On the eve of her biggest ever UK show, the figurative artist recalls a 70-year ‘non-career’ tackling fascism, abortion, tragedy and the solidarity of womenWhen a Paula Rego retrospective at Tate Britain was first suggested three years ago, it was welcomed as an irresistible – an inevitable – proposal. For, as the show’s curator Elena Crippa observes, there is only a handful of contemporary female artists who have achieved comparable status. And there are not many artists who have made women their subject in the inward, intense and complicated way that Rego has over the decades – painting them in pain, power and surrender. This is the largest show of her career, with more than 100 pieces – paintings, collages, drawings, pastels, etchings, sculptures – many never seen in this country before. It will be a chance to unriddle the stories the paintings tell and to celebrate an artist of fabulous – in every sense – talent. And, as with any well-curated retrospective, it will be a way in to the narrative of Paula Rego’s own life.In the weeks before the show’s opening, Rego – now 86 – has been gamely answering questions back and forth with me over email, with her daughter, Cas Willing, as secretary. And what has emerged as one of the remarkable things about her is that, undeterred by age and its challenges, she still goes to work every day in her Camden studio, in north London. Almost 20 years ago, I met her there and will never forget the thrill of feeling backstage – for there is a theatrical element to her work, a coming together of props, an undertow of drama. I recall a lifesize horse, racks of clothes and a couch given to her by an analyst – appropriately, given her interest in the collective unconscious (she started analysis in 1966). And it is in this studio that she continues to work with her leading lady, Lila Nunes, loyal model and friend (she is, like Rego, from Portugal). Continue reading...

Gathering at player’s Shellharbour home on Saturday night was banned under NRL biosecurity bubbleNew South Wales police and the NRL integrity unit are investigating a number of St George Illawarra Dragons players for potentially breaching lockdown orders and bursting the league’s strict biosecurity bubble.A group of Dragons players is under investigation after a party at the house of a veteran player, Nine News reports. Continue reading...

Constitutional court agrees to hear challenge to 15-month prison-term, as Zuma rallies political supportJacob Zuma, the former president of South Africa, appeared on Saturday to have won a reprieve from imminent imprisonment on contempt of court charges after the country’s most senior judges agreed to hear his challenge to a 15-month jail sentence awarded last week.Police were ordered to arrest the 79-year-old by the supreme court if he did not surrender to authorities by Sunday after he failed to appear before a corruption inquiry earlier this year. Continue reading...

Sarah Gilbert and Catherine Green tell of their pioneering vaccine work but warn the battle is far from over

The singer talks about indie films and apple fritters, bike rides and books in bedEarly bird or lie-in? I’ve been an early riser for years. One Sunday, very soon, I’m going to set my alarm for 4am, go and sit in my local wood and, if I don’t get arrested, listen to the dawn chorus.Sunday brekkie? We’ve got a 9-, 12- and a 16-year-old. Our house is like a restaurant with all the different eggs, avocados and pancakes. The battle is getting them off their screens to gather around the table. Continue reading...

New research finds that those living and working alone during the pandemic have suffered the worst effects of allWorking from home during the coronavirus pandemic has caused increased levels of loneliness and mental distress, according to new research into how workers have been affected by the crisis.With ministers still debating how to manage the return to workplaces in the wake of Covid restrictions, a study by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) found that the biggest increases in mental distress and loneliness during the pandemic were felt by the most isolated group – those working from home and living alone. However, in a finding that surprised researchers, people working from home and living with others also experienced a significant increase in loneliness not felt by those working outside the home. Continue reading...

Storm kills one person in St Lucia and a 15-year-old boy and a 75-year-old woman in the Dominican RepublicCuba prepared to evacuate people along the island’s southern region on Sunday amid fears that Tropical Storm Elsa could unleash heavy flooding after battering several Caribbean islands, killing at least three people.The government on Sunday opened shelters and moved to protect sugarcane and cocoa crops ahead of the storm, whose next target was Florida, where governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in 15 counties, including in Miami-Dade County where the high-rise condominium building collapsed last week. Continue reading...

As the west departs, the Taliban are resurgent. They say they have changed – but misogyny and brutality still mark their ruleThe public flogging in Obe district, captured on video that quickly went viral this spring, was a mistake, a local Taliban judge admitted. Commanders were angry.As the footage spread between urban Afghans, who shared it on their smartphones, it revived memories of darker times when the militants ruled the country, and an outpouring of revulsion. Continue reading...

Direct your energy into your creativity and do what you want to doThe question I am a nearly 40-year-old woman and I’ve recently realised that I have no idea what would make me happy. I’m married with children and a good career. We’re financially comfortable. I have nothing to complain about. Yet beneath the surface, I feel a sort of numb despair at life. I find no joy in anything. I dislike my job and feel disconnected from my family. I sleep poorly, which doesn’t help; sometimes at night I get so angry with myself for not being able to achieve this basic human function that I wish I would just die.The one thing I’ve always wanted in life is to be a writer. I’ve had three books brought out by a large publisher, but they were unsuccessful. So, although people say I should be proud, I see myself as a failure. I keep telling myself not to give up, but increasingly it’s hard to find a reason to keep trying. I just cling to my old dream out of habit, and because it’s a vanishing spark of hope in an otherwise grey landscape. Continue reading...

Six people on board a private plane were killed when the aircraft crashed in Haiti, the identities of the other four people are not knownAll six people on board a private plane, including two American missionaries, were killed when the aircraft crashed in Haiti, southwest of capital Port-au-Prince, according to media reports and a missionary group.The plane went down on Friday evening en route from an airport in Port-au-Prince to the southern coastal city of Jacmel, typically a short flight, reported the Miami Herald, citing a statement by the National Civil Aviation Office (NCAO). Reuters could not independently confirm the report. Continue reading...

Twenty people are still missing and two are dead after houses were obliterated in the mudslideMore than 1,000 rescuers have arrived at a Japanese town hit by a deadly landslide on Saturday that killed two people.The rescuers climbed onto cracked roofs and searched cars thrown onto engulfed buildings, as more rain lashed the area. Continue reading...

Foreign-based fans slept in cars and even planned marriage proposals to be at the scene of Euro 2020 quarter finalThey came from Berne, Berlin, Luxembourg and Dubai, some forgoing a night’s sleep as they drove across the Alps or took red-eye flights. Some of the more ardent football fans bought tickets two years ago; others bagged them in the last-minute rush that followed England’s historic win over Germany on Tuesday.They were rewarded with an extraordinary, emphatic, exhilarating 4-0 victory over Ukraine, and those inside the stadium sang till their voices gave out. Continue reading...

Harry Kane back to his lethal best, productivity from set pieces, yet another clean sheet – the fifth out of five at Euro 2020 – and, for the coup de grace, a first England goal for Jordan Henderson on the occasion of his 62nd cap. This was the night when pretty much everything was picture perfect for Gareth Southgate and his players as they set up a Wembley semi-final against Denmark on Wednesday night.As England came home from Rome it was easy to wonder whether football was headed in the same direction and, certainly, the fans of the team who had made it from across mainland Europe into the Stadio Olimpico thought that way. Continue reading...

Australia’s most severe Covid response put systemic problems and lack of trust in the spotlight. Now many are working to make things betterWe don’t realise the value of suburban rhythms, or even see them clearly, until they are ripped away.There are the children clattering up the hill to school and the queue at the post office – including so many ethnicities, every form of dress. There are the men hanging out in the African cafes and the elderly Chinese in tai chi classes at the foot of the public housing towers. Continue reading...

The recently-formed Q-League is a far cry from the camps where some of its players learnt to play using scrunched up plastic bags instead of ballsRafique Mohammed lists the fortnightly rations doled out by United Nations personnel. “One kilogram of rice, a bit of oil.” He thinks for a second. “Dahl, some vegetables. There were a lot of people and little food. It was not ever, ever enough.”It was all Mohammed ate for the first 13 years of his life, having been born inside Nayapara, the densely populated refugee camp and home of stateless Rohingya people who fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh. Continue reading...

Steve Turner, contender in Unite’s election of a general secretary, says Labour leader must ‘keep promises’One of the leading candidates to run Labour’s most generous union donor has warned Keir Starmer against any attempt to abandon the leftwing pledges he endorsed at the start of his leadership.With thousands of Unite members set to cast their votes this week to decide its next general secretary, Steve Turner, the leading left candidate, said that Starmer must “keep his promise to the members” by resisting demands to shift the party to the right in the wake of its stalling performance. Continue reading...

Cardinal Angelo Becciu becomes the highest ranked Vatican-based church official to be charged with embezzlementA Vatican judge has ordered 10 people, including an Italian cardinal, to stand trial for alleged financial crimes including embezzlement, money laundering, fraud, extortion and abuse of office.Those indicted include Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who was fired by the pope last year, the former heads of the Vatican’s financial intelligence unit, and two Italian brokers involved in the Vatican’s purchase of a building in a luxury area of London. Continue reading...

(Forever Living Originals)

The tennis player, 53, on Naomi Osaka and mental health, lion-hearted Andy Murray and defying corny cultural stereotypesI’m mentally consistent. It comes from my upbringing. My mother was a tough cookie; my dad was a hard worker. They were both 10 when the war ended, and those first few years living in Germany were very difficult for them. This mental consistency has helped me navigate the ups and downs of life. It’s also helped me stay grounded when I’ve been winning. I’m never too satisfied or happy and I’m never too desperate. I’ve tried to always keep a middle ground.I didn’t always think I was going to make it. I broke my ankle in 1984, during my first professional tournament, playing against Billy Scanlon. My parents didn’t want me to become a tennis pro, and when I called my mother she said to me, “I told you so, you should have stayed in school.” I questioned myself a lot during the next few months of my rehab. That’s when you find out how much you want it. Continue reading...

Boat carrying migrants from Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea and Bangladesh was heading towards Italy from Libya when it sankAt least 43 people have drowned in a shipwreck off Tunisia as they tried to cross the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy, while another 84 were rescued, humanitarian organisation the Tunisian Red Crescent has said.The boat had set off from Zuwara, on Libya’s north-west coast, carrying migrants from Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea and Bangladesh, the humanitarian organisation said. Continue reading...

Tehran classified as ‘red zone’ as authorities struggle to import vaccines due to US sanctions

A huge landslide has swept away homes and left 19 people missing at a popular resort town in central Japan after days of heavy rain, local officials say.Television footage on Saturday showed a torrent of mud obliterating some buildings and burying others in Atami, south-west of Tokyo, with people running away as it crashed over a hillside road.

Man who works as a baggage handler at Brisbane domestic airport among new coronavirus cases

Tim Robinson’s acclaimed Netflix sketch show is back for more weird and wonderful set-pieces that feel both unsettling and deeply relatableThere is a sketch from the first season of I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson (Tuesday, Netflix) that is etched permanently on to my brain. I mean, actually, there are several etched on to my brain: the hotdog car crashing into a clothes shop, for example, or the multi-part epic that ends with a man singing sombre yacht rock at his mother’s funeral. Or “you flinched, and now you have to marry your mother-in-law”.Related: The Guide: Staying In – sign up for our home entertainment tips Continue reading...

She has written for some of the best TV shows in recent years – but as Pritchett’s comic, self-deprecating memoir comes out, she explains why she doesn’t get work in the UK

Tolani Shoneye, Audrey Indome and Milena Sanchez’s frank and filter-free advice podcast has taken the world by storm. ‘We come from a place of tough love’, they sayThe trio behind The Receipts podcast never imagined they would reach such heights. But surely no one starts a new venture without some small glimmer of hope? “I mean,” Tolani Shoneye replies, “I personally don’t do anything I think will be a flop.”Covering pop culture, sex, relationships, friendship and gossip with absolutely no filter, The Receipts is a podcast like no other. Its hosts Shoneye, Audrey Indome and Milena Sanchez have amassed tens of thousands of listeners, won awards, sold out live shows, had their faces plastered on billboards, and are now publishing a book. They are the new voices of British podcasting – and agony-aunting, too. Continue reading...

Queensland records five new local coronavirus cases as premier Annastacia Palaszczuk lifts Brisbane and Moreton Bay lockdown

The actor on being close to Jack Nicholson, missing his brother and his most unappealing habitBorn in Atlanta, Georgia, Stephen Dorff, 47, started acting as child. His films include The Power Of One, Blade and Somewhere. He also co-starred in the third series of True Detective. His latest film, Embattled, is released on 5 July. He lives in Tennessee.When were you happiest?

Not regular fish’n’chips, but seeded cod with curry; not doughnuts, but dunkable parmesan beignets; less Mr Whippy, more mango and lime ice-cream sandwichesOh, I do like to be beside the seaside! How true this is. I’ve lived in the UK for a long time but, for me, the joy of going to the seaside will always be about sitting on the beach, beside the sea, rather than having to get in the actual water: you can take the boy out of the Mediterranean, and all that. Being beside the seaside, though, still whets the appetite for certain seaside classics: ice-cream sandwiches, battered cod, curry sauce, fried doughnuts. Oh yes! I do like to be beside the sea! Continue reading...

Midlothian council revokes licence for sold-out obstacle race with less than a day’s notice

Seven years after the referendum, writers including Val McDermid and William Boyd capture the mood of their country, and ask what it would mean to leave the UKVal McDermid

After a slow start playing ‘the sixth guy chasing Denzel’, the Stranger Things star is now building on his action-hero rebirth with Marvel’s Black WidowBy the end of filming series three of Stranger Things, David Harbour knew that he was destined for a Russian jail. He knew that the season would end with the not-so-subtle hint that as police chief-cum-supernatural-monster-battler Jim Hopper, he would be captured by Soviet spies. And he was also aware that he would face years of fan theories breathlessly trying to predict how his stretch as an inmate would play out.Related: The Guide: Staying In – sign up for our home entertainment tips Continue reading...

Heading for the beach? So are huge blooms of jellyfish. Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...It was a blazing hot summer’s day in central Queensland when Rachael Shardlow’s family – her older brother Sam, their parents, Ruth Macklin and Geoff Shardlow, and their dogs – decided to head for the water. But which water: lake, river, ocean? Ten-year-old Rachael pushed for the dam, at Lake Awoonga. Someone had told her there were crocodiles at Calliope River, and she was scared. But the lake was a wildlife sanctuary: no dogs allowed.Rachael would not budge – so her family called her bluff, bundling into the car and driving off without her. They had only reached the end of the street before Rachael caved, calling them to come back and get her. Continue reading...

James Cameron’s show-stopping follow-up to his surprise sci-fi hit was a spectacular display of both stunts and soul but its major strides caused others to trip upHow do you kill the man who has everything? In broad strokes, this was the quandary facing James Cameron as he formulated plans for a sequel to The Terminator, the little action picture that rocketed him and star Arnold Schwarzenegger into the ranks of the industry’s most sought-after names.Related: Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves at 30: a joyless hit that should stay in the 90s Continue reading...

Saturday’s quarter-final has revitalised a sense of community and identity, though some are torn about who to supportNine-year-old Luca Mullaney was over the moon when Ukraine beat Sweden on Tuesday. The half-Ukrainian boy from Bradford did a series of victory jumps but then stopped dead. “I’ve got a big problem, Grandad,” he said. “Who do I support on Saturday?”His family are now putting their heads together ahead of the team’s Euro 2020 quarter-final against England. Luca’s mother, Sonia, is thinking she might sew him a top with Ukraine’s colours on one side and England’s on the other. Luca’s cousin has suggested he wear his Ukraine shirt for the first half of the match and his England shirt for the second. Continue reading...

Eva, 26, graphic designer, meets Anita, 28, analystWhat were you hoping for?

Spread of the Delta variant blamed for significant rise in cases that have threatened to overwhelm the medical systemStanding outside the glass wall at one of the emergency installations in a hospital in Tangerang, Benten, Uta Verina Maukar, 26, looked at her mother as she lay resting on a bed. She texted her mother, telling her that she was standing outside. Her mother looked at her from across the room, and with an oxygen mask on her face, tried to sit up so she could see her better. They both looked at each other like that for a while. That was the last time Uta saw her mother’s face.She died from Covid the following day. She was 51. Continue reading...

Flames that raged near a Pemex oil platform took more than five hours to extinguishA fire on the ocean surface west of Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula has been extinguished, state oil company Pemex said, blaming a gas leak from an underwater pipeline for sparking the blaze captured in videos that went viral.Bright orange flames jumping out of water resembling molten lava was dubbed an “eye of fire” on social media due to the blaze’s circular shape, as it raged a short distance from a Pemex oil platform early on Friday. Continue reading...

Female troops were photographed practising for a parade wearing high heels, sparking outrage among lawmakersUkrainian authorities have found themselves buried in controversy after official pictures showed female soldiers practising for a parade in heels.Ukraine is preparing to stage a military parade next month to mark 30 years of independence following the Soviet Union’s breakup, and the defence ministry on Friday released photographs of fatigue-clad women soldiers marching in mid-heel black pumps. Continue reading...

Another 1.8 million people are on the brink, officials say, and 33,000 children are severely malnourishedTop UN officials have warned the Security Council that more than 400,000 people in Ethiopia’s Tigray are now in famine and that there was a risk of more clashes in the region despite a unilateral ceasefire by the federal government.After six private discussions on Friday, the Security Council held its first public meeting since fighting broke out in November between government forces, backed by troops from neighbouring Eritrea, and TPLF fighters with Tigray’s former ruling party. Continue reading...

British Columbia reports jump in number of ‘sudden and unexpected deaths’ and links them to extreme weatherNearly 500 people may have been killed by record-breaking temperatures in Canada’s westernmost province, as officials warn the grim toll from “heat dome” could rise again as more deaths are reported.On Friday, British Columbia’s chief coroner said that 719 “sudden and unexpected deaths” had been reported over the past week – triple the number during a similar period in a typical year. Continue reading...

Latest figures from South Africa show 24,270 new infections; President Bolsonaro linked to allegations of irregularities over $316m vaccine contract

In her new book, the lawyer, artist and women’s advocate turns family trauma into something extraordinary, far-reaching and ultimately hopefulThe day after Amani Haydar’s father murdered her mother, the rewriting of her life’s story began.Her childhood, her memories, her beliefs, her ideas about her parent’s relationship – they were all up for reassessment after “the night everything happened”. In those first few days in 2015, that phrase were the only words Haydar could find for such an appalling trauma. Then, slowly, more words came. Continue reading...

Prince William and son George join trend of famous parents and their children wearing matching outfitsAny public appearance by the Duchess of Cambridge typically dominates the fashion headlines the next day.But, for England’s Euro 2020 match against Germany this week, the duchess was overshadowed by her companions – Prince William and seven-year-old Prince George. Continue reading...

Farewell then, to Belgium’s golden generation, who perhaps were doomed to futility as soon as they had been burdened with the name. Who knows what they might have been achieved if they hadn’t wasted so much time under the management of Marc Wilmots. At least with Roberto Martínez there has been the sense of them groping towards something like their potential. And they’ll always have Kazan, and one of the great World Cup performances, beating Brazil in a World Cup quarter-final.The likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Youri Tielemans and one or more Hazards still have more to give, and there is great promise in Jérémy Doku, but Vincent Kompany, Marouane Fellaini and Radja Nainggolan had gone already and nine outfielders in this squad are over 30. A wholesale clear-out, especially at the back is needed. But when all what remained was the fall, they fell gallantly, mounting a great late surge that proved this Italy can defend as well as attack, and produced probably the highest quality game of the tournament so far. Continue reading...

Boy, 15, arrested in Brighton after incident in south London on Thursday morningA 15-year-old has been arrested in Brighton after a teenage boy was stabbed to death in south London on Thursday morning.Detectives had been called to reports of a disturbance at a house in the Shrublands area of Croydon in the early hours. Continue reading...

Rejections are also increasing, with Australian Border Force knocking back more than 10,000 applicants in JuneDownload the free Guardian app; get our morning email briefingThe number of Australians applying to travel overseas is surging, leading to an increase in exemptions despite efforts to crack down on unnecessary travel.According to a Guardian Australia analysis of Australian Border Force statistics, 34,616 exemptions were sought in June, up from 23,836 in May. Continue reading...

Can New Zealand escape the resurgences that have hit other ‘elimination success story’ countries?Last week was a sharp reminder for Dr Siouxsie Wiles, one of New Zealand’s most prominent pandemic communicators, of how close the country’s recent brush with Covid was. A Sydney tourist, infected with the Delta variant of Covid-19 had visited more than a dozen busy Wellington cafes, museums and eateries over the course of a weekend. As contact tracers went to work, Wiles’s own phone pinged: she was a potential contact, having stayed, like the tourist, at the Rydges Hotel.In Wiles’s case, it emerged she had checked in hours after the man had checked out. The rest of the city has also emerged unscathed so far: despite 2,600 contacts identified, no infections have been reported. But the experience brought home once again, Wiles says, what a careful tightrope New Zealand is walking. Continue reading...

Body set up to choose roadmap to elections beset by divisions with process described as ‘out of control’Efforts to set the terms for presidential and parliamentary elections in Libya on 24 December are mired in chaos, as UN officials are accused of breaching their mandate by facilitating efforts to prevent them going ahead.The UN admitted it was facing difficult splits among the 75-strong body it set up last year to choose an interim government and agree the roadmap to the elections. Continue reading...