For all the standing ovations, Hollywood roles and parties with stars, nothing beats the rough and tumble of real life for actor Rafe SpallThe play was going well. It was going very well, a Broadway production of Pinter’s Betrayal, starring Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz as a married couple and Rafe Spall as her lover – the last thing Mike Nichols directed before he died. It was a hit; so much so that one night Madonna invited the cast round for dinner. “So I went to dinner,” says Spall.He is telling the story with relish, leaning into his laptop camera as if we’re slightly pissed on a Sunday and our families have drifted off to watch telly. “And Madonna was dressed as Madonna, a gold grill and fingerless gloves. I was feeling quite confident, because I’ve just done the show and I was like, I’m going to pretend to Madonna that I’m not scared of her.” After dinner the tables were pushed to the side to make a dancefloor, “and Lourdes is on the iPad playing tunes. So I started dancing and Madonna came up and started, well… grinding me. Very close. I suppose ‘dutty wining’ would be the phrase? My wife was there… [actor Elize du Toit, they’ve been married since 2010, three kids, recently moved from London to Stroud] And she looked at me like, ‘The fuck?’ My torso was pouring with sweat. And in my mind I was saying, don’t back down. So I looked her in the eye and said to myself, ‘Yeah, this is me.’” Soon after, a dance circle formed. “With Madonna on a literal throne. And all of the dancers from her tour were in a circle around her. And she said, ‘Rafe, get in the circle!’ So I was like, ‘Don’t back down, this is you.’ So I got in the middle of the circle of Madonna and the best dancers in the world. And I danced in there for three minutes.” Continue reading...

Misogyny, bigotry and threats ‘cut public trust in critical media’, warns report after major investigationAn epidemic of online violence against female journalists worldwide is undermining their reporting, spilling over into real-life attacks and harassment, and puts their health and professional prospects in jeopardy, the UN has warned.The avalanche of misogynistic abuse and threats is not only damaging women working in media, it is also weaponised “to undercut public trust in critical journalism and facts in general”, a report commissioned by the UN’s cultural agency Unesco has found. Continue reading...

Focus on vaccines and tests has been obscuring the need for oxygen in low- and middle-income countries

Virus will overwhelm health services across South America, Asia and Africa unless world leaders take urgent action

Roc Sandford lives alone on Gometra, his own island. He tells of his fears for his family, and the future of all childrenIn the past year, Roc Sandford has left the tiny Scottish island which is his off-grid home only once, to get a Covid vaccination. The rest of the time he has been alone with the birds, sheep and open skies.His days are busy but evenings can be lonely; cooking for one is “very sad”, he says. At the moment, he is enjoying some wine sent by a friend, eking out the six bottles by sipping from a thimble-sized glass. Despite his commitment to a close-to-zero carbon footprint, he misses socialising with friends and family. “I work very hard and very productively in this beautiful, beautiful natural environment, without the compromises one has to make elsewhere. But I can’t go to the pub.” Continue reading...

The president has an imperial view of France’s place in the world yet he is level-pegging with Marine Le Pen in the pollsNews of the death of Napoleon Bonaparte in exile on St Helena, 200 years ago this week, did not reach London until July, 1821 – but the press reacted swiftly. “Thus terminates the most extraordinary life yet known to political history”, the Times declared.France’s deposed emperor, who seized power in a 1799 coup and was finally defeated at Waterloo in 1815, was a “destroyer of the rights of nations … [who] extinguished liberty in France and had no hold upon his subjects but their love of military glory,” it said. Continue reading...

Green and CDU party leaders pick their sides in race to replace Merkel as chancellorAfter German federal elections in September, Europe’s largest economy is likely to be led either by a human rights champion sending steely messages to Russia and China, or a dovish politician who wants Vladimir Putin to be given more respect.Surprisingly, the former hails from a Green party founded by peace activists during the cold war arms race, and the latter chairs a conservative party that traditionally sees itself as America’s most loyal ally in German politics. Continue reading...

Plan for sales levy on public services and food sees huge demonstrations end in violence, burning of buses and lootingThousands of Colombians have taken to the streets for International Workers’ Day marches and protests against a government tax reform proposal, in a fourth day of demonstrations that have resulted in at least six deaths.Unions and other groups kicked off marches on Wednesday to demand the government of president Ivan Duque withdraw the proposal, which originally imposed sales tax on public services and some food. Continue reading...

Subsidy will increase to up to 95% for families with two or more children aged five and under

Joe Biden made a ‘big blunder’ by telling Congress that North Korea posed a security threat, foreign ministry saysNorth Korea has accused US president Joe Biden of pursuing a hostile policy against it and warned of a response that could leave the US “in a very grave situation”.In a series of statements by the foreign ministry on Sunday, North Korea branded US diplomacy “spurious” – a day after the Biden administration said it was open to diplomatic negotiations on denuclearisation. Continue reading...

WA premier Mark McGowan says there will be no coronavirus lockdown ‘at this point’The Western Australian premier, Mark McGowan, says a hotel security guard and two of his housemates have tested positive for coronavirus.But he says there is no need at this stage for another lockdown, although that may change by Sunday. Continue reading...

Saturday’s news on Covid developments around the world

Police in Paris fire teargas as protesters in trade union-led march smash windows of bank branchesThousands rallied on Saturday across France and Spain to hold May Day rallies in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic as police scuffled with protesters in Paris and fired teargas.A police source told AFP that far-left “black bloc” protesters had repeatedly tried to block the trade union-led march in the French capital, with 34 people detained. Continue reading...

The premier says it is ‘increasingly likely’ his party will win 13 out of 25 seats, as Labor concedes defeatThe Liberal party is on the brink of an unprecedented third straight election win in Tasmania, with the premier, Peter Gutwein, declaring he expected to command a majority in the state’s parliament.By late Saturday night, the Liberals had won at least 12 seats in the state’s 25-seat parliament. Labor had at least eight seats and the Greens two. Three seats were undecided, but the government was favoured to claim an additional MP in the Hobart-based electorate of Clark. Continue reading...

It’s not always clear what sort of mental health care is the right care. What can you expect from different levels of care, and where can you find it?Between the GP and the emergency department, there are many different mental health care options but it’s not always clear which will best suit any person’s individual needs.As the majority of respondents to Guardian Australia’s reader callout told us about their interactions with the mental health system, the system is very complex and hard to navigate, with confusing options for different types of care. Trying to find the appropriate care was often trial and error and time-consuming. Continue reading...

The continent is already reeling from the pandemic’s economic impact – but now officials fear it could suffer India’s fate

Clashes erupted as riot police in Belgium used tear gas and water cannon to disperse revellers at an illegal party in Brussels' Bois de la Cambre park.The event, dubbed 'La Boum 2', was a sequel to the fake festival arranged as an April Fools' Day joke at the same park on 1 April – and was held in defiance of the government's Covid-19 restrictions. A collective called 'L'abîme Team', the organiser of the event on social media, unsuccessfully tried to seek permission for the gathering, local media reported.On 23 April, Belgium pressed ahead with plans to allow restaurant and cafe terraces to reopen on 8 May despite warnings from health officials that hospital saturation was starting to resemble that of Italy at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. From 8 May, up to 50 people will be also allowed to attend an outdoor event. More than 23,000 people out of in Belgium's 11 million population have died of Covid-19, with about 3,500 daily infections Continue reading...

The shooting and stabbing of a teenager in broad daylight on a street in Canning Town is just the latest chapter of what has become Britain’s most violent gangland feudRachid has no idea what the future holds, apart from the certainty that he’ll never visit east London’s Canning Town. “If I set foot there, I’ll get stabbed.” He has just turned 19, and two of his friends have already been murdered on the streets.A trip to the nearest corner shop has become a daunting ordeal. “You’re constantly looking around, at the same time making sure you avoid looking at people. You don’t know what can happen. Anything can,” says the teenager, a former well-known gang affiliate who lives a seven-minute walk from Canning Town. Continue reading...

Stories of Conservative sleaze appear to be having an impact as Keir Starmer faces his first electoral test as Labour leader on 6 MayLabour has slashed the Tories’ poll lead in half as more voters conclude that Boris Johnson is corrupt and dishonest ahead of this week’s bumper set of local and devolved elections.The latest Opinium poll for the Observer shows the Conservative lead has fallen from 11 points to five points after a week in which the prime minister was at the centre of allegations over the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat, and criticised for reportedly saying he would rather see “bodies pile high” than order another Covid-19 lockdown. Continue reading...

Critics say the new police, crime, sentencing and courts bill will give police powers to curb protestsThousands of protesters have marched through central London against the new police, crime, sentencing and courts bill, in the biggest protest under the “kill the bill” banner to have taken place so far.After gathering in Trafalgar Square from midday, protesters marched past Buckingham Palace then through Victoria, past the Department for Education and the Home Office, and finally across the river to Vauxhall Gardens. Continue reading...

Partial list records 45 deaths at ultra-Orthodox event as identification of bodies continuesAt least 10 children and teenagers were among 45 ultra-Orthodox Jews killed in a crush at a religious festival in northern Israel, according to a partial list of names published on Saturday as the identification of victims in Israel’s deadliest civilian disaster continued.Four Americans, a Canadian and a man from Argentina were also among those killed. Two families each lost two children. The youngest victim was nine years old. Continue reading...

Italy’s former prime minister, who left hospital on Friday, was allegedly admitted due to long-term effects of CovidItaly’s former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi left hospital on Friday after spending 24 days under medical supervision due to alleged long-term effects of Covid-19.Berlusconi, who is 84, was seriously ill with Covid-19 last year, an experience described by the media billionaire as the “worst of his life”. Continue reading...

Detectives considering ‘all possible’ motives for daytime murder in woods near Dover in Kent on TuesdayThe investigation into the murder of PCSO Julia James is continuing with police considering “all possible” motives.James, 53, died from serious head injuries while out walking her dog. She was not in uniform. Continue reading...

Stella Creasy launches campaign to change law after a boy took pictures of her feeding her baby on a trainAn MP has described her “horror” after she was photographed while breastfeeding on public transport, as she and a fellow MP launch a campaign to criminalise the taking of such pictures.Stella Creasy, the Labour MP for Walthamstow, said she was breastfeeding her then four-month-old on a overground train near Highbury and Islington in north London when she noticed a teenage boy laughing and taking pictures. Continue reading...

Hundreds took part in XR ‘rebellion of one’ acts on Saturday to protest lack of action on climate emergencyA man has been arrested after gluing himself to Westminster Bridge in London in protest at a lack of government action two years after parliament declared a climate emergency.It was among a wave of “rebellion of one” protests on Saturday, organised by Extinction Rebellion (XR), in which hundreds of activists blocked roads by sitting alone wearing signs expressing their fears about the future. Continue reading...

Counter-terrorist police detain three men, one woman and a teenage boy in planned raidsPolice have arrested five people in areas across West Yorkshire, Wiltshire and north Wales as part of a counter-terrorism operation.The “pre-planned” arrests were part of an investigation into far-right terrorism led by Counter Terrorism Policing North East, police said. Continue reading...

Police said they received report of allegations of sexual offences but did not confirm identity of the person implicatedThe Metropolitan police say they are assessing a “third-party” report relating to claims of sexual offences committed by a male, after allegations were made against the actor Noel Clarke.The Met police did not confirm the identity of the person implicated, but said they had received the third-party report last week. Continue reading...

The New York-based photographer’s series In Spirit explores the gaps between where we are, where we want to be and who we want to seeIn the bedroom of her apartment in Brooklyn, Alison Luntz has a large landscape photograph she took in 2018 on the Isle of Skye. A road snakes through dramatic, iridescent green hills. Last April, experiencing mild cabin fever from the Covid lockdown, the 34-year-old photographer decided to have some fun with the image. Positioning herself in front of the photograph, wearing a woollen beanie, she had her husband direct a fan so her red hair looked believably windswept and clicked a self-portrait. Two self-portraits actually: the first, a tighter crop, where it looked like she was in Scotland, posing with a spectacular view behind her; and a second, which showed she was really in Bushwick. Luntz then posted both on Instagram.“I didn’t have any serious intentions with this picture in the beginning,” says Luntz, on a video call from the same bedroom. “It was really just out of bleak humour at the situation and wanting to poke fun at it in some way. But instantly, it was clear that so many people loved this idea that I started thinking, maybe there’s another way to use the same format in a more substantive way to express the loneliness and alienation we’re all feeling right now.” Continue reading...

Class, race, politics and power are at the heart of modern nanny novels that explore the complex relationship between working mothers and the women they pay to look after their childrenThere’s a line at the opening of Kiley Reid’s hit debut, Such a Fun Age, that encapsulates the drama at the heart of the recent spate of nanny novels. Emira, a young black woman dressed for a night out, is stopped by a security guard in an upscale supermarket with Briar, the white child she looks after. It’s late, the guard wants to know where Briar’s parents are. He won’t let Emira leave with her. “But she’s my child right now,” she tells the guard. “I’m her sitter. I’m technically her nanny …”Emira isn’t strictly a nanny. She doesn’t get the perks of a full-time job – health insurance, holidays. Later, she reflects that, “more than the racial bias, the night at Market Depot came back to her with a nauseating surge and a resounding declaration that hissed, You don’t have a real job.” But in many ways, Briar is her child. Emira is the one who spends time with Briar, who understands her. Alix, a blogger and influencer, relies on her daughter’s nanny completely, but she is also desperate to befriend “the quiet, thoughtful person she paid to love [Briar]”. In pursuing a friendship with Emira at the expense of her own children, Alix only succeeds in putting further distance between them. As Emira reflects, Briar is “this awesome, serious child who loves information and answers, and how could her own mother not appreciate the shit out of this?” Continue reading...

Trade body says 39,000 jobs are at risk as a direct result of restrictions

Bianco accuses musician of sexual, physical and emotional abuse after bringing her to US under false pretencesThe Game of Thrones actor Esme Bianco is suing Marilyn Manson, alleging sexual, physical and emotional abuse.In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Los Angeles, Bianco says Manson violated human trafficking laws by bringing her to California from England under the false pretences of roles in music videos and movies that never materialised. Continue reading...

Wales has gone from ‘indy curious’ to ‘indy plausible’, and nationalists should look to Ireland for inspirationNext year is the centenary of the founding of the Irish Free State and the path to full independence. It is just conceivable that Scotland could celebrate by striking out alone too. But Wales? Surely not.The Welsh Senedd elections on 6 May seem likely to confirm Labour’s Mark Drakeford in office in Cardiff. But he may have to rely on Welsh nationalist backing from Plaid Cymru. That party’s polling is following a very similar trajectory to Scotland’s nationalists a decade before gaining power in Edinburgh in 2007. After long languishing in single figures, Plaid polls steadily around 20%, running close with the Welsh Tories. At one point in 2019, YouGov briefly gave Plaid the lead. Continue reading...

Metropolitan PC Benjamin Kemp used CS spray and baton on 17-year-old with learning disabilitiesA police officer has been dismissed after hitting a vulnerable teenage girl with a baton “at least 30 times”, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has said.Metropolitan Police officer Benjamin Kemp, based at north-east command, was dismissed without notice following a disciplinary hearing by the IOPC. Continue reading...

Comedian Bella Younger thought wellness Instagrammers were ripe for parody. Soon she was drawn in herself. Could Deliciously Stella find her way back to reality?I have always wanted to be a comedian or television presenter, but never knew how I’d make it happen. After years of working in TV production, pestering executives to put me in a show, I conceded that I might have to demonstrate to them what I could do in order to prove my worth. This is how I ended up spending a Friday afternoon in April 2015 secretly writing a standup show at my desk, hoping to one day take it to the Edinburgh fringe.“Bella,” said my boss, Faye, over the top of her computer, “can you do some research on wellness, please? Someone called Deliciously Ella’s got the fastest-selling cookbook in the country and I want to know if we should put her on the telly.” I had been blissfully unaware of wellness until that point. As far as I was concerned, it was just the opposite of illness, like not having a cold. The idea that you could be more well had never crossed my mind. Continue reading...

Lawyers and academics say ban an ‘extraordinary precedent’ that could be open to multiple challenges

The former PM isn’t just echoing the mullet trend, he is following the trend of men who love their lockdown locksTony Blair’s appearance on ITN News this week, with a slightly matted mane of slate grey hair styled into a mullet, may have prompted many to mistake the former PM for Peter Stringfellow, Paul Smith or an older version of Steve Coogan’s Portuguese crooner Tony Ferrino (it was less ‘former Labour leader’ and more ‘dude from Ugly Rumours’, indeed he told the Evening Standard: “it’s not been this long since I was in a rock band”). But Blair wasn’t just echoing the mullet trend which has increased in popularity during the pandemic. He was also an example of men who’ve let their hair grow during lockdown since December and, despite barbers and hairdressers re-opening, want to keep it that length (see also: Brad Pitt with tiny ponytail and Sound of Metal’s Paul Raci at Sunday’s Oscars). Continue reading...

Black activists say they are alarmed by powers contained in the police, crime, sentencing and courts billTens of thousands of people are expected to join more than 40 protests against the police, crime, sentencing and courts bill on Saturday, with black activists playing lead roles in the “kill the bill” coalition.Protests against the bill, which would grant the police a range of new discretionary powers to shut down protests, are expected in cities from Edinburgh to Exeter on May Day, with the main focus of dissent expected in London. Continue reading...

Turning vegan ... a series of investigations, presented with humour and humility, into our contradictory relationships with pets, livestock and wildlife

Country’s government failed to impose extra restrictions despite warnings of a new, more dangerous strain in early March, experts claim

The bestselling author of the Gruffalo is concerned about the limits coronavirus has placed on the lives of her young fans

The pair became trapped in a former lead mine at High Skears near Barnard castle before being freed by a specialist cave rescue teamTwo men have been rescued unharmed after they became trapped 800 metres underground in a disused mine near Barnard Castle.Six fire and rescue crews were called to High Skears, Middleton-in-Teesdale, on Friday, County Durham and Darlington fire and rescue service said in a statement. Continue reading...

Labor blames number of stranded Australians on failure to establish federal quarantine facilitiesScott Morrison’s government has been condemned for its “outrageous” decision to introduce fines of up to $66,600 or five years in prison, or both, for anyone defying a travel ban preventing Australians returning home from India.The travel ban officially begins on Monday, in what is believed to be the first time Australia has banned its own citizens from returning home. Continue reading...

Scores also injured in the blast in southern city of Pul-e-Alam the day before Pentagon begins to pull out its remaining forcesAt least 21 people have been killed and nearly 100 wounded after a car bomb exploded in an Afghan city south of the capital that president Ashraf Ghani has blamed on the Taliban.Friday’s blast occurred in a residential area of Pul-e-Alam, capital of Logar province, as people were breaking their Ramadan fast, and came on the eve of the formal start of the US military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. Continue reading...

Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine has been approved for use on pregnant women in South Africa

As Magnus Carlsen prepares for a two-day final with his old rival Hikaru Nakamura, Wada’s ban on Russia has reached chessIan Nepomniachtchi’s feat in qualifying as Magnus Carlsen’s official challenger in a €2m, 14-game world title series at Dubai in November was subsequently hit on two fronts. First, having won the Candidates with a round to spare, Nepomniachtchi lost Tuesday’s dead rubber in Ekaterinburg. A more significant blow came on Friday, however, when he learned that he is not allowed to play with the Russian flag beside him in Dubai, owing to his country’s ban imposed by the World Anti-Doping Agency.Following Tuesday’s defeat by China’s Ding Liren, the 30-year-old Muscovite said that he lacked motivation for the game, a strange comment when a win would have raised his Fide world rating close to 2800, the super-elite level, while as it was Ding’s victory regained the No 3 spot in the ratings that he had briefly let slip a few days earlier. Continue reading...

Residents in England will no longer have to self-isolate if they leave home and remain outdoors

Several thousand people went clubbing in Liverpool without Covid measures as part of a pilot to see whether social distancing measures can be eased without triggering new coronavirus outbreaks.The afternoon-admission gig was part of a series of pilot events sponsored by the UK government at which attendees, all Liverpool residents, were expected to be tested before and after the event, while researchers studied air quality in the venue Continue reading...