43 m. ago F1 Monaco GP LIVE: Qualifying start time, schedule and practice results

Follow live F1 updates from Monaco as the drivers build towards a key qualifying session on Saturday

Politics

67 m. ago Critics say the movement to defund the police failed. But Austin and Seattle are seeing progress

The rallying cry from 2020 Black Lives Matter protests pushed some US cities to divert money towards housing and community servicesAfter George Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020, protesters who swarmed the streets across the US shouted the refrain: “Defund the police.” An idea that was once viewed as radical – to redirect money from law enforcement to other city departments and social services – became a rallying cry overnight.As a result of continued pressure, dozens of jurisdictions throughout the nation promised to reduce their police budgets. While most of them backtracked and increased law enforcement funding in the next year or two, several cities changed policies or added new public safety and homeless services departments. Continue reading...

Events

67 m. ago UK employees work from home more than most global rivals, study finds

Exclusive: Staff in Britain now average 1.8 days a week of remote working, above global average of 1.3 daysUK workers continue to work from home more than nearly any of their global counterparts more than five years after the pandemic first disrupted traditional office life, a study has found.UK employees now average 1.8 days a week of remote working, above the international average of 1.3 days, according to the Global Survey of Working Arrangements (G-SWA), a worldwide poll of more than 16,000 full-time, university-educated workers across Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa that began in July 2021. Continue reading...

Society

82 m. ago ‘Alexa, what do you know about us?’ What I discovered when I asked Amazon to tell me everything my family’s smart speaker had heard

For years, Alexa has been our on-call vet, DJ, teacher, parent, therapist and whipping boy. What secrets would the data reveal?She is always listening. She is unfailingly polite. She is often obtuse. She is sometimes helpful. She frequently frustrates. She isn’t great with bashment artists. Or grime. Or drum’n’bass. She needs to be spoken to slowly and clearly, as you’d talk to an aged relative with diminished faculties. She doesn’t like French accents.‘“Alexa, how long do wasps live for?” Continue reading...

Politics

96 m. ago Thousands support Kneecap at first big gig since terrorism charge

Irish-language rap trio perform at London festival after member charged for allegedly displaying Hezbollah flag• Kneecap review – rap trio remain unbowed by terror chargeThousands of fans showed up to support Kneecap at a festival they headlined on Friday night, days after one of its members was charged with a terror offence.The Irish-language act performed at the Wide Awake festival in Brockwell Park, south London, two days after band member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, 27, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was charged for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig in London in November. Continue reading...

Events

1 hour ago Russia launches one of biggest drone attacks on Kyiv since start of war

Attack occurs hours after Russia and Ukraine begin prisoner exchange in deal seen as first step towards ceasefireRussia has launched a large-scale drone and missile attack on Kyiv, injuring 15 people in one of the biggest assaults on the Ukrainian capital since the beginning of the war more than three years ago.The attack came in waves, with Russia launching 14 ballistic missiles and 250 drones in the early hours of Saturday, although Ukrainian forces shot down six missiles and stopped most of the drones before they reached Kyiv. Continue reading...

Events

1 hour ago WCL and Championship playoff finals, Ronaldo ‘may play at Club World Cup’ – matchday live

Buildup to today’s major finalsLive scores | Fixtures | Get in touchManchester City wrap up their Premier League campaign on Sunday with a game Pep Guardiola believes is “by far” their most important of the season. City head to Fulham knowing a draw will almost certainly secure a top-five spot and a place in the Champions League for next season.After winning the title in the past four seasons, it is a relatively modest target but Guardiola recognises it is the least of the club’s expectations. The City manager said: “If we want to play in the Champions League, we have to take a result there. This is what we are going to do. Of course, it’s really important.” Asked if it was the most important game of the season, Guardiola said at a press conference: “By far.” Continue reading...

Society

2 h. ago Becky Barnicoat on the trials of watching season 2 – cartoon

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Politics

2 h. ago Scientists seek to save Florida’s dying reefs with hardy nursery

Reefs off the Keys have lost 90% of healthy coral cover in 40 years, but replanting effort aims to make reef more resilientA taskforce of experts looking into the mass bleaching and decline of Florida’s delicate coral reefs is planting more than 1,000 nursery-grown juveniles from the reef-building elkhorn species in a new effort to reverse the tide of destruction.Record ocean heat in 2023 hastened the death spiral for reefs in the Florida Keys, which have lost 90% of their healthy coral cover over the last 40 years, largely because of the climate emergency, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa). Continue reading...

Events

2 h. ago Expert calls Musk’s ‘Doge’ involvement ‘one of the greatest brand destructions’

Top US marketing professor Scott Galloway says on Pivot podcast Tesla owner ‘has alienated his core demographic’The prominent US marketing professor Scott Galloway says Elon Musk’s decision to implement brutal job and spending cuts within the federal government on behalf of the Trump administration was “one of the greatest brand destructions” ever.Speaking on Friday’s episode of the popular Pivot podcast, which he co-hosts, Galloway said Trump’s billionaire businessman adviser alienated the customer base of his electrical vehicle manufacturer Tesla – one of his most important holdings – while aligning himself with a president whose allies aren’t interested in the kinds of cars the company makes. Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago ‘I like making people do a double take’: Darren Soh’s best phone picture

By rotating the picture 180 degrees, the photographer produced an abstract image of the Potong Pasir housing estate in SingaporeOne morning, Darren Soh drove to the Potong Pasir housing estate in Singapore to take some photos. His initial focus was on the buildings themselves: the government-built blocks, dating from 1984, are characterised by their ski slope-style roofs.“We only get two kinds of weather in Singapore – rainy and overcast, or sunny and warm,” Soh says. “This day was in the latter category. The puddle wasn’t made from rainwater, but a jet-wash machine. A community basketball court was being cleaned. As an architecture photographer, I usually make images with correct perspective, but on this occasion I wanted to see if I could create something more abstract.” Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago Trump to address West Point graduates as he tries to impose agenda on military

President’s visit to military academy occurs as books are banned and clubs disbanded in line with anti-DEI policeDonald Trump will address graduates of West Point on Saturday, as his administration moves to implement a rightwing agenda at military service academies that has prompted the disbandment of student clubs, the removal of certain books and at least one faculty resignation.It will be the second time Trump has spoken to graduates of the United States Military Academy in upstate New York where the next generation of army leaders is educated, and offers the president an opportunity to stump for his defense policy. Continue reading...

Events

2 h. ago The longest standing ovation at Cannes? A whopping 22 minutes

That’s the length of a sitcom episode...

Politics

2 h. ago Braveheart at 30: Mel Gibson’s gory, hokey Oscar winner plays like a biblical epic

The 1995 best picture winner is less interested in historical fact and more in rousing fantasy and makes for a telling portrait of its troubled makerFor a storied best picture Oscar winner and dorm-wall poster staple of the 1990s and beyond, it’s a little surprising how modest Braveheart’s success was when it opened in theaters 30 years ago. Though it powered through a mild opening to become a solid summer hit, on the 1995 charts it sits below Father of the Bride Part II and Congo (though congratulations are in order; it did edge out both Grumpier Old Men and Mortal Kombat). Even among other Mel Gibson vehicles from the 90s, you might be surprised to learn that Maverick, Conspiracy Theory and Payback all posted stronger numbers.But Braveheart stuck around, both in theaters and in the public consciousness. It wasn’t necessarily tipped as an awards contender at the time of release – Gibson had only directed one other movie, a small-scale drama called The Man Without a Face – but wound...

Politics

2 h. ago Arsenal XI vs Barcelona: Predicted lineup, confirmed team news, injury latest for Women's Champions League final today

Gunners with some tough decisions to make for UWCL showpiece in Lisbon

Sport

2 h. ago Desertfest London 2025: Day Two Highlights – Zeal & Ardor, Conan, Pallbearer

Desertfest London 2025: Day Two Highlights – Zeal & Ardor, Conan, Pallbearer  MetalTalk

Politics

3 h. ago Russell Mael: ‘Describe myself in three words? One handsome dude’

The Sparks singer on shoplifting red liquorice as a child, a head-to-head with Godzilla, and underselling his life storyBorn in California, Russell Mael, 76, and his brother, Ron, first recorded under the names the Urban Renewal Project and Halfnelson, before becoming Sparks in 1972. Two years later, they relocated to London and had a hit with their song This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us. More recently, they composed a radio opera, The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman, collaborated with Franz Ferdinand in supergroup FFS, and released a film, Annette, which won five César awards in 2022. Their 28th studio album is Mad! and their tour comes to the UK in June. Mael lives in California.What was your most embarrassing moment? Signing away the rights to my life story to a major motion-picture company for a sum that I have since been told was way below the market rate. Continue reading...

Politics

3 h. ago Trump’s Russia sanctions refusal leaves Europe with few options but to wait

Frustration is growing amid increasing signs US could wash its hands of Ukraine, but some observers counsel patienceGen Keith Kellogg, Donald Trump’s somewhat estranged special envoy on Ukraine, is said by some US diplomats to like to joke that the president did indeed say he would solve the Ukraine crisis in 24 hours, he just never specified which 24 hours.Dark humour may be all that is left to Europeans as they absorb not just Trump’s refusal to impose the promised “bone-crushing sanctions” over Russia’s rejection of a 30-day ceasefire but also the increasing signs that the administration will wash its hands of Ukraine and instead focus on forging a new economic partnership with Russia. Continue reading...

Politics

3 h. ago Sichuan snacks and a Napa harvest: World Food Photography awards – in pictures

From nearly 10,000 entries submitted from 70 countries, there were 48 UK photographers with finalist images, including winners of six of the competition’s 25 categories Continue reading...

Events

3 h. ago We have a chance to prevent AI decimating Britain’s creative industries – but it’s slipping away | Beeban Kidron

The government has doubled down on a plans that would allow mass cultural theft, but we are fighting it at every stageBeeban Kidron is a film director and crossbench peer in the House of LordsFor months now, legends of music, literature, product design, the visual arts and more have been sounding the alarm about the British government’s plan to undermine copyright law. The fight kicked off when the government launched a consultation into regulating artificial intelligence with its own “preferred” outcome: letting AI companies steal copyrighted work by default unless the owners of that work “opt out”. But opting out is impossible to do without AI transparency. The plan is a charter for theft, since creatives would have no idea who is taking what, when and from whom.When the government stoops to a preferred outcome that undermines the moral right to your work and income, you might reasonably be angered. As Elton John said last weekend: “The government have no right to do this to my so...

Events