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Leading legal experts say sanctions on Israel ‘fall far short’ of UK obligations

More than 130 counsels and KCs sign letter to PM saying international law requires further measures to stop illegal settlements More than 130 legal experts, including 18 king’s counsel (KCs), have written to Andy Burnham saying that sanctions on Israeli settlements “fall far short” of Britain’s obligations under the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ’s) finding that the occupation is unlawful. The foreign secretary, Ed Miliband last week announced an import ban on goods from illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine and other measures. Signatories to the letter to the prime minister, including the leading lawyers, Michael Mansfield KC and Imran Khan KC, and the former lord justice of appeal, Alan Moses, say it is not enough. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Haroon Siddique Legal affairs correspondent15 Sept

The Debut review – Julianne Moore is a thrill in Jesse Eisenberg’s oddball comedy

Toronto film festival: riotous lead performance holds together third movie from actor turned film-maker, about a housewife who joins a local musical Jesse Eisenberg’s last two directorial efforts – the prickly comedy When You Finish Saving the World and the slightly softer A Real Pain – are small films rooted in the real world. They have their little idiosyncrasies, their bits of cinematic flair, but they keep their feet grounded in the here and now. For his third film, Eisenberg has said goodbye to all that (or most of that) and run headlong at the surreal and the absurd, borrowing from Charlie Kaufman and other oddballs to tell a small story in a big way. The Debut is about a repressed housewife, Mona (Julianne Moore), who decides to audition for a role in a community theater production of a musical called Nosy Neighbors, one of those gassy Manhattan trifles that were so ubiquitous on Broadway a half century ago. Mona’s kids are about to fly the nest, and her husband barely seems to notice her when she’s standing right next to him. So why not have a little creative adventure? Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Richard Lawson in Toronto15 Sept

Double cleansing: should we really be cleaning ourselves twice in each shower?

This idea has suddenly gained huge popularity online. But is it just a way to sell us more products – and could it potentially damage our skin? Gone are the days of the speedy shower; a quick lather with a squirt of shower gel will, apparently, no longer cut it. Double cleansing – once the remit of facial skincare and shampoo routines – has steadily trickled into body-care, too. But should you simply stock up on twice as much shower gel? Is it any more hygienic? And how clean do we really need to be? As always, TikTok – or rather, #ShowerTok – has a huge number of devotees to this new trend. “Double cleansing will change your life,” says self-care advocate Xara Beqele (@xarabeq) in a video that has almost 10,000 likes. “I think double cleansing is the most effective thing I have added for my shower. I just smell better, feel clean.” Likewise, digital creator Terree Ann (@terreetaughtme) calls double cleansing the body a “ hygiene must ”. “If you are only washing your body with a hydrating body wash, that’s like washing your body with lotion,” she says in a video that has been shared more than 6,000 times. “If you’re only going in with a scented body wash on top of unclean skin, that’s like spraying Febreze to try to mask the funk instead of properly removing it.” Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that recent research found gen Zs take longer showers than any other age group – despite being most anxious about the climate crisis. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Leah Harper15 Sept

Three babies may have survived if hospital had acted over Lucy Letby concerns, inquiry finds

Lady Justice Thirlwall condemns ‘complete failure’ to protect babies on neonatal unit at Countess of Chester hospital Lucy Letby public inquiry report published – latest updates Three babies may have survived and seven others could have been protected if hospital bosses and doctors had taken action over concerns about the nurse Lucy Letby, an official inquiry into the deaths has concluded. A public inquiry led by Lady Justice Thirlwall found a “complete failure” to protect babies on the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester hospital in north-west England. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Josh Halliday North of England editor15 Sept

A Brooklyn bodega cat was stolen – and a community has rallied to try to find him

Two people appeared to take three-month-old Jabal the kitten in plain view of a surveillance camera Owners of a New York City bodega on Monday were holding out hope that they would be reunited with their store’s kitten after a couple passing by the store days earlier appeared to abduct the cat in plain view of a surveillance camera and ignited an intense grassroots search effort. The plight of three-month-old Jabal began on Thursday morning in Brooklyn, when he went just outside the Eighth Street Mini Market where he lives as it opened for the day. A man walking alongside a woman passed the Park Slope market then picked up Jabal, and the pair took off as the kitten visibly squirmed, according to store surveillance video which the bodega’s owner, Imad “Jimmy” Innab, reviewed after he noticed the cat had gone missing. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Ramon Antonio Vargas15 Sept

Imran Khan’s sons accuse Pakistani army chief of vendetta against imprisoned father

Kasim and Sulaiman Khan tell Guardian they believe ex-PM is being ‘slowly killed’ by harsh treatment, driven by Asim Munir The sons of Imran Khan have accused Pakistan’s powerful army chief of a “personal vendetta” against the incarcerated former prime minister and expressed fears their father is being “slowly killed” in jail, as international pressure mounts over his prison conditions. Kasim Khan, 27, and Sulaiman Khan, 29, have become strong advocates for the release of their father, who has been held in Adiala prison in Rawalpindi since his arrest in 2023, and is serving a 14-year sentence on corruption charges . Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Hannah Ellis-Petersen in Delhi and Shah Meer Baloch in Islamabad15 Sept

UK trade unions warn against ‘Americanisation of our politics’ from big political donations

Bosses call union funding ‘cleanest money in politics’ as they stop short of backing cap after Reform UK given £72m UK politics live – latest updates Trade unions have stopped short of backing a cap on political donations but called for further action on big money in politics, in a joint emergency statement after Reform UK was given an unprecedented £72m from two donors . General secretaries have been split on a call for unions to back a specific cap on individual donors to political parties while protecting trade union donations, which the TUC said were the “cleanest money in politics” because it came from workers’ subscriptions. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Jessica Elgot Deputy political editor15 Sept

‘Just be aware of what you’re spending’: budget hints for students

The cost of living crisis hits students hard. Planning ahead and some self-discipline will help, alongside a sharp eye for a bargain and, if you’re eligible, a bursary Like late-night study sessions and cramming into a student kitchen to cook up meals, being savvy with money has long been part of the university experience. But with the cost of living remaining high, students are more money-conscious than ever. “It is one of the most difficult times to make ends meet as a student,” according to Tom Allingham, communications director at Save the Student (STS) . He says soaring prices for essentials, such as food and energy bills, have “disproportionately affected” students, while maintenance loans (intended to help cover day-to-day costs) have failed to keep up with high rates of inflation. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Miatta Mbriwa15 Sept

Lucy Letby public inquiry report findings to be published after repeated delays – latest updates

Long-awaited Thrilwall inquiry has examined how the former nurse was able to murder babies at a Chester neonatal unity over a two-year period My colleagues Jamie Grierson and Josh Halliday have summarised the crimes Lucy Letby has been convicted of in a useful explainer I have linked to at the bottom of this post. What crimes was Lucy Letby convicted of? What was the outcome of the second trial? Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Yohannes Lowe15 Sept

Venice best actress winner says she signed on at Danish job centre days before her victory

Mathilde Arcel, who won the Volpi Cup on Saturday for her role in Golden Lion winner Woman Unknown, said job offers have now begun to arrive The winner of this year’s best actress prize at the Venice film festival has revealed that she is on unemployment benefits and had to fly to back to Copenhagen to report to the job centre before receiving her award. On Saturday night, Danish actor Mathilde Arcel won the prestigious Volpi Cup for her first leading role in a feature film, May el-Toukhy’s post-second world war drama Woman Unknown, which also won the Golden Lion award for best film. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Philip Oltermann European culture editor15 Sept

‘The cauldron was already bubbling …’ Green Lung, Druidess and the return of folk horror to British heavy metal

Playing a sound rooted in 80s bands such as Witchfinder General and Pagan Altar, metal bands are once again gravitating towards dark folklore – but in a ‘Glastonbury crystal shop’ kind of way Behind Tom Templar’s shoulder as we talk over video call is a poster for The Wicker Man , the 1973 cult folk-horror film set on a remote Scottish island, whose sunniness conceals – inevitably – a dark secret. It’s fitting, because Templar is the singer of Green Lung, the breakout British metal band who immerse themselves in British mythology. The forthcoming Necropolitan, their fourth album devoted to the folklore of the isles, takes its inspiration from the “Magnificent Seven” London cemeteries built in the 1830s and 40s, and from the Necropolis railway, which transported the dead out of the city. No generic demons here: this is metal in the spirit of Fairport Convention as much as Black Sabbath. “My big thesis is that heavy metal has become a form of folk music in the past couple of decades,” says Templar. “They’re both riff-based, circling around similar tropes, and about reinventing what has gone before. Metal even feels like a folk movement, in the way it’s full of festivals no one else has heard of. There’s such a thriving ecosystem.” Green Lung have certainly been nourished by it: at this year’s Desertfest in London, their T-shirts felt like an unofficial uniform. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Michael Hann15 Sept

She was the Royal Ballet’s first ‘young choreographer’ – Charlotte Edmonds’ next 10 years show how dance is changing

As a teenager, Edmonds had a three-year residency at the Royal Opera House. Her eclectic career – creating NFTs, adverts and films as well as for the stage – reveals a precarious industry moving in new directions At the age of 18, Charlotte Edmonds was such a promising choreographer (“astonishing”, in the words of the Observer) that the Royal Ballet invented a whole new job for her. As the company’s “ young choreographer ”, she spent three years learning everything she could at one of the world’s biggest dance institutions. “It’s mad to think that happened,” she says, a decade on. With that kind of start, you’d expect Edmonds’ career to have followed a predictable narrative, choreographing for the big ballet brands, maybe setting up her own company. But that’s not exactly how it’s gone. Her eclectic portfolio reflects how the dance industry has changed and become ever more precarious, but also expanded in uncharted directions. She has indeed made short works for a number of European ballet companies, but she’s spent more time recently making films, music videos and adverts for the likes of Budweiser and Nike, as well as advocating for artists with dyslexia and launching her own video series, Cameo , in which she interviews female and non-binary choreographers to counter a lack of representation. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Lyndsey Winship15 Sept

Democrats say supreme court rejection of Trump mail ballot restrictions will ensure ‘safe, secure and accurate elections’ – US politics live

Comments come after court on Monday rejected the president’s mail ballot restrictions ahead of the November midterm elections Supreme court rejects Trump’s mail ballot restrictions for midterm elections Donald Trump is facing a rare backlash from the US Congress as Democrats and some Republicans push for guardrails on the world’s most powerful AI companies. Concerns over the dangerous potential of AI reached fever pitch this week after tech leaders sounded the alarm over the rapid advancement of the technology and its potential threat to humanity. Mitch McConnell , the 84-year-old former Senate majority leader from Kentucky, was seen in Washington for the first time in months on Monday, minutes before his office released a statement saying that he was back at work. With a slip of the tongue reminiscent of Joe Biden, Gavin Newsom , California’s Democratic governor, told CNN that he would not run for president in 2028 if his fellow Californian, former vice-president Kamala Harris , decides to run again, since “I know what that means: I know her base of supporters, I know her friends, the zen diagram on that is just pure crossover.” Donald Trump claimed there is a “SICK conspiracy” against artificial intelligence and data centers in response to the growing calls for greater checks on AI development. In a statement posted on social media , Barack Obama , the former US president, called for the pace of AI development to be slowed to allow time for the federal government to develop regulations to address “serious safety concerns”. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Tom Ambrose15 Sept

Legend of Destruction review – starry voices grace animated telling of the Jewish revolt against the Romans

Eight years in the making, the innovative film uses painted still images – it’s like being read a graphic novel by a cast including Oscar Isaac, Evangeline Lilly and Elliott Gould This Israeli animated film has been largely hanging around in limbo since it was finished in 2021 after taking eight years to complete – though this may or may not be due to the international opprobrium that Israel has attracted in the intervening period. It’s actually a rather fascinating film, if oddly told and a bit severe. Legend of Destruction isn’t about the current conflict, taking place as it does in the first century, 66 years after the birth of Christ – although of course, if you squint a bit, parallels with current events are there to be discerned. Revolutions fracture from within, hegemons topple due to their own greedy self-destruction, and in the end ordinary people are the ones who suffer and die as cities burn. Fill in the blanks as you see fit. Cleaving pretty closely to the known facts as recorded by Flavius Josephus’ The Jewish War and the Talmud, the script by director Gidi Dar and Shuli Rand recounts how Jewish resistance rose up in Judea, particularly in Jerusalem, against the occupying Romans and the reigning Jewish elite, including the Temple’s high priests and queen Berenice of Cilicia (Evangeline Lilly), over excessive taxation. Our protagonist narrator is ordinary schlemiel Ben Batich (voiced in this English language version by Oscar Isaac), who becomes a leader of one faction after he snaps and can no longer agree with the pleas for patience and tolerance from his mother (Marilu Henner) and rabbi uncle Yohanan ben Zakkai (Elliott Gould). Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Leslie Felperin15 Sept

The best iPhones: which Apple smartphone is right for you, according to our expert

Looking for a new iPhone or a good deal on a refurbished one? Samuel Gibbs has tested and rated Apple’s smartphones, including the best for camera quality and battery life • How to make your smartphone last longer The best iPhone may be the one you already own. There’s generally no need to buy a fresh phone just because new models have been released, as hardware updates are broadly iterative, adding small bits to an already accomplished package. But if you do want a replacement handset, whether new or refurbished, here are the best devices of the current crop of Apple smartphones. Many other smartphones are available besides the iPhone, but if you’re an Apple user and don’t fancy switching to Android , there are still a few choices to make. Whether your priority is the longest battery life, the best camera, the biggest screen or simply the optimal balance of features and price, there’s more to choose from in the Apple ecosystem than you may expect. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Samuel Gibbs Consumer technology editor15 Sept

The Breakdown | Meg Jones leads the call to provide fertility support for rugby players

The Red Roses captain says nobody should have to choose between their career and having a family The introduction of funding for egg freezing and wider fertility treatment in women’s football has started a wider discussion about fertility in women’s sport with the Red Roses captain, Meg Jones, shining a light on the topic in rugby. The Spanish football federation and Chelsea have both announced financial support around fertility recently and Jones has said it is something the Red Roses should “jump on too”. On the Good, the Scaz and the Rugby podcast, Jones described those decisions made in football as “class” before revealing that she and her fiancee, former Trailfinders and sevens star Celia Quansah, have been to get their egg count checked. The admission prompted her England teammate Hannah Botterman to share that she and her partner, the Wales player Georgia Evans, had also been researching their IVF journey. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Sarah Rendell15 Sept

London snubbed in favour of Nairobi for 2029 World Athletics Championships

Munich selected for 2031, announces president Seb Coe Source in British bid ‘gutted’ at double disappointment London’s bid for the 2029 World Athletics Championships has ended in failure and heartbreak after it lost out to Nairobi. It marks an historic day for the Kenyan capital as it becomes the first African city to host the global championships. World Athletics president Seb Coe also announced that Munich would be staging the 2031 event, saying it had “all the ingredients to be a spectacular world championships.” Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Sean Ingle15 Sept

From hygge to horsepower: why Swedish design has become the blueprint for modern EVs

The Scandi aesthetic has shaped countless aspects of everyday life. Now, as combustion engines give way to battery packs, those same pared-back principles are proving a natural fit for the latest electric vehicles Scandinavian design used to be something most of us thought we could readily spot: pale wood, simple furniture, clean lines, maybe a carefully chosen lamp and very little clutter. However, over the past few years it has become much more than a look – you can see its influence in the way we decorate our homes, the clothes we buy, the technology we use and even in the growing obsession with wellness and trying to make modern life feel just a little less hectic. I think that’s why Swedish design feels so relevant right now. We have more stuff, more screens, more notifications and more things fighting for our attention than ever before. Against all that noise, cool simplicity suddenly feels rather luxurious. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Steve Fowler15 Sept