Art review Rage, violence, death and regret in an unmissable one-act drama

At the height of his fame in Rome, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio is known to have owned at least 12 books. We don't picture Caravaggio as a reader. A street-fighter, a killer, yes - but not an intellectual.

Rat bites and sewage Schools on frontline of housing crisis that is making children ill

Some children living in dire housing conditions have been woken up by chesty coughs caused by damp, others by the smell of sewage leaking down their walls. One was woken by rats on his chest.

Where there's smoke... Critics' votes rekindle leadership talk

In his speech to the Tory faithful at the Conservative party conference in Manchester last year, Rishi Sunak declared that he wanted to ban smoking for future generations.

TV review Hammond gets tails wagging as she takes over from O'Grady

We are living through canine television's golden (retriever) era. Flick through the channels and it's odds on that you'll find a programme about dogs who need a home, or need to be better trained in the one they have.

Fresh DNA testing in rape and murder cases is a decade too late’

Andrew Malkinson has said that an announced rollout of fresh DNA testing for contested rape and murder convictions should have happened a decade ago when the science first became available, a move that would have spared him years in jail.

Study for portrait Churchill hated goes on show at Blenheim Palace

An intimate study of Winston Churchill that has been in private hands for seven decades has gone on show in the room at Blenheim Palace in which Britain’s most famous prime minister was born, before being auctioned in June.

Baby died after she was strapped face down to a bean bag at nursery, court told

A nursery deputy manager caused the death of a baby she placed face down, tightly swaddled and strapped to a bean bag for more than 90 minutes, a court has heard.

Artists make a stand Venice Biennale show shut until ceasefire deal agreed

The artists and curators of the Israeli national pavilion at the Venice Biennale have announced their decision not to open until “a ceasefire and hostage release agreement is reached” in the conflict in Gaza, on the opening preview day of the largest and most prominent global gathering in the art world.

‘A hole in my heart’ Dismay at fast-track for settlers’ homesin East Jerusalem

Israel’s government has accelerated the construction of settlements across East Jerusalem, with more than 20 projects totalling thousands of housing units having been approved or advanced since the start of the war in Gaza six months ago, planning documents show.

'Destabilising' US and EU mull widening of sanctions on Tehran

The US and the EU are considering rapid new sanctions against Iran in the wake of its large-scale air attack on Israel at the weekend.

Fire engulfs Copenhagen's historic stock exchange in city's 'Notre Dame moment'

Firefighters at Copenhagen's historic former stock exchange were yesterday battling a huge blaze that had engulfed the 17th-century building's roof, toppled its distinctive spire and threatened one of Denmark's most valuable art collections.

Stream of consciousness: Akomfrah's Britain comes to Biennale

Britain's national pavilion at the Venice Biennale, the world's largest and most prominent art event, begins with video of Holbein drawings from the Tudor court being washed over by the eddies of a stream - and ends with the death of a British-Nigerian man, David Oluwale, who drowned in a Yorkshire river after being beaten by local police in 1969.

High court rejects girl's call to be allowedto prayat school

A high court decision to uphold a prayer ban at one of the highest-performing state schools in England has been welcomed by Rishi Sunak and Kemi Badenoch, who described it as a \"victory against activists trying to subvert our public institutions\".

PM attacks rightwing conference shutdown

Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, has rounded on Belgian authorities for closing a radical right wing conference in Brussels that was addressed by British politicians including Nigel Farage and Suella Braverman.

Top Iranian aide warns west over 'total war'

Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to trap the west into a total war across the Middle East that would have incalculable consequences for the region and the world, Iran’s most senior diplomat in the UK claimed yesterday.

Tory divisions exposed as Sunak smoking ban moves a step closer

Flagship bill passes but Badenoch and Truss lead sizeable revolt

LTA reveals plans for Queen's Club women’s tournament

The Lawn Tennis Association is in discussions to bring women’s tennis back to the Queen’s Club in Baron s Court, west London, for the first time since 1973 with a new high-profile event at the beginning of the grasscourt season.

Palmer's fantastic four piles misery on feeble Everton

On a night when Jordan Pickford's distribution deteriorated and Jarrad Branthwaite added to Sean Dyche's gloom by going off injured, nothing summed up the extent of Everton's collapse more than the fact that the players who tried hardest to stop Cole Palmer scoring were wearing blue.

How Scheffler kept the faith in pursuit of Masters glory

World No1, believing wrong shots and bad breaks were out of his control, trusted he had the almighty on his side

Musk to cut 14,000 Tesla jobs amid electric car slowdown

Tesla is laying off more than 10% of its global workforce, equivalent to at least 14,000 roles, as the electric carmaker reacts to slowing demand and pressure on prices.

"The city is a jail' Haitian journalists risk lives to report from Port-au-Prince

Each day, Makenson Rémy wakes in the early hours to tell the story of his shattered home town, Portau-Prince. Each day, he fears he might die.

Australian parliament rape claim was true, judge rules

The defamation trial of the former Australian political aide Bruce Lehrmann reached a conclusion yesterday when Justice Michael Lee declared he was satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that Lehrmann raped his then colleague Brittany Higgins in 2019.

Riot police clash with protesters after bishop stabbed in church

Hundreds of people clashed with police in south-west Sydney yesterday after a prominent Orthodox Christian leader was stabbed at the altar of his church.

Starmer says benefit system must be fairto carers who breached rules

Keir Starmer has called for fairer treatment of unpaid carers who have been plunged into poverty after being forced to pay back thousands of pounds for minor breaches of benefit rules.

Dozens of Home Office staff under criminal investigation

Dozens of Home Office staff are under criminal investigation for a range of offences including immigration crime, fraud and drug offences, the Guardian has learned.

Coral reefs facing worst mass bleaching on record as sea temperatures rise

Global heating has pushed the world's coral reefs to a fourth planet-wide mass bleaching event that is on track to be the most extensive on record, scientists have confirmed.

Big trouble in Little London Locals fear the worst as city exiles eye their village

If the age-old story is correct, the Hampshire village of Little London gets its evocative name from the flight of fearful residents from the capital during the Great Plague of 1665-66.

'Not a truant' Parents of girl with migraines say absence fine is unfair

Chloe Beak lives with chronic, debilitating migraines, which leave her unable to attend school for days at a time. But instead of receiving support from her school, her parents have been fi ned by the local authority for her truancy.

Key figures Who are the people likely to play a central role in historic case?

The Republican nominee for president is the defendant.

Armourer jailed for 18 months over fatal shooting on set of the film Rust

The chief weapons handler on the set of the film Rust has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for the shooting of the movie's cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, by the actor Alec Baldwin.