public show of support tomorrow in a “people’s protest” against Marine Le Pen being barred from standing for president in 2027.

The Rassemblement National (National Rally – RN) party called for a nationwide demonstration under the banner “Save Democracy” after Le Pen was found guilty in a €4m (£3.4m) embezzlement trial.

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© Photograph: Michel Euler/AP

© Photograph: Michel Euler/AP

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Grand National glory for Nick Rockett as he leads home a Willie Mullins 1-2-3

  • I Am Maximus a brave second after last year’s win
  • Patrick Mullins rides his father’s horse to victory

There have been many remarkable races and afternoons in Willie Mullins’s training career during his rise to unprecedented dominance in National Hunt racing, but never anything to match the nine minutes of Saturday’s Grand National at Aintree, as Nick Rockett, a 33-1 chance ridden by his son, Patrick, led home a 1-2-3 for the family’s yard, with two more of their six-strong team finishing in the first seven.

Mullins has had 1-2-3s in big races before. He even had a 1-2-3-4-5 in a race at Cheltenham’s festival meeting last year and the concentration of jumping talent in his yard, as a result of the huge demand for his services, means he often has a fair percentage of the field in some of the sport’s major events.

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© Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Observer

© Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Observer

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Ceferin gives little away over Uefa future while Infantino has wind in his sails

Uefa’s president could yet do a volte-face and run for office in 2026 as he enjoys success of new-look Champions League

As Uefa’s delegates filed into a long, low-ceilinged room it was tempting to wonder what difference a year makes. Sava Centar in Belgrade places function ahead of form and there was little of the Parisian grandeur that adorned the governing body’s annual congress in 2024. Nor were there as many fireworks on display, although plenty of the issues that will define European football over the second half of this decade flickered persistently around the edges.

Last year’s event turned into the Aleksander Ceferin show, the Uefa president drawing a scandalised reaction by pushing through an extension to the term limits for his role before pulling the rug away by announcing he would step down in 2027 anyway. Uefa had already been rocked by the acrimonious departure of its head of football, Zvonimir Boban, and the sense was that internal posturing risked diverting focus from the real structural and existential concerns the sport continues to face.

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© Photograph: Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock

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Trump tariffs come into effect in ‘seismic’ shift to global trade

‘Baseline’ 10% import levy takes effect at US seaports, airports and customs warehouses on Saturday, with some higher tariffs to begin next week

Donald Trump’s 10% tariff on all imports from many countries, including the UK, has come into force after 48 hours of turmoil.

US customs agents began collecting the unilateral tariff at US seaports, airports and customs warehouses at 12.01am ET (04:01 GMT), with higher levies on goods from 57 larger trading partners due to start next week – including from the EU, which will be hit with a 20% rate.

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© Photograph: Noah Berger/AP

© Photograph: Noah Berger/AP

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Glazed Carlos Alcaraz perfect for the online world but still jarringly human

One clip has been watched 25m times but a Netflix documentary shows him in his childhood bedroom with Wimbledon trophy

There’s a Carlos Alcaraz clip on YouTube that has to date been viewed 25m times. The whole thing is a seven-second loop of him catching a ball on his racket at Wimbledon. Currently it also has well over a thousand comments, engaged in a constantly shifting battle for most-liked, most-approved, most gushingly enthused-over.

You probably shouldn’t click on it because it is also addictive, a perfect moment of perfect Alcaraz, another endlessly replicating needle-prod of pleasure into your overstimulated brain.

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© Illustration: Matt Johnstone/The Guardian

© Illustration: Matt Johnstone/The Guardian

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Alex Ovechkin ties Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record with 894th goal

  • Russian star scores two goals in win over Blackhawks
  • 39-year-old has chance to beat record on Sunday

Alex Ovechkin tied Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record by scoring the 893rd and 894th goals of his career, the second the game winner, as the Washington Capitals rallied to beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-3 on Friday night.

Ovechkin scored No 894 on the power play with 13:47 left in regulation to put Washington ahead after Dylan Strome tied it earlier in the third period. The 39-year-old Russian superstar also opened the scoring with his 893rd less than four minutes into game.

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© Photograph: Nick Wass/AP

© Photograph: Nick Wass/AP

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Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest: Premier League – live

2 min: Forest – who deliberately kept their hosts waiting before kick-off, forming a huddle that went on a bit longer than was absolutely necessary – are kicking towards the Holte End in this first half.

Forest get the ball rolling. But only after a knee is taken: there’s no room for racism.

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© Photograph: Jacob King/PA

© Photograph: Jacob King/PA

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Jaguar Land Rover pauses shipments to US as Trump says impact of tariffs ‘won’t be easy’ – live

Trump’s baseline 10% tariff on all imports from many countries has begun, with higher levies on 57 trading partners to start next week

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to visit the White House on Monday to discuss recently announced tariffs with US president Donald Trump, three Israeli officials said on Saturday, according to Reuters.

The impromptu visit was first reported by Axios, which said that if the visit takes place, the Israeli leader would be the first foreign leader to meet Trump in person to try to negotiate a deal to remove tariffs.

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© Photograph: Carlos Barría/Reuters

© Photograph: Carlos Barría/Reuters

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‘Hands Off’ protests take off across US and Europe to oppose Trump agenda – live

Protesters gather at more than a thousand events across the US and in cities abroad, such as London, Berlin and Paris

Hundreds of protesters gathered in central London on Saturday as part of global demonstrations against Donald Trump’s administration.

Crowds gathered in Trafalgar Square with banners that read “No to Maga hate” and “Dump Trump”. The rally is one of hundreds of so-called “Hands Off” demonstrations around the world – including in cities across the US, Paris and Berlin.

We see the foundations of our society, social security, Medicare, Medicaid, the very safety nets that people have fought for, for generations, to ensure that our country lives up to its promise, are being targeted by the billionaires and the oligarchs and the corporations.

This insidious rise of authoritarianism is fueled by corrupt billionaires and mega corporations who believe that they have the right to control every aspect of our lives, our healthcare, to our schools, to our thoughts, to our very free speech under the false banner of patriotism and freedom …

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© Photograph: Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty Images

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Now you see it: Eric Kogan’s everyday urban illusions – in pictures

New York-based photographer Eric Kogan uses shadows, reflections and fortuitous timing in order to create optical illusions in his work. “It’s more of a life’s journey than a project,” he says, “but if I had to describe it, it’s all about spotting unusual moments in everyday places.” In his daily walks around the city, he keeps an eye out for interesting juxtapositions or humorous framings: a pigeon balancing on a ghostly tree; a cloud caught in a net; statues miraculously coming to life. “At the root it’s about seeing, but maintaining the right state of mind is also everything. I’m hoping the photos will connect with others, and, with each individual, take on personal narratives.”

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© Photograph: Eric Kogan

© Photograph: Eric Kogan

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‘Skyrocketing’ demand for matcha raises fears of shortage in Japan

Fuelled by social media, a global boom is outstripping production of the powdered green tea

The appearance of the vivid-green powder elicits smiles and appreciative sounds, and anticipation among dozens of tea lovers. Their hand-milled batches now ready for whisking with hot water, they will soon be rewarded for their patience.

The foreign tourists attending a matcha-making experience in Uji, near Kyoto in western Japan, are united in their love of the powdered, bitter form of green tea the Japanese have been drinking for centuries, and which is now at the centre of a global boom.

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© Photograph: REDA/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

© Photograph: REDA/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

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Youth Demand pro-Palestinian protest blocks traffic in London

Group plans to hold demonstrations in London against UK arms sales to Israel every Tuesday and Saturday in April

About 40 Youth Demand protesters were told to move on by the police during a pro-Palestinian rally in central London on Saturday.

The campaigners began gathering at Lincoln’s Inn Fields on Saturday morning and made their way to King’s Cross station.

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© Photograph: Guy Smallman/Getty Images

© Photograph: Guy Smallman/Getty Images

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No forgetting my encounter with two giants of the stage | Tim Lewis

Old pals Ewan McGregor and Michael Grandage prepare for their new play, My Master Builder, by chuckling about everything that could go wrong and has

For today’s Observer New Review I had the not-exactly-onerous assignment of spending an hour with the actor Ewan McGregor and director Michael Grandage, as they prepared to put on a new play, My Master Builder, in London’s West End. The two men go way back, and mostly they were cracking each other up with knockabout old stories – much of which there wasn’t room for in my article. McGregor recalled one of his first roles on stage, as Orlando in As You Like It, and how when Simon Callow – multiple Olivier and Bafta award winner – played the part in 1979, he walked out on stage at the National Theatre only to promptly forget the first line of the play.

“If you’re a woman and you’re about to have a baby, everybody tells you nightmare stories about childbirth,” said McGregor. “And when you’re an actor about to do a play, everybody tells you terrible things that have happened on the stage.”

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© Photograph: Perou/The Observer

© Photograph: Perou/The Observer

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Various: Chet Baker Re:imagined review – new reworkings by R&B, pop, soul and jazz artists

(Blue Note)
There are hits and misses as 15 performers including Dodie, Mxmtoon and Ezra Collective’s Ife Ogunjobi give their personal take on Baker’s unique sound

Possessing a whisper-soft voice and sweetly melodic trumpet tone, Chet Baker (1929-1988) had a sound that is often imitated yet almost impossible to master. For the latest edition of Blue Note’s Re:imagined series, in which the jazz label invites artists to produce cover versions of its back catalogue, 15 R&B, pop, soul and jazz artists have been given the unenviable task of interpreting Baker’s repertoire – with often surprising results.

The trumpeter-vocalist’s supple take on jazz standards is well reflected in singer Dodie’s delicate version of Old Devil Moon as she emphasises the original’s swaying Latin percussion. British singer-songwriter Matt Maltese’s My Funny Valentine adds a beautifully elegiac guitar line to the well-worn melody. Other approaches work less well, with US singer Mxmtoon’s clean vocal tone overpowering I Fall In Love Too Easily’s sense of wistful romance.

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© Photograph: Frans Schellekens/Redferns

© Photograph: Frans Schellekens/Redferns

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Floating away: warm tones and vintage details lift the spirits in a grand Parisian apartment

An interior decorator and furniture designer uses colour and fleamarket finds to create an inviting sanctuary

Nestled in a classic Haussmannian building in Paris’s 17th Arrondissement, Tiphaine Verdier’s apartment is a feast for the senses. This large duplex, perched on the top two floors, is not just a home but a canvas where colour and creativity collide. With a fearless approach to bold hues, Tiphaine has transformed what was once a blank slate of plain white walls into a theatrical and inviting sanctuary.

When Tiphaine first stepped into the apartment, it was a minimalist’s dream – or, as she might put it, a colour enthusiast’s nightmare. “All the walls were just plain white,” she recalls. But Tiphaine, an interior decorator and furniture designer, saw the potential in the apartment’s unique layout. “I was drawn to the fact that it felt like a house in the sky, with a clear separation between the day and night spaces.”

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© Photograph: Ramona Balaban/Living Inside

© Photograph: Ramona Balaban/Living Inside

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Genetic data is an another asset to be exploited – beware who has yours | John Naughton

The bankruptcy of genealogy company 23andMe has resulted in a fire sale of millions of people’s genetic information – and there’s no shortage of eager buyers with questionable motives

Ever thought of having your genome sequenced? Me neither. But it seems that at least 15 million souls have gone in for it and are delighted to know that they have Viking ancestry, or discombobulated to find that they have siblings of whom they were hitherto unaware. The corporate vehicle that enabled these revelations is called 23andMe, which describes itself as a “genetics-led consumer healthcare and biotechnology company empowering a healthier future”.

Back in the day, 23andMe was one of those vaunted “unicorns” (privately held startups valued at more than $1bn), but is now facing harder times. Its share price had fallen precipitately following a data breach in October 2023 that harvested the profile and ethnicity data of 6.9 million users – including name, profile photo, birth year, location, family surnames, grandparents’ birthplaces, ethnicity estimates and mitochondrial DNA – and there have been internal disagreements between its board and the CEO and co-founder, Anne Wojcicki. So on 24 March it filed for so-called Chapter 11 proceedings in a US bankruptcy court in Missouri.

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

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© Photograph: George Frey/Reuters

© Photograph: George Frey/Reuters

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‘We’re not a third world country, we’re England’: anger rises as Birmingham’s bin strike takes toll on locals

With the city’s refuse collectors still on the picket line after four weeks, residents are pointing the finger of blame at the council

Suhail Sadiq’s car repair business is thriving and he’s furious about it.

The rats are responsible. “The amount of cars we’ve got coming in now with wiring chewed up by rats is unbelievable,” he says. Staff at Heartlands Auto Centre in Birmingham have repaired about 15 cars with chewed battery cables in the past week. The rats are drawn to the warmer cars at night, he says – rats gnaw to keep their teeth a manageable length.

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© Photograph: Sonja Horsman

© Photograph: Sonja Horsman

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Crystal Palace 2-1 Brighton, West Ham 2-2 Bournemouth, Ipswich 1-2 Wolves and more – as it happened

Palace clung on with nine men to win the A23 derby while Ipswich’s fading survival hopes took another blow

Meanwhile, the top of League Two is madness. Port Vale are on the brink of a 3-2 win at Walsall that would take them to the summit, leapfrogging the hosts, while Doncaster conjured up two goals in the final few minutes at Cheltenham to win 2-0 and boost their hopes of automatic promotion.

Full time: Luton 1-1 Leeds, Coventry 1-2 Burnley. Sunderland still lead with a couple of minutes to go at The Hawthorns.

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© Photograph: Matthew Childs/Action Images/Reuters

© Photograph: Matthew Childs/Action Images/Reuters

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Anti-ageing products that actually work: Sali Hughes on the 30 best serums, creams and treatments

Which moisturiser is worth buying? What’s the deal with retinol vs retinal? And do I need an eye cream? (Answer: no.) Our beauty columnist shares her secrets to glowy, firm skin

Anti-ageing – I know, I know. It’s a gross and futile term. I considered using another. Perhaps one of the more modern marketing slogans such as “skin longevity” or “positive age management”. But my commitment to honesty in beauty extends to not fooling myself or my reader: we all know what these terms mean, and I know which one consumers Google in their millions.

I turned 50 recently. I was and am delighted about it. To still be alive, healthy, loved and in love feels like a lottery win. I’ve no desire to return to my 20s or 30s, when I cared more, knew less and had greater insecurities around my appearance than now. I don’t believe many of us at any age wish to be mistaken for someone much younger. And yet we know that people of all ages would like to keep skin glowier, smoother, juicier, firmer and flexible for longer. It’s a fine thing to want, and I find any accusations that this signals shame and desperation around growing old to be hugely patronising and selective. If you don’t care about skin ageing, great. Carry on. If you do, the products here will help in a realistic way.

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© Photograph: Ayo Banton/Getty Images/Image Source

© Photograph: Ayo Banton/Getty Images/Image Source

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