First minister says deal ahas served its purposea and is no longer providing stability in parliament

Humza Yousaf, the SNP leader and Scottish first minister, is holding a press conference now.

He says he has been in the post for little more than a year.

We are investing record [sums in the NHS], ensuring it can employ record numbers of staff delivering the best performing A&E units in UK. We are, of course, the only part of the UK to avoid strike action in NHS. Iave delivered the council tax freeze this year in every local authority, helping families a|

And last week we approved plans for Europeas largest floating offshore wind farm. These are just some of the actions that are making Scotland a better country.

Senedd member Cefin Campbell says his brother Darrel acted instinctively in avery, very challenging situationa

A teacher who intervened in a playground altercation in which two staff members and a pupil were stabbed does not consider himself a hero, his brother has said.

Police are continuing to investigate the incident at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman in Carmarthenshire, south-west Wales. A teenage girl has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

Two of the four instances include comments about Michael Cohen, one involves the jury and one involves David Pecker

• A guide to Trumpas hush-money trial
• Who is David Pecker, key witness in Trumpas criminal trial?

aHe said she was a 12 out of 10,a David Pecker says the former editor in chief of the National Enquirer, Dylan Howard, told him about Karen McDougal after meeting with her.

Pecker says McDougal told Howard she didnat want her story about Trump to be published. He says:

She said she didnat want to be the next Monica Lewinsky, a| She wanted to restart her career.

Dylan came to me in early June of 2016 and said that he received a call from one of his major sources, in California, that thereas a Playboy model who is trying to sell a story about a relationship that she had with Donald Trump for a year.

Family lists property where war veteran raised funds during Covid a minus unauthorised spa pool

The listed family home where Captain Sir Tom Moore walked laps of his garden to raise millions of pounds for the NHS during the Covid pandemic has gone on sale for APS2.25m.

The sight of the 99-year-old war veteran walking lengths of his garden, aided by a walking frame, charmed Britain in lockdown and raised APS38.9m for health service charities.

High court judge orders actor turned politician to pay APS90,000 damages to each individual for social media libel

The actor turned politician Laurence Fox has been ordered to pay APS90,000 each in damages to two people he libelled by referring to them as apaedophilesa on social media.

A high court judge made the order in London on Thursday.

Locals say city is against plan and accuse authorities of turning Venice into a atheme parka by charging day trippers for visits

The latest target in Amsterdamas decade-long battle against overtourism is an unlikely one: river cruises.

City finance chief Hester van Buren announced this month that the city wants to halve the number of river cruises by 2028, from the current total of 2125. Councillors have already voted to close an ocean cruise terminal in the city centre.

Court rules judge who oversaw landmark trial was mistaken in allowing women whose accusations were not part of case to testify

The disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinsteinas 2020 conviction on sex crimes was overturned by a New York appeals court on Thursday.

In a 4-3 decision, the state of New York court of appeals ruled that the judge who oversaw Weinsteinas 2020 conviction prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with aegregiousa improper rulings and was mistaken in allowing other women whose accusations were not a part of the 2020 case to testify.

Two officers appear in court over incident involving one-legged care home resident Donald Burgess

Two police officers accused of firing a Taser and pepper spray at a 93-year-old care home resident who had one leg have pleaded not guilty to assault.

The officers were responding to a call from a care home in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, in June 2022 when Donald Burgess threatened staff with a knife.

Exclusive: MSF calls for transparency after its bill for a trial of TB treatment came to a fraction of the billions claimed by pharmaceutical companies

Doctors have for the first time released details of their spending on a major clinical trial, demonstrating that the true cost of developing a medicine may be far less than the billions of dollars claimed by the pharmaceutical industry.

MA(c)decins Sans FrontiA"res (MSF) is challenging drug companies to be transparent about the cost of trials, which has always been shrouded in secrecy. Its own bill for landmark trials of a four-drug combination treatment for drug-resistant tuberculosis came to a!34m (APS29m).

Super-rich can avoid queues as club puts five-year debentures up for sale a applications close on Friday

Tennis fans who struggle each year to secure tickets in Wimbledonas public ballot or wait hours in the famous queue may be surprised to discover that almost a fifth of the seats on Centre Court are being sold to the global super-rich for APS116,000 a each.

A total of 2,520 of the adebenturesa are on sale, offering a reserved seat for each of the 14 days of the tournament for five years from 2026-30. Applications to buy the exclusive seats a positioned on the same level as the royal box a close at midday on Friday.

Hundreds voice dismay at Sunak and Starmer, accusing them of misreading UK attitudes towards Europe

• UK politics a latest updates

Elena, 35, was aflabbergasteda when she heard that both Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer had dismissed a proposal by the European Commission to reintroduce freedom of movement for young people between the EU and the UK.

Last Friday, the prime minister rejected the post-Brexit youth mobility deal, which would have allowed Britons aged between 18 and 30 to live, study or work in the EU for up to four years, after Labour declined the offer the previous day.

Some residents say a!5 fee aimed at curtailing over-tourism goes against principle of freedom of movement

Veniceas entrance charge for day-trippers has got off to a shaky start, bewildering people staying in hotels who needed to prove their exemption and drawing protests from some residents.

The a!5 (APS4.30) charge, aimed at curtailing over-tourism, has ignited fury among some residents. The charge kicked in at 8.30am on Thursday and will apply on 29 peak days until 14 July as part of a trial phase.

Pedro SA!nchez accuses opponents of abullying operationa conducted against him and his wife, BegoA+-a GA3mez

On Wednesday night, Spainas socialist prime minister, Pedro SA!nchez, abruptly announced he was cancelling his public duties for the rest of the week and considering resigning from office. He said he would announce his decision on Monday.

Beccy, 49, and Natalie, 60, became best friends after she visited Natalieas rescue farm in Ontario, Canada. They now run events together on the farm and love travelling together

• Tell us your story of how you met someone special

When Beccyas cousin suggested they go to an open day at a local farm, she jumped at the chance. aWe live in a small rural area called South Glengarry in Ontario. She told me about this woman who rescues animals and was raising money through a visiting day,a she says. aWe got there and she had so many animals and beautiful gardens. I was impressed.a

They tried to find Natalie, the farm owner, to say hello, but she was nowhere to be found. Instead, Beccy looked up the rescue centre on Facebook to learn more. A few months later, in the autumn of 2017, she mentioned the farm visit to some friends. aThey told me they knew Natalie and suggested we all get together for dinner with her and her husband.a

The actor on tricking her tear ducts, being entertained as a child by Tom Cruise and legging it from dinosaurs while wearing stilettos

Hi Bryce! If two generations makes an acting family, does three make an acting dynasty? [Her father is director Ron Howard, both of whose parents were actors.] JohnHunt
I think a dynasty is five generations or more, so weare not even close. Weave got a way to go. Weave got three generations, so maybe Iall be around for it when the Howards cross that threshold.

When youare directing something thatas part of a larger collection, such as The Mandalorian, how do you find the balance between maintaining the tone and making something that reflects your own artistic vision? porcospino
Something like The Mandalorian is such an important story and piece of intellectual property. Itas dramaturgically essential to understand the essence of the creator and what inspired them to create that in the first place, so whatever Iam building on is an extension of their original vision. In the case of Star Wars, itas George Lucas, but I would feel that way no matter what the material is. Itas very important to have a deep, nuanced, compassionate and objective view when you take the baton.

As Drake, Kendrick Lamar and more continue their high-profile beef, we run down the most inspired a and vicious a attacks in rapas history

• aA lot of rich guys arguinga: inside the rap beef of the decade

Whether you view the beef that has consumed hip-hopas upper echelons as a spicy addition to the genre or a dispiriting Trumpian exercise by grandstanding millionaires, itas hard not to love the fire and venom of Lamaras verse here, bashing J Cole and Drake.

Could they agree on immigration and housing? And why did the conversation turn to pigeon racing?

Sian, 56, Herefordshire

Occupation CEO of a social enterprise

What broke me as a child was my motheras death from breast cancer. But around that shattering, I became a person a and learned how to parent my son

I try to remember her hands. They were younger than mine are now. I imagine her long fingers and yellow, uneven and unpolished fingernails. Or had her nails fallen out? I am eight, about to turn nine; she will be dead in two weeks. Today is Motheras Day and I am allowed to stay home alone with her while everyone else goes to church. I am to be her helper, so I carry a basket up from downstairs. I set it on her bed. She is sitting up.

I know this is meant to be our day, our time; it is the first and last time I will be alone with her in this house. But I donat want to be here. Within weeks, she has transformed from my mother into a ghost, a skeleton; no hair, scarves covering her head. I know I am supposed to want to be with her on this day, but how can I want that? To be with a dying woman, my disappearing mother, whom I resent. It is too much. aWhat are you doing?a, I want to scream. aWhat do you expect me to do now, here without you?a

Strict rules have led to a wild west of rentals, with visitors choosing between huge hotel bills or word-of-mouth deals

Until recently, visitors to New York basically had two options: hotel rooms or short-term rental platforms like Airbnb. But in September 2023, the city started enforcing a 2022 law that banned people from renting their homes for fewer than 30 days (unless the host stayed in the home with guests).

Now the only legit option for people visiting the city is hotel rooms a and theyare unaffordable for many. Most of the Times Square hotels donat have rooms for less than $300 a night. A search for Thursday 2 May found the Muse at $356, Hampton Inn at $323 and the Hard Rock at $459 (although, because of dynamic pricing, these are subject to regular change). Theyare getting more expensive still. Hotel rates have increased between the first quarter of this year and the first quarter of 2023 at twice the rate of inflation, said Jan Freitag, an analyst at the real-estate data firm CoStar Group.

These stunning, extremely relatable women, with nuanced facial expressions and sensible shoes, helped me outline success on my own terms

I love watching television a ideally in bed with a bowl of salt and vinegar potato chips and a bottle of Coke, zoning out for hours.

Iave always been like this. In my teens and 20s I watched back-to-back-to-back Law & Order and Law & Order SVU episodes. I loved the comfort and reliability of the form: the drama of a murder, investigation, plot twist and resolution, all in under 60 minutes. But several years ago, I stopped watching Law & Order; I grew uncomfortable with its uncritical portrayal of the police.

Britainas first black female MP faced hostility from the media and political establishment from the start. Nearly 40 years on, she is still not giving up

Six weeks ago, the Conservativesa biggest donor, Frank Hester, was revealed by the Guardian to have spoken at a meeting of his healthcare company, the Phoenix Partnership, about one of Britainas longest-serving and most pioneering MPs. aYou see Diane Abbott on the TV and a| you just want to hate all black women,a Hester said. aI think she should be shot.a

The meeting had taken place in 2019, when Abbott was Labouras shadow home secretary. As a lifelong defender of civil liberties, a radical leftwinger and a close ally of the then party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, Abbott was notably different from previous holders of the role. But there was an anger and viciousness to Hesteras remarks, which are being investigated by the police, and also a limit to the Labour support for her that they prompted, which was very striking.

Our capital has many problems, but it is time to push back against attacks from those who neither know nor understand it

I have been reading about the most abysmal place. It is a land where children, red-faced with their own radicalism, march alongside bearded Islamists to make the streets a no-go zone, while nodding-dog liberals curse the Brexiter masses for inflating the cost of their arugula. It boasts an infinite array of pronouns; multimillion-pound townhouses whose residents demand you check your privilege; a thousand rainbow flags, but not a single St Georgeas cross. It is rife with criminal behaviour, which extends far beyond the prices charged by pub landlords. Hieronymus Bosch, put down your paintbrush: this place truly is Hell.

It also happens to be my home.

Aditya Chakrabortty is a Guardian columnist

Our former PM has a dire warning and a book to sell, but it isnat really cutting through. A bit more Brit-style bumbling might help

aI know the name,a texts a friend when I ask if she knows who Liz Truss is, but like most Americans canat quite put her finger on why. aLike 8%,a guesses another when I ask her to put a number on how many of her countrymen she imagines know of Truss. The standard response, in my extremely unscientific poll of Americans as to whether or not they know of Truss, however, was: aNo, should I?a a the answer to which, of course, depends entirely on whether you want to understand why the Tory party is polling around 20% or whether you happen to be Liz Truss.

Truss, the only one of us to suffer that particular misfortune, was in Washington DC this week trying, like so many minor British celebrities before her, to catch the eye of the Americans. At the Heritage Foundation, a rightwing thinktank that hosted the launch of Trussas book Ten Years to Save the West, she came bearing a awarninga. Not an ideal ice-breaker, perhaps, but one clearly tailored to an audience receptive to the frisson of the term aforces of the global lefta.

Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist

Devolution has been too cautious, and England has less say about community affairs than almost any other democracy

• Tony Travers is a visiting professor in the LSE department of government and a director of LSE London

All the bigger British political parties are in favour of devolution, yet it proves oddly difficult to deliver. England is a remarkably centralised country, with the UK government responsible for setting every tax, including the annual cap on council tax. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are also, despite their devolved status, heavily centralised within their own national systems of government.

It is exactly 50 years since the major reform of local government structure in England and Wales. Prior to the 1974 changes, there were 1,245 councils in England; after the reforms were implemented, the number of councils was slashed to just 412. Today there are 317 councils, and the number continues to fall as the result of a near-continual reorganisation, which has turned two-tier counties a where there were county councils plus districts within them a into one or more unitary councils, where a single council provides all municipal services. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, after more recent reforms, now have a single tier of large municipalities.

Today, we remember the 1974 Carnation Revolution. But as memories of dictatorship fade, anti-democratic forces are on the rise

Fifty years ago, on 25 April 1974, a military-led movement in Portugal took down the rightwing authoritarian regime that had governed the country for 41 years. The Carnation Revolution, named after the flowers people offered soldiers on the streets, led the country to democracy and an era of immense social progress a reducing infant mortality and illiteracy rates, for example, which were comparatively very high in 1974. By 1986, Portugal had made enough strides to be able to join the European Communities, now the EU.

I was born in the early 1990s, but even in my generation 25 April is a hallowed anniversary for many. Growing up as a teenager interested in politics generated a strong emotional attachment to a national holiday centred on the celebration of political freedom.

It is perverse that adults are legally protected from violence, yet striking a child can be defended. Calls for a ban are getting louder

When a child is scared of their parents, they can spend a long time plucking up the courage to talk. I learned this during a decade of volunteering as a Childline counsellor. There is a 20-second period, in between saying your name and waiting for them to share theirs, that is the most silent the air can ever be. You could hear a pin drop or just a calleras breath echoing on the receiver. In that moment, a young girl who has been slapped by her father is deciding whether to ask for help or to hang up and try again to form the words in a week or two.

I thought of this silence as I read calls from leading doctors to ban parents from smacking their children in England and Northern Ireland. Unlike in Scotland and Wales a where over the past four years the Victorian-era law that allows it has been overturned a it is still legal for a parent or carer to hit, smack or slap their child if it is a areasonablea punishment.

Frances Ryan is a Guardian columnist and author of Crippled: Austerity and the Demonisation of Disabled People

Idahoas law requires doctors to treat pregnant womenas health as disposable a and the loss of their lives as an acceptable risk

The risk of stating plainly what Idaho argued at the US supreme court on Wednesday morning is that it is so sadistic and extreme that people might not believe you. Idaho has one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country. Prohibiting all abortions at any stage of gestation, with no exceptions for rape or incest, the Idaho law allows doctors to perform abortions in cases where the life a but not amerelya the health a of the pregnant woman is at risk.

In practice, this has wound up being a ban on abortions needed to save womenas lives: according to Idaho hospitals, six pregnant women experiencing medical emergencies have had to be airlifted across state lines to hospitals in states with life and health exemptions in the months since Idaho began enforcing its abortion ban. One way to describe this state of affairs is to say that Idahoas abortion law has come into conflict with medical best practice. Another way to describe it is to say that the law has forced pregnant women to flee the state for their lives.

Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist

The safety and security of Palestinians and Jews are interdependent, so we should use language carefully

In reporting on the encampments springing up on college campuses across the US, the media seem to have convened a terminology confab and agreed on two descriptions: apro-Palestiniana and aanti-Israela. These labels oversimplify Americansa opinions on Israelas onslaught against Gaza, which marked its 200th day on Tuesday with no end in sight. But the error is worse than semantic.

aUniversities Struggle as Pro-Palestinian Demonstrations Grow,a says the New York Times. aColleges Struggle to Contain Intensifying Pro-Palestinian Protests,a reports the Wall Street Journal. In Minneapolis, the Star Tribune has the local news that the aUniversity of Minnesota police arrest nine after pro-Palestinian encampment set up on campusa. Some publications less shy about displaying their political biases take the opposite tack. A headline in the right-leaning New York Post, for instance, exaggerated the literally incendiary nature of the demonstratorsa tactics: aAnti-Israel protesters carry flares to march on NYPD HQ after over 130 arrested at NYU.a The accompanying video is cast in red. Ever evenhanded, CBS does both: aPro-Palestinian, pro-Israel protesters gather outside Columbia University.a

Judith Levine is a Brooklyn journalist and essayist, a contributing writer to the Intercept and the author of five books

The late elder statesman understood the need for a progressive realignment of British politics. That prize shouldnat be lost

David Marquand and Frank Field, both of whom died this week, never sat on the Labour benches together. The professor of politics and the long-serving backbench MP had very different temperaments too, one searchingly academic, the other a bold moraliser. They also disagreed about many of the big issues in British politics, the European Union above all.

But they also had some hugely important things in common. Both started as free-thinking Labour MPs a Marquand in 1966 and Field in 1979. Both possessed a rare degree of intellectual and spiritual hinterland. Both then went on lifetime political journeys. These took them increasingly away from Labour, though they always remained in Labouras orbit.

Martin Kettle is a Guardian columnist

A desperate prime minister has given up trying to meaningfully account for the money he is putting into pre-election promises

According to the myth, Catherine IIas courtier Grigory Potemkin recruited peasants to populate fake villages erected along the Dnipro River, so the Russian empress, passing in her barge, might get a favourable impression of conditions in newly conquered Crimea. Historians doubt that it happened, but the idea of counterfeiting progress to appease the boss was plausible enough for the name aPotemkin villagea to have stuck.

In a democracy, the boss is the electorate, which leads governments to erect Potemkin policies a paper pledges puffed up as substantial measures a to convince voters that all is well. Rishi Sunakas announcement on defence spending this week is a case in point.

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

First minister says deal ahas served its purposea and is no longer providing stability in parliament

Humza Yousaf, the SNP leader and Scottish first minister, is holding a press conference now.

He says he has been in the post for little more than a year.

We are investing record [sums in the NHS], ensuring it can employ record numbers of staff delivering the best performing A&E units in UK. We are, of course, the only part of the UK to avoid strike action in NHS. Iave delivered the council tax freeze this year in every local authority, helping families a|

And last week we approved plans for Europeas largest floating offshore wind farm. These are just some of the actions that are making Scotland a better country.

Senedd member Cefin Campbell says his brother Darrel acted instinctively in avery, very challenging situationa

A teacher who intervened in a playground altercation in which two staff members and a pupil were stabbed does not consider himself a hero, his brother has said.

Police are continuing to investigate the incident at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman in Carmarthenshire, south-west Wales. A teenage girl has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

Two of the four instances include comments about Michael Cohen, one involves the jury and one involves David Pecker

• A guide to Trumpas hush-money trial
• Who is David Pecker, key witness in Trumpas criminal trial?

aHe said she was a 12 out of 10,a David Pecker says the former editor in chief of the National Enquirer, Dylan Howard, told him about Karen McDougal after meeting with her.

Pecker says McDougal told Howard she didnat want her story about Trump to be published. He says:

She said she didnat want to be the next Monica Lewinsky, a| She wanted to restart her career.

Dylan came to me in early June of 2016 and said that he received a call from one of his major sources, in California, that thereas a Playboy model who is trying to sell a story about a relationship that she had with Donald Trump for a year.

Family lists property where war veteran raised funds during Covid a minus unauthorised spa pool

The listed family home where Captain Sir Tom Moore walked laps of his garden to raise millions of pounds for the NHS during the Covid pandemic has gone on sale for APS2.25m.

The sight of the 99-year-old war veteran walking lengths of his garden, aided by a walking frame, charmed Britain in lockdown and raised APS38.9m for health service charities.

High court judge orders actor turned politician to pay APS90,000 damages to each individual for social media libel

The actor turned politician Laurence Fox has been ordered to pay APS90,000 each in damages to two people he libelled by referring to them as apaedophilesa on social media.

A high court judge made the order in London on Thursday.

Locals say city is against plan and accuse authorities of turning Venice into a atheme parka by charging day trippers for visits

The latest target in Amsterdamas decade-long battle against overtourism is an unlikely one: river cruises.

City finance chief Hester van Buren announced this month that the city wants to halve the number of river cruises by 2028, from the current total of 2125. Councillors have already voted to close an ocean cruise terminal in the city centre.

Court rules judge who oversaw landmark trial was mistaken in allowing women whose accusations were not part of case to testify

The disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinsteinas 2020 conviction on sex crimes was overturned by a New York appeals court on Thursday.

In a 4-3 decision, the state of New York court of appeals ruled that the judge who oversaw Weinsteinas 2020 conviction prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with aegregiousa improper rulings and was mistaken in allowing other women whose accusations were not a part of the 2020 case to testify.

Two officers appear in court over incident involving one-legged care home resident Donald Burgess

Two police officers accused of firing a Taser and pepper spray at a 93-year-old care home resident who had one leg have pleaded not guilty to assault.

The officers were responding to a call from a care home in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, in June 2022 when Donald Burgess threatened staff with a knife.

Exclusive: MSF calls for transparency after its bill for a trial of TB treatment came to a fraction of the billions claimed by pharmaceutical companies

Doctors have for the first time released details of their spending on a major clinical trial, demonstrating that the true cost of developing a medicine may be far less than the billions of dollars claimed by the pharmaceutical industry.

MA(c)decins Sans FrontiA"res (MSF) is challenging drug companies to be transparent about the cost of trials, which has always been shrouded in secrecy. Its own bill for landmark trials of a four-drug combination treatment for drug-resistant tuberculosis came to a!34m (APS29m).

Super-rich can avoid queues as club puts five-year debentures up for sale a applications close on Friday

Tennis fans who struggle each year to secure tickets in Wimbledonas public ballot or wait hours in the famous queue may be surprised to discover that almost a fifth of the seats on Centre Court are being sold to the global super-rich for APS116,000 a each.

A total of 2,520 of the adebenturesa are on sale, offering a reserved seat for each of the 14 days of the tournament for five years from 2026-30. Applications to buy the exclusive seats a positioned on the same level as the royal box a close at midday on Friday.

Hundreds voice dismay at Sunak and Starmer, accusing them of misreading UK attitudes towards Europe

• UK politics a latest updates

Elena, 35, was aflabbergasteda when she heard that both Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer had dismissed a proposal by the European Commission to reintroduce freedom of movement for young people between the EU and the UK.

Last Friday, the prime minister rejected the post-Brexit youth mobility deal, which would have allowed Britons aged between 18 and 30 to live, study or work in the EU for up to four years, after Labour declined the offer the previous day.

Some residents say a!5 fee aimed at curtailing over-tourism goes against principle of freedom of movement

Veniceas entrance charge for day-trippers has got off to a shaky start, bewildering people staying in hotels who needed to prove their exemption and drawing protests from some residents.

The a!5 (APS4.30) charge, aimed at curtailing over-tourism, has ignited fury among some residents. The charge kicked in at 8.30am on Thursday and will apply on 29 peak days until 14 July as part of a trial phase.

Pedro SA!nchez accuses opponents of abullying operationa conducted against him and his wife, BegoA+-a GA3mez

On Wednesday night, Spainas socialist prime minister, Pedro SA!nchez, abruptly announced he was cancelling his public duties for the rest of the week and considering resigning from office. He said he would announce his decision on Monday.

Beccy, 49, and Natalie, 60, became best friends after she visited Natalieas rescue farm in Ontario, Canada. They now run events together on the farm and love travelling together

• Tell us your story of how you met someone special

When Beccyas cousin suggested they go to an open day at a local farm, she jumped at the chance. aWe live in a small rural area called South Glengarry in Ontario. She told me about this woman who rescues animals and was raising money through a visiting day,a she says. aWe got there and she had so many animals and beautiful gardens. I was impressed.a

They tried to find Natalie, the farm owner, to say hello, but she was nowhere to be found. Instead, Beccy looked up the rescue centre on Facebook to learn more. A few months later, in the autumn of 2017, she mentioned the farm visit to some friends. aThey told me they knew Natalie and suggested we all get together for dinner with her and her husband.a

The actor on tricking her tear ducts, being entertained as a child by Tom Cruise and legging it from dinosaurs while wearing stilettos

Hi Bryce! If two generations makes an acting family, does three make an acting dynasty? [Her father is director Ron Howard, both of whose parents were actors.] JohnHunt
I think a dynasty is five generations or more, so weare not even close. Weave got a way to go. Weave got three generations, so maybe Iall be around for it when the Howards cross that threshold.

When youare directing something thatas part of a larger collection, such as The Mandalorian, how do you find the balance between maintaining the tone and making something that reflects your own artistic vision? porcospino
Something like The Mandalorian is such an important story and piece of intellectual property. Itas dramaturgically essential to understand the essence of the creator and what inspired them to create that in the first place, so whatever Iam building on is an extension of their original vision. In the case of Star Wars, itas George Lucas, but I would feel that way no matter what the material is. Itas very important to have a deep, nuanced, compassionate and objective view when you take the baton.

As Drake, Kendrick Lamar and more continue their high-profile beef, we run down the most inspired a and vicious a attacks in rapas history

• aA lot of rich guys arguinga: inside the rap beef of the decade

Whether you view the beef that has consumed hip-hopas upper echelons as a spicy addition to the genre or a dispiriting Trumpian exercise by grandstanding millionaires, itas hard not to love the fire and venom of Lamaras verse here, bashing J Cole and Drake.

Could they agree on immigration and housing? And why did the conversation turn to pigeon racing?

Sian, 56, Herefordshire

Occupation CEO of a social enterprise

What broke me as a child was my motheras death from breast cancer. But around that shattering, I became a person a and learned how to parent my son

I try to remember her hands. They were younger than mine are now. I imagine her long fingers and yellow, uneven and unpolished fingernails. Or had her nails fallen out? I am eight, about to turn nine; she will be dead in two weeks. Today is Motheras Day and I am allowed to stay home alone with her while everyone else goes to church. I am to be her helper, so I carry a basket up from downstairs. I set it on her bed. She is sitting up.

I know this is meant to be our day, our time; it is the first and last time I will be alone with her in this house. But I donat want to be here. Within weeks, she has transformed from my mother into a ghost, a skeleton; no hair, scarves covering her head. I know I am supposed to want to be with her on this day, but how can I want that? To be with a dying woman, my disappearing mother, whom I resent. It is too much. aWhat are you doing?a, I want to scream. aWhat do you expect me to do now, here without you?a

Strict rules have led to a wild west of rentals, with visitors choosing between huge hotel bills or word-of-mouth deals

Until recently, visitors to New York basically had two options: hotel rooms or short-term rental platforms like Airbnb. But in September 2023, the city started enforcing a 2022 law that banned people from renting their homes for fewer than 30 days (unless the host stayed in the home with guests).

Now the only legit option for people visiting the city is hotel rooms a and theyare unaffordable for many. Most of the Times Square hotels donat have rooms for less than $300 a night. A search for Thursday 2 May found the Muse at $356, Hampton Inn at $323 and the Hard Rock at $459 (although, because of dynamic pricing, these are subject to regular change). Theyare getting more expensive still. Hotel rates have increased between the first quarter of this year and the first quarter of 2023 at twice the rate of inflation, said Jan Freitag, an analyst at the real-estate data firm CoStar Group.

These stunning, extremely relatable women, with nuanced facial expressions and sensible shoes, helped me outline success on my own terms

I love watching television a ideally in bed with a bowl of salt and vinegar potato chips and a bottle of Coke, zoning out for hours.

Iave always been like this. In my teens and 20s I watched back-to-back-to-back Law & Order and Law & Order SVU episodes. I loved the comfort and reliability of the form: the drama of a murder, investigation, plot twist and resolution, all in under 60 minutes. But several years ago, I stopped watching Law & Order; I grew uncomfortable with its uncritical portrayal of the police.

Britainas first black female MP faced hostility from the media and political establishment from the start. Nearly 40 years on, she is still not giving up

Six weeks ago, the Conservativesa biggest donor, Frank Hester, was revealed by the Guardian to have spoken at a meeting of his healthcare company, the Phoenix Partnership, about one of Britainas longest-serving and most pioneering MPs. aYou see Diane Abbott on the TV and a| you just want to hate all black women,a Hester said. aI think she should be shot.a

The meeting had taken place in 2019, when Abbott was Labouras shadow home secretary. As a lifelong defender of civil liberties, a radical leftwinger and a close ally of the then party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, Abbott was notably different from previous holders of the role. But there was an anger and viciousness to Hesteras remarks, which are being investigated by the police, and also a limit to the Labour support for her that they prompted, which was very striking.

Our capital has many problems, but it is time to push back against attacks from those who neither know nor understand it

I have been reading about the most abysmal place. It is a land where children, red-faced with their own radicalism, march alongside bearded Islamists to make the streets a no-go zone, while nodding-dog liberals curse the Brexiter masses for inflating the cost of their arugula. It boasts an infinite array of pronouns; multimillion-pound townhouses whose residents demand you check your privilege; a thousand rainbow flags, but not a single St Georgeas cross. It is rife with criminal behaviour, which extends far beyond the prices charged by pub landlords. Hieronymus Bosch, put down your paintbrush: this place truly is Hell.

It also happens to be my home.

Aditya Chakrabortty is a Guardian columnist

Our former PM has a dire warning and a book to sell, but it isnat really cutting through. A bit more Brit-style bumbling might help

aI know the name,a texts a friend when I ask if she knows who Liz Truss is, but like most Americans canat quite put her finger on why. aLike 8%,a guesses another when I ask her to put a number on how many of her countrymen she imagines know of Truss. The standard response, in my extremely unscientific poll of Americans as to whether or not they know of Truss, however, was: aNo, should I?a a the answer to which, of course, depends entirely on whether you want to understand why the Tory party is polling around 20% or whether you happen to be Liz Truss.

Truss, the only one of us to suffer that particular misfortune, was in Washington DC this week trying, like so many minor British celebrities before her, to catch the eye of the Americans. At the Heritage Foundation, a rightwing thinktank that hosted the launch of Trussas book Ten Years to Save the West, she came bearing a awarninga. Not an ideal ice-breaker, perhaps, but one clearly tailored to an audience receptive to the frisson of the term aforces of the global lefta.

Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist

Devolution has been too cautious, and England has less say about community affairs than almost any other democracy

• Tony Travers is a visiting professor in the LSE department of government and a director of LSE London

All the bigger British political parties are in favour of devolution, yet it proves oddly difficult to deliver. England is a remarkably centralised country, with the UK government responsible for setting every tax, including the annual cap on council tax. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are also, despite their devolved status, heavily centralised within their own national systems of government.

It is exactly 50 years since the major reform of local government structure in England and Wales. Prior to the 1974 changes, there were 1,245 councils in England; after the reforms were implemented, the number of councils was slashed to just 412. Today there are 317 councils, and the number continues to fall as the result of a near-continual reorganisation, which has turned two-tier counties a where there were county councils plus districts within them a into one or more unitary councils, where a single council provides all municipal services. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, after more recent reforms, now have a single tier of large municipalities.

Today, we remember the 1974 Carnation Revolution. But as memories of dictatorship fade, anti-democratic forces are on the rise

Fifty years ago, on 25 April 1974, a military-led movement in Portugal took down the rightwing authoritarian regime that had governed the country for 41 years. The Carnation Revolution, named after the flowers people offered soldiers on the streets, led the country to democracy and an era of immense social progress a reducing infant mortality and illiteracy rates, for example, which were comparatively very high in 1974. By 1986, Portugal had made enough strides to be able to join the European Communities, now the EU.

I was born in the early 1990s, but even in my generation 25 April is a hallowed anniversary for many. Growing up as a teenager interested in politics generated a strong emotional attachment to a national holiday centred on the celebration of political freedom.

It is perverse that adults are legally protected from violence, yet striking a child can be defended. Calls for a ban are getting louder

When a child is scared of their parents, they can spend a long time plucking up the courage to talk. I learned this during a decade of volunteering as a Childline counsellor. There is a 20-second period, in between saying your name and waiting for them to share theirs, that is the most silent the air can ever be. You could hear a pin drop or just a calleras breath echoing on the receiver. In that moment, a young girl who has been slapped by her father is deciding whether to ask for help or to hang up and try again to form the words in a week or two.

I thought of this silence as I read calls from leading doctors to ban parents from smacking their children in England and Northern Ireland. Unlike in Scotland and Wales a where over the past four years the Victorian-era law that allows it has been overturned a it is still legal for a parent or carer to hit, smack or slap their child if it is a areasonablea punishment.

Frances Ryan is a Guardian columnist and author of Crippled: Austerity and the Demonisation of Disabled People

Idahoas law requires doctors to treat pregnant womenas health as disposable a and the loss of their lives as an acceptable risk

The risk of stating plainly what Idaho argued at the US supreme court on Wednesday morning is that it is so sadistic and extreme that people might not believe you. Idaho has one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country. Prohibiting all abortions at any stage of gestation, with no exceptions for rape or incest, the Idaho law allows doctors to perform abortions in cases where the life a but not amerelya the health a of the pregnant woman is at risk.

In practice, this has wound up being a ban on abortions needed to save womenas lives: according to Idaho hospitals, six pregnant women experiencing medical emergencies have had to be airlifted across state lines to hospitals in states with life and health exemptions in the months since Idaho began enforcing its abortion ban. One way to describe this state of affairs is to say that Idahoas abortion law has come into conflict with medical best practice. Another way to describe it is to say that the law has forced pregnant women to flee the state for their lives.

Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist

The safety and security of Palestinians and Jews are interdependent, so we should use language carefully

In reporting on the encampments springing up on college campuses across the US, the media seem to have convened a terminology confab and agreed on two descriptions: apro-Palestiniana and aanti-Israela. These labels oversimplify Americansa opinions on Israelas onslaught against Gaza, which marked its 200th day on Tuesday with no end in sight. But the error is worse than semantic.

aUniversities Struggle as Pro-Palestinian Demonstrations Grow,a says the New York Times. aColleges Struggle to Contain Intensifying Pro-Palestinian Protests,a reports the Wall Street Journal. In Minneapolis, the Star Tribune has the local news that the aUniversity of Minnesota police arrest nine after pro-Palestinian encampment set up on campusa. Some publications less shy about displaying their political biases take the opposite tack. A headline in the right-leaning New York Post, for instance, exaggerated the literally incendiary nature of the demonstratorsa tactics: aAnti-Israel protesters carry flares to march on NYPD HQ after over 130 arrested at NYU.a The accompanying video is cast in red. Ever evenhanded, CBS does both: aPro-Palestinian, pro-Israel protesters gather outside Columbia University.a

Judith Levine is a Brooklyn journalist and essayist, a contributing writer to the Intercept and the author of five books

The late elder statesman understood the need for a progressive realignment of British politics. That prize shouldnat be lost

David Marquand and Frank Field, both of whom died this week, never sat on the Labour benches together. The professor of politics and the long-serving backbench MP had very different temperaments too, one searchingly academic, the other a bold moraliser. They also disagreed about many of the big issues in British politics, the European Union above all.

But they also had some hugely important things in common. Both started as free-thinking Labour MPs a Marquand in 1966 and Field in 1979. Both possessed a rare degree of intellectual and spiritual hinterland. Both then went on lifetime political journeys. These took them increasingly away from Labour, though they always remained in Labouras orbit.

Martin Kettle is a Guardian columnist

First minister says deal ahas served its purposea and is no longer providing stability in parliament

Humza Yousaf, the SNP leader and Scottish first minister, is holding a press conference now.

He says he has been in the post for little more than a year.

We are investing record [sums in the NHS], ensuring it can employ record numbers of staff delivering the best performing A&E units in UK. We are, of course, the only part of the UK to avoid strike action in NHS. Iave delivered the council tax freeze this year in every local authority, helping families a|

And last week we approved plans for Europeas largest floating offshore wind farm. These are just some of the actions that are making Scotland a better country.

Senedd member Cefin Campbell says his brother Darrel acted instinctively in avery, very challenging situationa

A teacher who intervened in a playground altercation in which two staff members and a pupil were stabbed does not consider himself a hero, his brother has said.

Police are continuing to investigate the incident at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman in Carmarthenshire, south-west Wales. A teenage girl has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

Two of the four instances include comments about Michael Cohen, one involves the jury and one involves David Pecker

• A guide to Trumpas hush-money trial
• Who is David Pecker, key witness in Trumpas criminal trial?

aHe said she was a 12 out of 10,a David Pecker says the former editor in chief of the National Enquirer, Dylan Howard, told him about Karen McDougal after meeting with her.

Pecker says McDougal told Howard she didnat want her story about Trump to be published. He says:

She said she didnat want to be the next Monica Lewinsky, a| She wanted to restart her career.

Dylan came to me in early June of 2016 and said that he received a call from one of his major sources, in California, that thereas a Playboy model who is trying to sell a story about a relationship that she had with Donald Trump for a year.

Family lists property where war veteran raised funds during Covid a minus unauthorised spa pool

The listed family home where Captain Sir Tom Moore walked laps of his garden to raise millions of pounds for the NHS during the Covid pandemic has gone on sale for APS2.25m.

The sight of the 99-year-old war veteran walking lengths of his garden, aided by a walking frame, charmed Britain in lockdown and raised APS38.9m for health service charities.

High court judge orders actor turned politician to pay APS90,000 damages to each individual for social media libel

The actor turned politician Laurence Fox has been ordered to pay APS90,000 each in damages to two people he libelled by referring to them as apaedophilesa on social media.

A high court judge made the order in London on Thursday.

Locals say city is against plan and accuse authorities of turning Venice into a atheme parka by charging day trippers for visits

The latest target in Amsterdamas decade-long battle against overtourism is an unlikely one: river cruises.

City finance chief Hester van Buren announced this month that the city wants to halve the number of river cruises by 2028, from the current total of 2125. Councillors have already voted to close an ocean cruise terminal in the city centre.

Court rules judge who oversaw landmark trial was mistaken in allowing women whose accusations were not part of case to testify

The disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinsteinas 2020 conviction on sex crimes was overturned by a New York appeals court on Thursday.

In a 4-3 decision, the state of New York court of appeals ruled that the judge who oversaw Weinsteinas 2020 conviction prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with aegregiousa improper rulings and was mistaken in allowing other women whose accusations were not a part of the 2020 case to testify.

Two officers appear in court over incident involving one-legged care home resident Donald Burgess

Two police officers accused of firing a Taser and pepper spray at a 93-year-old care home resident who had one leg have pleaded not guilty to assault.

The officers were responding to a call from a care home in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, in June 2022 when Donald Burgess threatened staff with a knife.

Exclusive: MSF calls for transparency after its bill for a trial of TB treatment came to a fraction of the billions claimed by pharmaceutical companies

Doctors have for the first time released details of their spending on a major clinical trial, demonstrating that the true cost of developing a medicine may be far less than the billions of dollars claimed by the pharmaceutical industry.

MA(c)decins Sans FrontiA"res (MSF) is challenging drug companies to be transparent about the cost of trials, which has always been shrouded in secrecy. Its own bill for landmark trials of a four-drug combination treatment for drug-resistant tuberculosis came to a!34m (APS29m).

Super-rich can avoid queues as club puts five-year debentures up for sale a applications close on Friday

Tennis fans who struggle each year to secure tickets in Wimbledonas public ballot or wait hours in the famous queue may be surprised to discover that almost a fifth of the seats on Centre Court are being sold to the global super-rich for APS116,000 a each.

A total of 2,520 of the adebenturesa are on sale, offering a reserved seat for each of the 14 days of the tournament for five years from 2026-30. Applications to buy the exclusive seats a positioned on the same level as the royal box a close at midday on Friday.

Hundreds voice dismay at Sunak and Starmer, accusing them of misreading UK attitudes towards Europe

• UK politics a latest updates

Elena, 35, was aflabbergasteda when she heard that both Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer had dismissed a proposal by the European Commission to reintroduce freedom of movement for young people between the EU and the UK.

Last Friday, the prime minister rejected the post-Brexit youth mobility deal, which would have allowed Britons aged between 18 and 30 to live, study or work in the EU for up to four years, after Labour declined the offer the previous day.

Some residents say a!5 fee aimed at curtailing over-tourism goes against principle of freedom of movement

Veniceas entrance charge for day-trippers has got off to a shaky start, bewildering people staying in hotels who needed to prove their exemption and drawing protests from some residents.

The a!5 (APS4.30) charge, aimed at curtailing over-tourism, has ignited fury among some residents. The charge kicked in at 8.30am on Thursday and will apply on 29 peak days until 14 July as part of a trial phase.

Pedro SA!nchez accuses opponents of abullying operationa conducted against him and his wife, BegoA+-a GA3mez

On Wednesday night, Spainas socialist prime minister, Pedro SA!nchez, abruptly announced he was cancelling his public duties for the rest of the week and considering resigning from office. He said he would announce his decision on Monday.

Beccy, 49, and Natalie, 60, became best friends after she visited Natalieas rescue farm in Ontario, Canada. They now run events together on the farm and love travelling together

• Tell us your story of how you met someone special

When Beccyas cousin suggested they go to an open day at a local farm, she jumped at the chance. aWe live in a small rural area called South Glengarry in Ontario. She told me about this woman who rescues animals and was raising money through a visiting day,a she says. aWe got there and she had so many animals and beautiful gardens. I was impressed.a

They tried to find Natalie, the farm owner, to say hello, but she was nowhere to be found. Instead, Beccy looked up the rescue centre on Facebook to learn more. A few months later, in the autumn of 2017, she mentioned the farm visit to some friends. aThey told me they knew Natalie and suggested we all get together for dinner with her and her husband.a

The actor on tricking her tear ducts, being entertained as a child by Tom Cruise and legging it from dinosaurs while wearing stilettos

Hi Bryce! If two generations makes an acting family, does three make an acting dynasty? [Her father is director Ron Howard, both of whose parents were actors.] JohnHunt
I think a dynasty is five generations or more, so weare not even close. Weave got a way to go. Weave got three generations, so maybe Iall be around for it when the Howards cross that threshold.

When youare directing something thatas part of a larger collection, such as The Mandalorian, how do you find the balance between maintaining the tone and making something that reflects your own artistic vision? porcospino
Something like The Mandalorian is such an important story and piece of intellectual property. Itas dramaturgically essential to understand the essence of the creator and what inspired them to create that in the first place, so whatever Iam building on is an extension of their original vision. In the case of Star Wars, itas George Lucas, but I would feel that way no matter what the material is. Itas very important to have a deep, nuanced, compassionate and objective view when you take the baton.

As Drake, Kendrick Lamar and more continue their high-profile beef, we run down the most inspired a and vicious a attacks in rapas history

• aA lot of rich guys arguinga: inside the rap beef of the decade

Whether you view the beef that has consumed hip-hopas upper echelons as a spicy addition to the genre or a dispiriting Trumpian exercise by grandstanding millionaires, itas hard not to love the fire and venom of Lamaras verse here, bashing J Cole and Drake.

Could they agree on immigration and housing? And why did the conversation turn to pigeon racing?

Sian, 56, Herefordshire

Occupation CEO of a social enterprise

What broke me as a child was my motheras death from breast cancer. But around that shattering, I became a person a and learned how to parent my son

I try to remember her hands. They were younger than mine are now. I imagine her long fingers and yellow, uneven and unpolished fingernails. Or had her nails fallen out? I am eight, about to turn nine; she will be dead in two weeks. Today is Motheras Day and I am allowed to stay home alone with her while everyone else goes to church. I am to be her helper, so I carry a basket up from downstairs. I set it on her bed. She is sitting up.

I know this is meant to be our day, our time; it is the first and last time I will be alone with her in this house. But I donat want to be here. Within weeks, she has transformed from my mother into a ghost, a skeleton; no hair, scarves covering her head. I know I am supposed to want to be with her on this day, but how can I want that? To be with a dying woman, my disappearing mother, whom I resent. It is too much. aWhat are you doing?a, I want to scream. aWhat do you expect me to do now, here without you?a

Strict rules have led to a wild west of rentals, with visitors choosing between huge hotel bills or word-of-mouth deals

Until recently, visitors to New York basically had two options: hotel rooms or short-term rental platforms like Airbnb. But in September 2023, the city started enforcing a 2022 law that banned people from renting their homes for fewer than 30 days (unless the host stayed in the home with guests).

Now the only legit option for people visiting the city is hotel rooms a and theyare unaffordable for many. Most of the Times Square hotels donat have rooms for less than $300 a night. A search for Thursday 2 May found the Muse at $356, Hampton Inn at $323 and the Hard Rock at $459 (although, because of dynamic pricing, these are subject to regular change). Theyare getting more expensive still. Hotel rates have increased between the first quarter of this year and the first quarter of 2023 at twice the rate of inflation, said Jan Freitag, an analyst at the real-estate data firm CoStar Group.

These stunning, extremely relatable women, with nuanced facial expressions and sensible shoes, helped me outline success on my own terms

I love watching television a ideally in bed with a bowl of salt and vinegar potato chips and a bottle of Coke, zoning out for hours.

Iave always been like this. In my teens and 20s I watched back-to-back-to-back Law & Order and Law & Order SVU episodes. I loved the comfort and reliability of the form: the drama of a murder, investigation, plot twist and resolution, all in under 60 minutes. But several years ago, I stopped watching Law & Order; I grew uncomfortable with its uncritical portrayal of the police.

Britainas first black female MP faced hostility from the media and political establishment from the start. Nearly 40 years on, she is still not giving up

Six weeks ago, the Conservativesa biggest donor, Frank Hester, was revealed by the Guardian to have spoken at a meeting of his healthcare company, the Phoenix Partnership, about one of Britainas longest-serving and most pioneering MPs. aYou see Diane Abbott on the TV and a| you just want to hate all black women,a Hester said. aI think she should be shot.a

The meeting had taken place in 2019, when Abbott was Labouras shadow home secretary. As a lifelong defender of civil liberties, a radical leftwinger and a close ally of the then party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, Abbott was notably different from previous holders of the role. But there was an anger and viciousness to Hesteras remarks, which are being investigated by the police, and also a limit to the Labour support for her that they prompted, which was very striking.

Our capital has many problems, but it is time to push back against attacks from those who neither know nor understand it

I have been reading about the most abysmal place. It is a land where children, red-faced with their own radicalism, march alongside bearded Islamists to make the streets a no-go zone, while nodding-dog liberals curse the Brexiter masses for inflating the cost of their arugula. It boasts an infinite array of pronouns; multimillion-pound townhouses whose residents demand you check your privilege; a thousand rainbow flags, but not a single St Georgeas cross. It is rife with criminal behaviour, which extends far beyond the prices charged by pub landlords. Hieronymus Bosch, put down your paintbrush: this place truly is Hell.

It also happens to be my home.

Aditya Chakrabortty is a Guardian columnist

Our former PM has a dire warning and a book to sell, but it isnat really cutting through. A bit more Brit-style bumbling might help

aI know the name,a texts a friend when I ask if she knows who Liz Truss is, but like most Americans canat quite put her finger on why. aLike 8%,a guesses another when I ask her to put a number on how many of her countrymen she imagines know of Truss. The standard response, in my extremely unscientific poll of Americans as to whether or not they know of Truss, however, was: aNo, should I?a a the answer to which, of course, depends entirely on whether you want to understand why the Tory party is polling around 20% or whether you happen to be Liz Truss.

Truss, the only one of us to suffer that particular misfortune, was in Washington DC this week trying, like so many minor British celebrities before her, to catch the eye of the Americans. At the Heritage Foundation, a rightwing thinktank that hosted the launch of Trussas book Ten Years to Save the West, she came bearing a awarninga. Not an ideal ice-breaker, perhaps, but one clearly tailored to an audience receptive to the frisson of the term aforces of the global lefta.

Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist

Devolution has been too cautious, and England has less say about community affairs than almost any other democracy

• Tony Travers is a visiting professor in the LSE department of government and a director of LSE London

All the bigger British political parties are in favour of devolution, yet it proves oddly difficult to deliver. England is a remarkably centralised country, with the UK government responsible for setting every tax, including the annual cap on council tax. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are also, despite their devolved status, heavily centralised within their own national systems of government.

It is exactly 50 years since the major reform of local government structure in England and Wales. Prior to the 1974 changes, there were 1,245 councils in England; after the reforms were implemented, the number of councils was slashed to just 412. Today there are 317 councils, and the number continues to fall as the result of a near-continual reorganisation, which has turned two-tier counties a where there were county councils plus districts within them a into one or more unitary councils, where a single council provides all municipal services. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, after more recent reforms, now have a single tier of large municipalities.

Today, we remember the 1974 Carnation Revolution. But as memories of dictatorship fade, anti-democratic forces are on the rise

Fifty years ago, on 25 April 1974, a military-led movement in Portugal took down the rightwing authoritarian regime that had governed the country for 41 years. The Carnation Revolution, named after the flowers people offered soldiers on the streets, led the country to democracy and an era of immense social progress a reducing infant mortality and illiteracy rates, for example, which were comparatively very high in 1974. By 1986, Portugal had made enough strides to be able to join the European Communities, now the EU.

I was born in the early 1990s, but even in my generation 25 April is a hallowed anniversary for many. Growing up as a teenager interested in politics generated a strong emotional attachment to a national holiday centred on the celebration of political freedom.

It is perverse that adults are legally protected from violence, yet striking a child can be defended. Calls for a ban are getting louder

When a child is scared of their parents, they can spend a long time plucking up the courage to talk. I learned this during a decade of volunteering as a Childline counsellor. There is a 20-second period, in between saying your name and waiting for them to share theirs, that is the most silent the air can ever be. You could hear a pin drop or just a calleras breath echoing on the receiver. In that moment, a young girl who has been slapped by her father is deciding whether to ask for help or to hang up and try again to form the words in a week or two.

I thought of this silence as I read calls from leading doctors to ban parents from smacking their children in England and Northern Ireland. Unlike in Scotland and Wales a where over the past four years the Victorian-era law that allows it has been overturned a it is still legal for a parent or carer to hit, smack or slap their child if it is a areasonablea punishment.

Frances Ryan is a Guardian columnist and author of Crippled: Austerity and the Demonisation of Disabled People

Idahoas law requires doctors to treat pregnant womenas health as disposable a and the loss of their lives as an acceptable risk

The risk of stating plainly what Idaho argued at the US supreme court on Wednesday morning is that it is so sadistic and extreme that people might not believe you. Idaho has one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country. Prohibiting all abortions at any stage of gestation, with no exceptions for rape or incest, the Idaho law allows doctors to perform abortions in cases where the life a but not amerelya the health a of the pregnant woman is at risk.

In practice, this has wound up being a ban on abortions needed to save womenas lives: according to Idaho hospitals, six pregnant women experiencing medical emergencies have had to be airlifted across state lines to hospitals in states with life and health exemptions in the months since Idaho began enforcing its abortion ban. One way to describe this state of affairs is to say that Idahoas abortion law has come into conflict with medical best practice. Another way to describe it is to say that the law has forced pregnant women to flee the state for their lives.

Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist

The safety and security of Palestinians and Jews are interdependent, so we should use language carefully

In reporting on the encampments springing up on college campuses across the US, the media seem to have convened a terminology confab and agreed on two descriptions: apro-Palestiniana and aanti-Israela. These labels oversimplify Americansa opinions on Israelas onslaught against Gaza, which marked its 200th day on Tuesday with no end in sight. But the error is worse than semantic.

aUniversities Struggle as Pro-Palestinian Demonstrations Grow,a says the New York Times. aColleges Struggle to Contain Intensifying Pro-Palestinian Protests,a reports the Wall Street Journal. In Minneapolis, the Star Tribune has the local news that the aUniversity of Minnesota police arrest nine after pro-Palestinian encampment set up on campusa. Some publications less shy about displaying their political biases take the opposite tack. A headline in the right-leaning New York Post, for instance, exaggerated the literally incendiary nature of the demonstratorsa tactics: aAnti-Israel protesters carry flares to march on NYPD HQ after over 130 arrested at NYU.a The accompanying video is cast in red. Ever evenhanded, CBS does both: aPro-Palestinian, pro-Israel protesters gather outside Columbia University.a

Judith Levine is a Brooklyn journalist and essayist, a contributing writer to the Intercept and the author of five books