Netflix’s eerie cult thriller features a disturbing opening scene.

Unchosen’s dark opening scene has left viewers curious.

The show has just arrived on Netflix and the star-studded cult thriller follows a wife and mother who feels trapped in an oppressive Christian sect.

Echoing themes from The Handmaid’s Tale and Happy Valley, the dark psychological series sees Rosie (played by Molly Windsor) question who she can trust.

After she comes across an escaped convict called Sam (Fra Fee), he offers her a taste of life outside the religious cult, while her husband Adam (Asa Butterfield) continues to chastise her.

The thriller opens with Rosie, Adam and their daughter Grace (Olivia Pickering) enjoying a party outside with the other members of their extended cult family.

A storm suddenly closes in on them, forcing them all inside, and Grace looks particularly concerned as she calls it “the Rapture” – but what does this mean?

What does the Rapture mean in Unchosen?

At the start of the series, viewers learn that the Christian cult is part of the church of The Fellowship of the Divine.

Their beliefs quickly become apparent when Mrs Phillips (Siobhan Finneran) curses Grace for reading a children’s magazine – a forbidden item.

During their street party, a storm appears overhead and Grace looks particularly terrified, believing the black clouds and thunder are the signs of the Rapture.

In Christianity, the Rapture is the concept of an event when all dead Christian believers will be resurrected and reunited with Christians who are still alive.

Together, they will will rise “in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air”.

The storm clouds in the series represent the concept, which suggests live Christians will leave the earth to meet Jesus Christ.

Grace may have been scared at the thought of being ‘taken’ in order to meet Jesus Christ at the Second Coming.

The actual term ‘Rapture’ is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible, it is instead a concept that has developed over time.

In his First Letter to the Thessalonians, Paul – one of the Apostles – wrote that Jesus would return one day, and “we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up”.

Some believe the Rapture is when Christ’s followers will be taken up to Heaven, while those who do not follow him will be left behind on Earth.

Unchosen is on Netflix

Published on 21/04/2026 – 12:14 GMT+2•Updated
12:16

Oil prices edged slightly higher, European indices traded flat, while Asian markets surged on Tuesday morning as investors monitored potential US-Iran negotiations and the final 48 hours of the current ceasefire.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

At the time of writing, US benchmark crude was up 8.5% from last Friday’s low to around $86.3 a barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, was around 9.5% higher at roughly $94.5 a barrel.

As for European markets, the Euro Stoxx 50 and the broader pan-European Stoxx 600 were trading within a 0.2% range.

The UK’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX 30, France’s CAC 40 and Italy’s FTSE MIB were all similarly trading within a 0.3% range.

On Wall Street, US futures were also all trading within a 0.3% range with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading. The S&P 500 closed marginally lower by 0.2% on Monday at 7109 points.

Despite US representatives, including special envoy Steve Witkoff and senior adviser Jared Kushner, travelling to Islamabad as part of renewed efforts to secure an agreement, no concrete progress on US-Iran negotiations has been announced.

The Strait of Hormuz remains closed and the current ceasefire ends on Wednesday keeping markets in a state of uncertainty.

US President Donald Trump has asserted that the deal currently being negotiated will be better than the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was signed by US President Barack Obama in 2015 and from which Trump withdrew in 2018.

Latest on US-Iran negotiations

Following the arrival of US representatives to Islamabad there has been no developments on the negotiations with Iran.

Even though US President Donald Trump confidently declared that there is a historic deal in the works, public statements from major Iranian figures seem to indicate otherwise.

Mohammad Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament and the person previously heading the talks with the US, made sweeping declarations via X on Monday stating that the country will “not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats” and “has prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield”.

Previously, other Iranian representatives have also described US demands as “excessive”.

For the time being, markets eagerly await developments and are highly sensitive to any headlines about the situation.

Associated British Foods and Primark demerger

Although European markets are trading flat, major news in the retail consumer sector has come out of the UK.

Associated British Foods (ABF) is poised to announce the outcome this week of a strategic review into demerging its fast-fashion retail arm Primark, from its diversified food business.

The conglomerate, controlled by the billionaire Weston family, has been working with advisers from Rothschild & Co to assess whether the split would maximise long-term shareholder value.

Analysts argue the move makes sense because of the limited operational synergies between the two divisions: the food arm generates steady cash flows from brands such as Twinings, Patak’s, Jordans cereals and Allied Bakeries, while Primark has pursued aggressive international expansion in a fiercely competitive retail sector.

The decision comes as ABF faces tough trading conditions, with the group warning in January of flat annual sales and declining profits, further pressured by rising costs and the fallout from the Iran conflict, including potential increases in petrochemical prices.

BASEBALL

CITY SECTION

Bravo 5, Franklin 4

Canoga Park 9, Panorama 6

Carson 2, San Pedro 1

Cleveland 2, Taft 0

Collins Family d. Downtown Magnets, forfeit

Eagle Rock 7, Lincoln 2

El Camino Real 6, Chatsworth 2

Fremont 12, Dorsey 2

Fulton 4, AMIT 3

Granada Hills Kennedy 5, North Hollywood 4

Grant 6, VAAS 4

Jefferson 8, Manual Arts 0

LACES 16, Roybal 0

LA Hamilton 16, Fairfax 8

LA Jordan d. Hawkins, forfeit

LA Marshall 5, LA Wilson 3

Los Angeles 7, Diego Rivera 4

Maywood CES 23, Maywood Academy 0

Monroe 11, Arleta 2

Palisades 13, Westchester 2

Rancho Dominguez 4, Gardena 2

San Fernando 1, Verdugo Hills 0

Santee 1, Angelou 0

South East 5, LA Roosevelt 1

Sun Valley Magnet 6, Triumph Charter 5

Sylmar 7, Sun Valley Poly 0

Torres 2, Marquez 1

Van Nuys 8, Chavez 2

Venice 14, LA University 0

Washington Prep 15, Dymally 5

Wilmington Banning 4, Narbonne 3

WISH Academy 5, Stella 1

SOUTHERN SECTION

Arrowhead Christian 10, Woodcrest Christian 4

Arroyo 12, El Monte 0

Bethel Christian 18, NSLA 1

Balsa Grande 14, Western 9

Beaumont 7, Citrus Valley 6

Cajon 10, Redlands 1

Campbell Hall 12, Shalhevet 1

Castaic 5, Vasquez 2

Corona 16, Eastlake Roosevelt 6

Corona Centennial 15, Riverside King 8

Desert Christian 6, St. Monica Academy 2

Etiwanda 12, Chino Hills 11

Grace 5, Channel Islands 3

Hemet 18, San Jacinto Valley Academy 10

Heritage Christian 4, Cerritos Valley Christian 3

Hesperia Christian 6, Palmdale Academy 2

Jurupa Valley 5, Patriot 0

Laguna Hills 4, Irvine University 0

Los Altos 3, Colony 0

Millikan 6, North Torrance 3

Milken 10, YULA 3

Norco 3, Corona Santiago 1

Palm Desert 16, Palm Springs 2

Rancho Cucamonga 4, Los Osos 3

Rosemead 9, Gabrielino 7

Santa Clarita Christian 10, Valley Torah 0

Santa Monica Pacifica Christian 8, Ambassador 4

Shadow Hills 4, Rancho Mirage 3

South El Monte 6, Mountain View 0

South Hills 4, Alta Loma 3

Southlands Christian 23, Legacy College Prep 0

Sunny Hills 12, Bosco Tech 7

United Christian Academy 9, Sherman Indian 8

Upland 9, Damien 6

Yucaipa 23, Redlands East Valley 3

INTERSECTIONAL

Lennox Academy 14, Vistamar 3

SOFTBALL

CITY SECTION

Bernstein 22, Contreras 9

Bravo 17, Franklin 1

Carson 24, Rancho Dominguez 0

Central City Value 14, Animo Bunche 2

Community Charter 22, Valley Oaks CES 5

Downtown Magnets 21, Annenberg 9

Eagle Rock 7, Lincoln 2

El Camino Real 3, Birmingham 1

Fremont 20, Locke 4

Garfield 15, Bell 0

Granada Hills 4, Chatsworth 1

Hollywood 21, Belmont 5

Jefferson 20, Manual Arts 3

LA Jordan 10, Hawkins 4

LA Roosevelt 18, South East 8

LA Wilson 5, LA Marshall 4

Legacy 13, Huntington Park 0

King/Drew 26, Dorsey 26

North Hollywood 20, Fulton 2

Northridge Academy 15, Grant 0

Orthopaedic 14, USC-MAE 10

Palisades 8, LACES 3

Port of LA 5, Harbor Teacher 2

San Fernando 10, Sylmar 1

San Pedro 13, Narbonne 0

Santee 17, Diego Rivera 9

Taft 13, Cleveland 3

Washington Prep 15, Dymally 3

Westchester 12, Fairfax 1

Wilmington Banning 19, Gardena 0

SOUTHERN SECTION

Azusa 11, Sierra Vista 3

Calvary Baptist 27, Crossroads Christian 0

Colton 5, Rancho Verde 2

Crean Lutheran 21, Portola 0

Duarte 12, Garey 2

El Monte 13, Arroyo 3

El Segundo 13, Culver City 1

Gabrielino 19, Rosemead 12

Immanuel Christian 12, Desert Christian 2

Leuzinger 9, St. Monica 2

Linfield Christian 6, Arrowhead Christian 0

Los Amigos 12, Santa Ana Valley 2

Millikan 14, Long Beach Cabrillo 0

North Torrance 12, Peninsula 1

Palos Verdes 3, Torrance 1

Patriot 12, Jurupa Valley 4

Riverside North 3, Ontario Christian 2

Samueli Academy 19, Godinez 9

Segerstrom 33, Estancia 0

Shadow Hills 8, Rancho Mirage 7

South El Monte 17, Mountain View 1

Thousand Oaks 7, Crescenta Valley 1

Westminster La Quinta 19, Saddleback 4

INTERSECTIONAL

Norwalk 3, Marquez 2

3D-printed technology is being used to help Palestinian children who were injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza but their treatment is at risk due to Israeli restrictions on supplies and aid organisations.

In a letter to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, the three governments say Israel is violating ‘human rights’.

Spain, Slovenia and Ireland have urged the European Union to debate suspending its association agreement with Israel, saying the bloc can no longer remain “on the sidelines” as conditions worsen in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and Lebanon.

Speaking before a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Tuesday, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said the three countries had formally requested that the issue be placed on the agenda.

“Spain, along with Slovenia and Ireland, has requested that the suspension of the Association Agreement between the European Union and Israel be discussed and debated today,” Albares said.

“I expect every European country to uphold what the International Court of Justice and the UN say on human rights and the defence of international law. Anything different would be a defeat for the European Union,” he added.

In a joint letter sent last week to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, the three governments said Israel had taken a series of measures that “contravene human rights and violate international law and international humanitarian law”, adding that it breached the 1995 agreement that outlines political, economic and trade relations between the EU and Israel.

They said repeated appeals to Israel to reverse course had been ignored. The ministers pointed to a proposed Israeli law that would impose the death penalty by hanging on Palestinians convicted in military courts, describing it as “a grave violation of fundamental human rights” and a further step in the “systematic persecution, oppression, violence and discrimination” faced by Palestinians.

They also cited the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, saying conditions there were “unbearable”, with continuing violations of the ceasefire agreement and insufficient aid entering the territory.

The letter warned that violence in the occupied West Bank was also intensifying, with settlers acting “with absolute impunity” alongside ongoing Israeli military operations, causing civilian deaths.

“The European Union can no longer remain on the sidelines,” the ministers wrote, calling for “bold and immediate action” and saying all options should remain on the table.

The three countries argued Israel was in breach of Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which ties relations to respect for human rights. An earlier EU review had already found Israel was failing to meet those obligations, they said, adding that the situation had deteriorated further since then.

During a donor conference in Brussels, Kallas said the estimated cost of rebuilding Gaza had risen to $71bn.

Ireland and Spain first pushed for a review of the agreement in 2024, but the effort failed to win enough backing from member states supportive of Israel. A later Dutch-led initiative succeeded in triggering an EU assessment, which concluded Israel had “likely” breached its obligations under the pact.

Possible trade measures, including suspending parts of the relationship, were later discussed but not implemented after Israel pledged to significantly increase humanitarian aid entering Gaza.

Occupied Territories Bill

Ireland is also seeking to revive its Occupied Territories Bill, first introduced in 2018, which would ban trade in goods and services from illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, including the West Bank. Progress has stalled despite unanimous backing in the lower house of parliament, the Dail.

Meanwhile, Spain and Slovenia have moved to curb trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank following sustained public protests and growing political pressure. In August last year, Slovenia banned imports of goods produced in Israeli-occupied territories, becoming one of the first European states to take such a step.

Spain followed later that year with a decree banning imports from illegal Israeli settlements, with the measure coming into force at the start of 2026.

All three countries formally recognised the State of Palestine in May 2024, in what was widely seen as a coordinated diplomatic move aimed at increasing pressure for a two-state solution.

JACK Whitehall’s countryside wedding to Roxy Horner over the weekend may have appeared to be oozing class, but the comedian says he actually had a wardrobe disaster during the ceremony.

In fact, the dad-of-one, 37, says he was left with his “a** hanging out” at the end of the aisle.

Jack ripped his luxe Tom Ford suit when picking up their two-year-old daughter during the ceremony.

“I squatted down to pick up Elsie and my trousers split, my whole a** was hanging out,” he told Vogue.

Luckily, the comedian had a back-up suit and later changed into one by menswear brand Dunhill.

Meanwhile, his bride also donned two outfits during the day, but hers were both by choice.

moving on

Kelly Osbourne cuts final ties with Slipknot’s Sid Wilson after ending engagement

love split

Hilary Duff’s sister splits from fiance after 12 years amid feud with pop star

Roxy donned two stunning wedding dresses from designer boutique Galia Lahav, changing between the ceremony and reception.

She added a lengthy veil and pulled her blonde tresses into an up do, with two strands framing her face.

Roxy and Jack’s wedding took place in the grounds of £12million stately home Euridge Manor, near Chippenham, Wilts.

The Georgian-style property is owned by Kate Middleton’s former boss, Jigsaw tycoon John Robinson.

Jack and Roxy shared the details of their big day with Vogue, explaining how Elsie was one of the model’s three flower girls.

They also had a whopping eight bridesmaids, with Jack’s brother, Barnaby, serving as Best Man.

After Jack predicted a “brutal” best man speech from his brother during a chat with The Sun earlier this year, due to his own ‘below the belt’ speech at his sibling’s nuptials, Barnaby didn’t hold back.

“He threw me under the bus, because that’s what I’d done to him,” confirmed Jack in his post-wedding chat.

Celebrity guests included TV pals James Corden and Jamie Redknapp, who Jack worked with on Sky’s A League of Their Own.

Guests were asked to turn off their phones during the ceremony and were put on a social media blackout.

The newlywed pair are now headed to Venice for a stunning Italian honeymoon.

THE closure of the Strait of Hormuz has resulted in the soaring price of jet fuel, which had led to fears of shortages across Europe.

Now, easyJet has issued an update for its passengers with growing fears that holidays could be affected from mid-May.

Javier Gándara, easyJet CEO for Spain and Portugal, has said that while the airline is continuing to operate as planned now, beyond three or four weeks and it’s “difficult to see” what will happen.

The three-week warning means easyJet passengers could face disruption from as soon as May 12.

However, Mr Gándara then added: “In Spain, we are in a comparatively better situation than neighbouring countries for two reasons.

“Firstly, because of all the crude oil that is imported and then refined here, only 11 per cent comes from the Middle East, which is the percentage affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz; the remaining 89 per cent comes from elsewhere.”

BARGAIN HOL

Travel companies reveal their CHEAPEST spots this summer, with hols from £189pp

SHORE WIN

All the trendy UK seaside towns with huge makeovers and enough to do for a WEEK

But he did warn that “if there are problems in other countries, that ends up affecting flights to Spain.”

And said “no one will be immune to potential supply problems.”

This comes after a warning was issued by TUI yesterday.

The travel giant said it is “monitoring” jet fuel shortages as a result of the Iran war, for all passengers flying from May 1.

On social media, one worried traveller asked the airline: “With the reported jet fuel shortages are you expecting holidays from May 1 to be affected?”

TUI responded: “We’re closely monitoring the developing situation in the Middle East and its potential impact on global aviation fuel supplies.

“At present, we’re not anticipating any immediate disruption to our flight schedules or holiday programmes from fuel shortages.“

The holiday chaos is caused from the ongoing Iran-US conflict with warnings that Europe could face jet fuel shortages due to the Strait of Hormuz remaining closed.

It was revealed earlier this month that airports could run out of jet fuel within weeks.

The ACI Europe, which represents European airports, said the key trade route must open within three weeks or fuel reserves will run drastically low.

As a result, a number of major airlines have been cancelling flights in preparation for shortages.

United Airlines said that five per cent of flights would be cancelled in the second and third quarters of 2026.

SAS was the first major airline in Europe to axe flights because of of the cost of fuel going up.

Dutch airline KLM has cancelled 160 flights for the coming month, but has said it will affect less than 1 per cent of its schedule.

Meanwhile, Cathay Pacific has confirmed that two per cent of passenger flights will be cancelled from May 16 to June 30.

Air New Zealand announced in March that it will be cutting back on flights over the next two months.

And Norse announced it would remove all flights from London Gatwick to LA.

Others, like Virgin Atlantic as well as Air France and KLM have added surcharge to tickets to offset the rising price in jet fuel.

What does this mean for your upcoming holiday?

1. How will this affect my holiday?

Getaways should not be seriously impacted immediately as airlines bought fuel far in advance at a fixed rate.

But if the crisis continues into June, operators may start adding a surcharge to holiday prices.

A limited number of flights may be cancelled, but mostly on well-served routes with alternatives.

If supplies start to dry up, cancellations would increase.

2. Am I entitled to a refund?

IF some or all of your holiday is cancelled by the provider, your refund depends on whether you booked your trip as a package holiday, or individually.

Your money tends to be much better protected with a package deal.

3. Is now a bad time to book?

There are some great deals, but book with caution.

You must take out travel insurance as, if your flight is cancelled, you may have protection against the cost of other elements of your holiday, such as accommodation.

Despite the chaos, Egypt resorts have dropped prices by 70 per cent with mega cheap all-inclusive deals – as Brit avoid it.

And if you’re anxious that your flight will be cancelled, here’s what to expect this summer.

A POPULAR holiday destination could soon lose all of its Ryanair flights – due to huge queues at the airport.

Malta is just one of the destinations in Europe that recently implemented the EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) at its airport, which requires new biometric checks.

However, recent reports found that passengers were left stranded on the tarmac for 20 minutes because the queues were so long at security inside the airport building.

David O’Brien, one of Ryanair’s executive officers and the CEO of Malta Air, said: “If we find ourselves with significant congestion and delay, we’d have to redirect capacity away from Malta to other destinations and that’s not something we’d like to do.”

He has since written to Malta’s Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri to ensure border controls are fully staffed for this summer, according to The Times of Malta.

O’Brien added that “Europe is utterly unprepared in a general sense” and that while the airline has not yet experienced significant delays at Malta Airport, it is concerned about the upcoming summertime period.

Read more on travel inspo

CHEAP BREAKS

UK’s best 100 cheap stays – our pick of the top hotels, holiday parks and pubs

BARGAIN HOL

Travel companies reveal their CHEAPEST spots this summer, with hols from £189pp

Last year, Ryanair carried more than half of total passengers to Malta and of those travelling to the country – with the UK being the biggest market.

To try and reduce the delays, Malta Airport has introduced new measures such as a specific Schengen corridor, as well as increasing the amount of immigration desks.

The airport has also transferred more airport staff to be working on the new system.

Alan Borg, CEO of Malta International Airport told The Times of Malta: “We are working hand in hand with the Malta Police Force to make sure we can do everything possible to support them in this important initiative.

“It is what it is. We need to find ways to improve the processing time over the summer period.”

EES is a new system used across 29 European countries to register non-EU nationals, which includes Brits, for short stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period.

And Malta isn’t the only airport suffering delays due to the newly implemented EES.

Last month, Travel Reporter Alice Penwill experienced three-hour queues at Lanzarote Airport.

She said: “The queues stretched along the corridor and zigzagged all the way through the arrivals hall that took passengers to EES registration.”

“I’d already signed up to EES, having visited Lithuania a few months ago – but that was no use at all.

“There was no separate queue for – or any staff for that matter – advising those who have registered to head straight to the passport e-gates.

“While this was frustrating, what was even more so was that only half of the EES machines were actually working.

“When I finally made it to my bus transfer, even the Jet2Holidays rep said she’d ‘never seen delays this bad’.”

Delays have also been reported at Brussels, Lisbon and Prague airports.

Greece has even decided to halt the system completely.

On April 18, a statement from the Greek Embassy announced that Brits are “exempt” from biometrics at all Greek border crossing points.

Eleni Skarveli, the director of the Greek National Tourism Organisation in the UK, said: “The exemption of British passport holders from biometric registration at Greek border crossing points, effective from 10 April 2026, is expected to significantly reduce waiting times and ease congestion at airports.

“UK travellers will no longer need to undergo additional EES biometric procedures, ensuring a smoother and more efficient arrival experience in Greece.“

Sun Travel has contacted Malta Airport and Ryanair for comment.

In other travel news, here is the full list of 29 European countries being hit by new travel rules.

Plus, here are nine of the European airports where Brits are facing massive queues and missed flights due to new travel rules.

With 13 medals between them, Alex ‘Tattie’ Marshall and Paul Foster lead the Scotland bowls team for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this summer.

The vastly experienced duo will link up in the men’s pairs event, which they won at Glasgow 2014.

Marshall, who has seven Commonwealth Games medals in his collection, said of his eighth selection: “It is always such an honour and privilege to be selected to represent Team Scotland at the Commonwealth Games.

“To have another opportunity to be a part of a home Games is also not lost on me, and I know that Paul and I will give it our very best to try and win a medal for the team.”

Marshall’s niece Beth Riva, who won 2025 World Championship mixed pairs gold with Jason Banks last year, joins Caroline Brown in the women’s pairs.

Banks will make his Team Scotland debut in the singles event.

Bowls Scotland announced the host nation’s squad on Tuesday, with the Commonwealth Games bowls events running from 24 July to 2 August.

For the first time in Commonwealth Games history, all of the bowls and para bowls events will be played indoors, taking place at the SEC Centre.

In the para team, Pauline Wilson, Garry Brown, Robert Barr and his director Sarah Jane Ewing are all aiming for repeat golds after topping the podium at Birmingham 2022.

April 21 (UPI) — Iran on Tuesday demanded the United States release the Iranian-flagged container ship the U.S. military seized over the weekend, threatening to use “all its capacities” to defend itself as the cease-fire neared its end.

The U.S. military seized Touska on Sunday as it enforced a military blockade of Iranian ports and ships, raising already high tensions during a two-week cease-fire rapidly nearing its end that negotiators from both countries are to use to secure an end to the war.

U.S. warships intercepted Touska transiting the north Arabian Sea en route to Iran’s Bandar Abbas port city for allegedly violating the blockade.

Iran responded with accusations of violating the cease-fire and drone strikes targeting U.S. military vessels, according to state-run media, though U.S. Central Command has yet to comment.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday condemned the seizure of Touska as an “unlawful and savage act of the terrorist U.S. army,” saying the “act of maritime banditry and terrorism” terrified the ship’s passengers and crew, some of whose family members were onboard.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran, while warning of the very dangerous consequences of this unlawful and criminal act by the United States, emphasizes the immediate release of the Iranian vessel, its passengers, its crew and its families,” the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said the seizure is a violation of international and the fundamental principles and rules of the U.N. Charter, and that it had informed the U.N. secretary general, the Security Council and maritime organizations.

“There is no doubt that the Islamic Republic of Iran will use all its capacities to defend Iran’s national interests and security and to safeguard the rights and dignity of its citizens,” the ministry statement said.

“It is obvious that full responsibility for the further complication of the situation in the region lies with the United States.”

The cease-fire is to end at midnight Tuesday.

Iran has accused Trump of ducking real negotiations on ending the war in favor of trying to exert the United States’ economic and military might to force it to capitulate.

“Trump, by imposing a blockade and violating the cease-fire, wants — in his view — to turn the negotiating table into a table of surrender, or else justify starting the war again,” Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said late Monday in a statement.

“We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats, and over thee past two weeks we have prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield.”

Trump has continued to boast online that he was “winning” the war while defending himself from criticism and vowing the deal his administration is working on with Iran will be “FAR BETTER” than the landmark multinational Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action the United States, Iran and several other countries signed during the Obama administration.

“If a deal happens under ‘TRUMP,’ it will guarantee Peace, Security and Safety, not only for Israel and the Middle East, but for Europe, America and Everywhere else,” he said on his Truth Social media platform.

“It will be something that the entire World will be proud of, instead of the years of Embarrassment and Humiliation that we have been forced to suffer due to incompetent and cowardly leadership!”

Turkey, Iran’s neighbor and U.S. ally, has been among nations working to de-escalate tensions in the Gulf and seek an extension to the cease-fire as negotiations appear to be at a stalemate over Iran’s nuclear program.

Though public rhetoric is fiery, negotiations behind closed doors are progressing, Ankara’s foreign affairs minister, Hakan Fidan, said Sunday during a forum in southeastern Turkey’s Antalya.

“The good thing is this: both sides continue to negotiate with a very serious intention, sincerely, they have the will to continue,” Fidan said.

“Now, no one wants a new war to start again with the end of the cease-fire next week.”

Turkey hopes that under international pressure, the United States, Israel and Iran will extend the cease-fire to solve outstanding issues, he said.

“A two-week period is good for a cease-fire, but the file in front of them is so comprehensive that it will not be possible to solve all these issues in two weeks,” he said.

“Therefore, a new extension will be needed. I hope this extension will come. I am optimistic about that.”

Sina* is a 28-year-old video editing assistant who fought hard to build a life in Tehran. After completing mandatory military service, he refused to return to his hometown of Neyshabur in eastern Iran, knowing opportunities for a young man with a background in film editing and independent student theatre were bleak there. Through a college friend, he found his footing at a video content creation studio in the capital, climbing from camera assistant to assistant video editor within six months, before losing his job as a result of the US-Israel war on Iran. As told to Arya Farahand. 

It has been a few days since the guns fell silent, and the sliver of hope I felt when the ceasefire was announced is already fading. Out of all the resumes I sent in desperation, only one company called me for an interview. The salary they offered would not cover the bare minimum to survive. My family keeps calling from Neyshabur, repeating the same line: “Come back, there’s work for you here.” What they intend as a lifeline feels like salt in the wound.

I had stopped taking money from my father, my salary grew, and I was buying gifts for my two sisters. I was, for the first time in my life, truly independent. Now, I am sitting in my grandmother’s empty apartment in Tehran, staring at a phone with almost no internet, waiting for a job offer that’s not coming.

This is what the war has done to me. Not a scratch on my body, but everything else – gone.

Croissants on the roof

The morning the war started, we were in a briefing meeting, drinking tea. A colleague had brought fresh croissants. Then we heard the roar of a fighter jet, a whistle, and seconds later, an explosion.

Our initial instinct wasn’t terror, but naive curiosity. Against every survival guide we had read from the previous war, we piled into the elevator and went up to the roof, mugs still in hand. Pillars of smoke were rising across the city. Then, another explosion hit, deafeningly close. We sprinted for the stairs.

Our manager sent us home. The city had seized up. My driver called to say he couldn’t get through the gridlock, so we started walking – 40 minutes under the glaring sun, past stranded people and stalled cars. At one point, a middle-aged driver lost his nerve, swerving into the bus lane against traffic. A bus appeared head-on and deadlocked the lane. Trapped, he looked ready to explode. I didn’t stick around. I just kept walking.

I went to my grandmother’s house. Hard of hearing, she hadn’t heard a single blast and was simply overjoyed to see me. I drank tea, sat in front of the television, tried to process what was happening, then ate lunch and slept.

The city hollowing out

When I woke up, I reached for my phone, only to be reminded that the internet was dead. I am someone who fills every spare moment with online gaming or Instagram. Without either, the boredom was stifling. I couldn’t smoke in front of my grandmother, and the forced abstinence only added to my agitation.

In the days that followed, the city hollowed out. Whenever I stepped into the alley – using a quick errand as a pretext to sneak a cigarette – I saw fewer and fewer people. In our building, only five of the 12 units remained occupied. I could tell by the empty spaces in the parking garage.

When my cigarette supply ran out, the corner shop didn’t have my brand and the supermarket was charging double. With no certainty that my March salary would be paid, I settled for a cheaper, unknown brand. It was like inhaling truck exhaust.

The days blurred: the unemployment anxiety, the stifling boredom, the desperate secret cigarettes. I tried buying VPNs twice. The first worked for a single day. The second – the seller blocked me the moment I transferred the money.

The closest I have come to death

The true nightmare came on the night of March 5. A mild explosion jolted me awake around 4m. I walked to the kitchen for water. Then a blast ripped through the air – a sound seared into my brain for life. I froze. My grandmother stumbled out of her bedroom in terror. I pulled her into the kitchen.

Then came the barrage. More than 10 consecutive explosions, each less than 10 seconds apart. My grandmother sat on the floor beside me, arms wrapped tightly around my leg, head buried. It was the closest I have ever felt to death.

When it finally stopped, the windows held. My grandmother, shaken, recalled how during the Iran-Iraq war, sirens had warned them in time to reach shelters. What she found most painful about this war was the absolute lack of warning – no sirens, no shelters. Just sitting, waiting for the next blast. With tired legs, she climbed back into bed. I did not sleep until morning.

Ten voices in my head

Through all of it, I kept telling myself, “Hold on”. Our manager had hoped this war, like the previous conflict, would end in under two weeks. Whenever my parents called, begging me to return to Neyshabur, I said no.

On March 17, we had our final online meeting. The studio’s debts were mounting, invoices unpaid, and our manager saw no end in sight – for the war or the internet blackout. For the new Iranian year, starting on March 21, only 200 resources staff would remain. The rest of us were laid off, without pay.

As the call ended, it felt like 10 different voices were screaming in my head. I couldn’t rely on my grandmother’s meagre pension. My father was already supporting a family of four. The calculation was merciless: move back to Neyshabur and work at my uncle’s supermarket. Instead of planning how to improve my life, I was plotting survival.

I packed up and left. It was a gruelling 10-hour bus ride through eerily quiet roads. What haunted me most were the final moments in Tehran. The city felt hollow, silent, swallowed by a darkness I had never seen before.

The void

From Neyshabur, I called my manager, hoping against hope. He laid out the brutal math. During the previous war and the December protests, waiting out the shutdowns had been viable. But a relentless year of economic bleeding, capped by this blackout, had driven revenue to zero. Even if the internet were restored tomorrow and we worked nonstop for months, it wouldn’t be enough. The studio hadn’t paused. It had collapsed.

I updated my resume, bought a return bus ticket, and went back to my grandmother’s apartment. There was nothing to go back to. I just needed to feel like I was doing something.

When the ceasefire was announced, I felt a sliver of hope. It lasted about a day.

My life used to be a blur of motion: the studio, independent theatres, cafes with friends, early mornings and late nights. Now, my entire existence has shrunk to four walls. The war has ended, at least for now. The internet remains largely throttled, the economy is in ruins, and the job market that existed before February 28 has not returned with the ceasefire.

Outside, people are beginning to move through the streets again. For them, perhaps, something is resuming. For me, there is nothing to resume.

I don’t know how much longer I can hold out.

*Name changed for security reasons

Dishing about what you’re reading is one of life’s greatest pleasures. Even better if your audience has read the same book. Reading with others also provides space to deepen community, ignite conversations and share moments of joy. Los Angeles needs that more than ever right now as we continue to shoulder a heavy 2025 marked by fires and ICE raids. But how to choose a book to get started? The best books to read in groups inspire a dialogue. They have sparkling prose and unshakable narratives. These were the guiding factors for compiling our recommendations for all kinds of readers.

We surveyed 200-plus luminaries in the book and journalism worlds to make this in-depth list. The voters included prizewinning authors, indie bookstore owners, a Man Booker Prize judge, Ivy League professors, literary agents, lauded journalists and several zealous book club members. To ensure an especially varied selection, the editors gave a final curatorial pass.

The list includes 10 categories for every type of reader, whether you reach for literary fiction or romance. We also crowned an “Ultimate Book Club Pick,” which is the title that received the most votes out of all the books by a landslide, and happens to be eerily prophetic (find it among the “Make-Believers” selections). Of course, we couldn’t include every worthy book. Let us know your picks and pull up a chair next to us. Why not read together?
— Sophia Kercher

If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores.

The IPL’s influence has also led to the rise of multiple state-run T20 leagues across India, further widening the talent pool.

“Right now, there are 18 state leagues going on, with a minimum of six teams per league. Six teams, 15 players, just imagine the pool,” George says.

“In most of the state associations, sadly, the selections are not that transparent. So you see players who have not been in the state team coming up and doing very well for their respective franchises. That is why the state franchise tournaments are very important and help us identify talent.”

As a result, more players are now emerging from non-traditional centres.

“Talent in India is concentrated in places like UP, Rajasthan and Delhi,” said George. “That’s why franchises focus a lot on these leagues. UP, in particular, has a very strong league, and many players who have done well there, like Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma.

“Kashmir is another region we focus on because a lot of good fast bowlers and hard-hitters are coming from there.”

The data also reflects how the talent pool has spread across India. In the inaugural IPL in 2008, most players came from traditional centres such as Maharashtra (21), Delhi (14), Tamil Nadu (11) and Karnataka (10).

By 2026, the landscape has broadened significantly. Uttar Pradesh now matches Maharashtra with 21 players, while Rajasthan (13) and Madhya Pradesh (10) have also emerged as key contributors.

Talent from far-off regions is coming through as well. Jammu and Kashmir, which has just seen its first-class team win the Ranji Trophy for the first time in its history, has gone from zero representation in 2008 to six players in 2026, while Bihar has grown from two to six.

This expanding base of talent is reflected in India’s recent success in T20 cricket, including back-to-back World Cup titles.

“India’s talent pool is so big that you could field two strong teams, India A and India B, and both would reach the latter stages of a world tournament,” George says.

“In the last decade, almost all new Indian players have come through the IPL ecosystem. IPL is like a blessing for Indian cricket.”

Voters in Virginia head to the polls on Tuesday to decide on a measure that could redraw the state’s congressional map and potentially shift the balance of power in Washington.

Major political figures, including former President Barack Obama and House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, have weighed in on the high-stakes vote, with nearly $100m spent on campaigning around it.

Part of a broader redistricting battle that began in Texas and spread nationwide, the vote may be the Democrats’ last chance this year to gain seats by changing district maps. The vote comes about six months before the 2026 midterm elections.

Here is what we know:

What is Virginia voting on?

Virginia currently sends 11 members to the House. At the moment, six of them are Democrats, and five are Republicans, reflecting the state’s balance.

Democrats now want to redraw the map to favour them in a way that could help them win up to 10 of the 11 seats. Under the proposal, most districts would be safely Democratic or lean towards the party, with only one strongly Republican.

A breakdown would be:

• Eight districts would be safely Democratic
• Two would be competitive but lean Democratic
• Only one would be safely Republican

If approved, this could give the Democrats several extra seats in Congress, helping them win back or strengthen control of the House in Washington, where majorities are often decided by just a few seats.

That would be a big political shift for the state, which was once closely contested but has become more Democratic-leaning in recent years.

How would the vote work?

Voters in Virginia can cast their ballots either early or on Election Day.

Polling stations will be open across the state on Tuesday:

• Polls open at 10:00 GMT
• Polls close at 23:00 GMT

Votes will be counted after polls close, with early results expected later that evening and fuller results overnight or the next day.

What are voters being asked to decide?

The proposed constitutional amendment is the only statewide contest on the ballot.

It reads:

“Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to allow the General Assembly to temporarily adopt new congressional districts to restore fairness in the upcoming elections, while ensuring Virginia’s standard redistricting process resumes for all future redistricting after the 2030 census?”

A “yes” vote would support allowing the General Assembly to redraw congressional districts before the midterms.

A “no” vote would leave current boundaries unchanged until the next round of regularly scheduled redistricting after the 2030 census.

What do the latest polls suggest?

The result is expected to be close.

A recent poll by State Navigate, a nonpartisan research group, suggests a small lead for supporters, with about 53 percent in favour and 47 percent against.

Why do district lines matter so much?

District lines decide how voters are grouped, which can shape who wins elections.

Moving the lines can make a district more favourable to a Democratic or Republican win, by adding or removing neighbourhoods and communities that lean one way or the other.

It can turn a close race into a safe seat, or the other way around. It affects which communities are kept together and who represents them.

This process, often called gerrymandering, allows parties to draw maps that benefit them.

In a closely divided state like Virginia, even small changes to the map can shift several seats and influence who holds power in Congress.

A 2023 study by Harvard University researchers found that gerrymandering often creates “safe” seats for politicians, meaning their races are less competitive.

In turn, those politicians become less responsive to the needs of their constituents, who become discouraged about voting as a result.

When could new maps take effect?

If approved, the new map could be used as early as the next election cycle, including the upcoming midterms, depending on legal approval.

However, the plan could face legal challenges. Critics have questioned the ballot wording and the process used by lawmakers.

The Virginia Supreme Court has allowed the vote to go ahead while reviewing those concerns.

If it later finds that rules were broken, the results could be overturned, and the current maps would remain.

Why this vote could shape power in Washington?

A handful of seats could decide control of the US House.

Republicans currently hold a narrow 218–213 majority, but Democrats are seen as competitive heading into the midterms.

Political leaders have underscored the stakes.

Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic Party’s leader in the House, has pointed to Virginia as a crucial battleground, while Mike Johnson has said the result will be closely watched across the country.

What it means to control the US House

The party with the majority (more seats) in Congress can:

• Set the agenda, deciding which bills are brought up for debate
• Control committees, including investigations and hearings
• Pass legislation more easily (if they stay united)
• Block bills from the minority party.

The majority party also chooses the speaker of the House, who has major influence over what reaches the floor.

Where else has this happened?

Virginia’s redistricting vote is part of a larger political battle playing out in the US. Republicans in Texas, encouraged by Donald Trump, have redrawn district maps to strengthen their advantage, prompting similar efforts in other states.

In rare cases, voters have been asked to decide directly, including in California last year and now in Virginia.

In California, voters backed the changes despite concerns about fairness. Now it’s Virginia’s turn to decide.

What Democrats are saying, and why?

Democrats argue the plan is a response to Republican actions in other states, not just a power grab.

Leaders like Obama had long opposed gerrymandering in principle, but have now backed the Virginia move, even releasing a video asking voters to go out and vote for the constitutional amendment.

Barcelona’s Yamal bags Young Sportsperson of the Year accolade a year after winning the Breakthrough award in 2025.

Tennis ruled the red carpet in Madrid as Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz were crowned Sportswoman and Sportsman of the Year at the Laureus Awards.

The pair were honoured on Monday after glittering 2025 campaigns that saw them finish atop the women’s and men’s tennis rankings, respectively.

Spaniard Alcaraz, 22, reclaimed the year-end world number one spot after capturing two Grand Slam titles at the French Open and US Open, underlining his supremacy across surfaces.

Belarusian Sabalenka, 27, meanwhile, stood alongside him in the winners’ circle in New York and also reached the final in Australia and France, capping a season of relentless consistency.

With her triumph, Sabalenka joins a roll call of Laureus Sportswoman of the Year recipients from her sport, including Serena Williams, Jennifer Capriati, Justine Henin and Naomi Osaka.

Barcelona and Spain athlete Lamine Yamal, 18, won the Young Sportsperson of the Year award. It is the second award for the young Barca forward after being voted Breakthrough Sportsperson of the Year in 2025, making him the youngest athlete to have won two Laureus awards.

German football great Toni Kroos won the world sporting inspiration award, and retired gymnast Nadia Comaneci got the lifetime achievement prize.

The world action sportsperson award went to American snowboarder Chloe Kim.

Brazilian Gabriel Araujo was the world sportsperson of the year with a disability.

In a first for the awards, the ceremony was hosted by two athletes – both former Laureus winners – Novak Djokovic and Eileen Gu. Last year’s top honours went to gymnast Simone Biles and pole-vaulter Mondo Duplantis.

McIlroy takes comeback prize

Elsewhere, Rory McIlroy claimed the World Comeback of the Year Award after ending an 11-year wait to complete the career Grand Slam with a playoff victory at the 2025 Masters, a title he defended in 2026.

Formula One’s Lando Norris was named World Breakthrough of the Year, while Paris St Germain took World Team of the Year after a trophy haul in 2025 that included the French league and Cup, plus their first Champions League crown.

The Laureus World Sports Awards nominees are selected by the global media, while the winners are determined by the 69 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy.

The awards have been presented annually since 2000.

Laureus winners 2026:

• World Sportsman of the Year Award: Carlos Alcaraz
• World Sportswoman of the Year Award: Aryna Sabalenka
• World Team of the Year Award: Paris Saint-Germain
• World Breakthrough of the Year Award: Lando Norris
• World Comeback of the Year Award: Rory McIlroy
• World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award: Gabriel Araujo
• World Action Sportsperson of the Year Award: Chloe Kim
• World Young Sportsperson of the Year Award: Lamine Yamal
• Laureus Sporting Inspiration Award: Toni Kroos
• Lifetime Achievement Award: Nadia Comaneci
• Laureus Sport for Good Award: Futbol Mas

Here’s what Jet2 passengers travelling as a family need to know

Heading off on holiday is an exciting time, but travelling as a family can also prove demanding. You’ll need to ensure everything is organised and all your crucial documents such as passports and boarding passes are sorted.

As well as this before departing, it is useful to familiarise yourself with any rules or regulations you might be unaware of – including any airline requirements. This is particularly important when travelling with children and babies. And by making sure you know what’s expected, you can make your journey as easy as possible.

Here are the latest Jet2 rules for passengers travelling with children and babies.

Firstly, the travel operator allows only those aged 14 or above to travel unaccompanied, and that any passenger under the age of 14 can only travel if accompanied by a passenger aged 16 years or over who will assume full responsibility for them. Jet2 guidance adds: “Some countries impose special conditions for minors who are travelling either alone, or without their legal parent/guardian.”

Passengers are advised to verify the requirements for their destination. When departing or entering Portugal, including Madeira, without a parent or legal guardian, young people under the age of 18 are required to have a letter of authorisation with them.

This letter must be signed by the parent or legal guardian and contain accurate detail confirming the young person’s temporary address and the responsible person’s contact information, while in their destination. Jet2 adds: “To avoid delays at the border, we recommend a copy of the signatories’ (parent or legal guardian) photo identification is carried with the young person for verification purposes, by the authorities at the Portuguese border.

“Residents or nationals of Portugal under the age of 18, leaving Portuguese territory, may additionally require authorisation letters to be legally certified prior to departure.”

Travelling with Jet2 with children and babies

Travellers are permitted to bring up to two items per child or infant at no extra cost, which can include a pram or buggy, a car seat, a baby carrier, and a travel cot. Items must not exceed 32kg in weight and any further items will be subject to excess baggage charges.

Infants under two years of age on the date of travel can fly free of charge. Infants over 7 days old without any underlying health conditions won’t require prior clearance and will be permitted onboard.

However, babies aged between two and seven days old will require prior approval from Jet2.com. Infants 2-14 days old who have been incubated, ventilated or have experienced any birth complications will also need authorisation before flying, and Jet2 says it is unable to carry any infants less than 2 days old.

Bookings can be made before an infant has been born. Should their name be unconfirmed, simply enter the first name as ‘Unborn’ and last name as ‘Baby’. Jet2 further explains: “Once the infant’s name has been confirmed, contact us and we’ll be happy to update the name free of charge.”

Infants will be positioned on the lap of their accompanying adult and fastened using an extension seatbelt, which will be supplied by cabin crew and you are not allowed to use your own infant or extension seatbelt. Alternatively, you can reserve a seat for them where they’ll need to sit in a car seat, provided it meets the necessary criteria.

Anyone wishing to book a seat for an infant is advised to contact the Jet2 Customer Service team for guidance and costs. Jet2 is also informing passengers that if you’re flying with an infant and you’ve already added a hold bag to your booking, your allowance will automatically be increased by an additional 10kg per infant, free of charge.

THE oldest member of a much-loved 70s pop group has passed away, his family has announced.

Alan Osmond, the founding brother and guitarist of The Osmonds, died on Monday aged 76.

The family said in a statement that his wife Suzanne and their eight sons were beside Osmond at his bedside when he passed away, but did not reveal an official cause of death.

Alan Osmond had battled multiple sclerosis for 40 years after being first diagnosed in 1987.

He was the third-born child of parents George Virl Osmond Sr. and Olive Osmond, and in 1958 performed alongside his younger brothers Wayne, Merrill and Jay on a TV show at the age of 12.

The group first found fame as a barbershop quartet on The Andy Williams Show.

This early success set the stage for their siblings to join the lineup; once younger brother Donny arrived, the group transitioned into pop music as “The Osmonds,” quickly achieving superstar status as teen heart-throbs.

They had hits such as One Bad Apple, Yo-Yo, Down by the Lazy River and Love Me for a Reason.

Alan left the group in 2007, and his brothers went on with solo careers.

Alan and his brother Merrill founded the Stadium of Fire in Provo, Utah, a massive Fourth of July celebration, and he also co-founded and ran the OneHeart Foundation.

He then published his memoir, “One Way Ticket,” in 2024.

Osmond is survived by his wife, their eight sons, 30 grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

“I’m trying to be very patient. But we are good and just waiting a little bit.

“We have a few tests in the next few days and then we will see how the injury is and what the next steps will be.”

The 22-year-old, who won clay-court titles in Monte Carle, Rome and Roland Garros and reached the final in Barcelona last season, could lose significant ground to Sinner in the rankings because of the injury.

Italian Sinner reclaimed the number one ranking this month after beating Alcaraz in the Monte Carlo final.

Alcaraz said: “I’d rather come back a little later but in great shape than come back early, rushing around, and unwell.

“God willing, I have a very long career ahead of me, many years, and pushing myself too hard at this Roland Garros could seriously harm me in future tournaments.

“Things happen in the professional world. You have to accept them. I need to recover really well if I don’t want it to affect me later on.”

The US tech giant Palantir Technologies has posted what it terms a summary of Palantir CEO Alex Karp and head of corporate affairs Nicholas Zamiska’s book, The Technological Republic, on social media.

Many of the positions articulated in the book go far beyond what would normally be expected of a tech company: calling for the introduction of national service, the “moral” duty of technology companies to participate in defence, the necessity for hard power if what it calls free and democratic powers are to prevail, and an embrace of religion in public life.

The publication of what appears to be a 22-point manifesto comes at a critical time for Palantir, which faces global criticism for its support of US President Donald Trump’s controversial immigration crackdown and its backing of the Israeli military’s actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Many have expressed alarm at the book’s emphasis on cultural hierarchies and what it calls “regressive” cultures.

Eliot Higgins, the founder of the online investigations platform Bellingcat, sarcastically pointed out how “completely normal” it was for a tech company to post what he said was a manifesto attacking democratic norms. “It’s also worth being clear about who’s doing the arguing,” Higgins added. “Palantir sells operational software to defence, intelligence, immigration & police agencies. These 22 points aren’t philosophy floating in space, they’re the public ideology of a company whose revenue depends on the politics it’s advocating.”

So, what is Palantir, why is it so controversial, and why has it posted the “manifesto” now?

What does the book say?

As well as referring to the hard power needed to replace the “soaring rhetoric” previously used to defend “free and democratic societies”, the book rails against what it calls the “psychologization of modern politics”, which appears to criticise anyone the authors feel has become too emotionally invested in their political representatives and identity.

The call for people to care less about politics appears to critics as a way of deflecting from Palantir’s own controversial political positions and its openness to working with government policies that clamp down on liberty. Worryingly for some is also the book’s emphasis on what it calls the technology sector’s “obligation to participate in the defence of the nation”, and on the supposed inevitability of developing AI weapons.

Among other points, the writers appear to defend billionaires, such as Elon Musk, whose achievements, they say, are not met with “curiosity or genuine interest” but are instead dismissed by those who “snicker” at the South African-born businessman. Musk was heavily criticised for his role as the head of DOGE, or the US Department for Government Efficiency, which scrapped several government agencies without much regard for the roles those agencies played, or the legal and political process necessary to shut such agencies down.

Palantir’s post concludes by criticising “the shallow temptation of a vacant and hollow pluralism”. It argues that an unthinking commitment to inclusivity and pluralism “glosses over the fact that certain cultures and indeed subcultures… have produced wonders. Others have proven middling, and worse, regressive and harmful”.

How have people reacted?

Not well.

Mark Coeckelbergh, a Belgian philosopher of technology who teaches at the University of Vienna, described Palantir’s messaging as an “example of technofascism”, while Greek economist and former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said Palantir had effectively signalled a willingness “to add to nuclear Armageddon the AI-driven threat to humanity’s existence”.

Posting on social media, Arnaud Bertrand, the entrepreneur and geopolitical commentator, claimed that Palantir had revealed a dangerous “ideological agenda”.

“They’re effectively saying ‘our tools aren’t meant to serve your foreign policy. They’re meant to enforce ours’,” he wrote.

What is Palantir?

Palantir Technologies is widely regarded as one of the world’s most influential data analytics firms, securing major contracts with governments, militaries and global corporations.

Founded in 2003 by Alex Karp and Peter Thiel, with support from In-Q-Tel, the CIA’s venture capital arm, it built its early business on post-9/11 intelligence work and has since expanded internationally, with contracts across Europe, the Middle East, and beyond.

While retaining his shares in Palantir, Thiel is understood to no longer play an active role in its day-to-day operations. Karp has positioned himself as the public face of the company.

Under Karp’s leadership, Palantir has drawn heavily on the expertise of former members of Israel’s cyber-intelligence unit, 8200. After the company announced a “strategic partnership” with Israel in January 2024, its involvement in Gaza and the occupied West Bank expanded considerably. Using a mix of intercepted communications, satellite material and other digital data sources, Palantir began integrating these inputs to help produce targeting databases – effectively, “kill lists” – for the Israeli military.

It has also cultivated close ties with US security agencies, particularly during the Trump administration, of which Thiel has been an enthusiastic backer, and has also worked with Israel in its occupation of the West Bank and genocide in Gaza.

According to its critics, including the rights group Amnesty International, “Palantir has a track record of flagrantly disregarding international law and standards, both in the violations of the human rights of migrants in the United States, to which it risks contributing to, and its ongoing supply of artificial intelligence (AI) products and services to the Israeli military and intelligence services that are linked to Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.”

What exactly has Palantir been accused of in Israel and the US?

Palantir Technologies has faced criticism across the world for its enabling of government surveillance and military systems in the US and Israel.

In the US, it has been accused of supporting immigration enforcement and policing tools that aggregate vast personal datasets, including medical information, enabling profiling and raising due process and privacy concerns. In Israel, critics allege that its AI and data platforms have been used in military operations in Gaza, potentially contributing to the targeting decisions that have underpinned Israel’s genocide there.

Responding to questions from Al Jazeera earlier this year, a spokesperson for Palantir said, “As a company, Palantir does support Israel. We’ve chosen to support them because of the appalling events of October 7th. And more broadly, we’ve chosen to support them because we believe in supporting the West and its allies – and Israel is an important ally of the West.” The spokesman was referring to the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, after which Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza.

Why post the ‘manifesto’ now?

Palantir’s politics and alarm over its influence are growing and gaining traction across much of the West.

As well as concern among US Democrats, politicians in Germany, Ireland, and in the European Parliament have criticised the tech giant, whose products, according to one German lawmaker and cyber security expert, have fallen short of security standards across the bloc.

In the UK, the row over the National Health Service’s adoption of Palantir technology has led to some of the fiercest criticism yet. MPs calling for the UK to take advantage of an early break in the tech giant’s 330 million-pound ($446.4m) contract with the health service labelled Palantir “dreadful” and “shameful” in a debate last week, after which even the government conceded that it was “no fan” of the US company’s politics.

Louis Mosley, the head of Palantir Technologies UK, defended the company by arguing that it had no interest in patient data and existed only as a tool to better manage health service resources.

This is a very similar situation to the one that surrounded Red Bull’s former head of strategy, Will Courtenay, who is now McLaren’s sporting director.

It emerged at the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix that Courtenay had signed to join McLaren when his contract ended, and Red Bull emphasised that he would not be allowed to leave before 2026.

They did not specify exactly when in 2026, and BBC Sport has been told that negotiations were held that led to him starting work at McLaren on 1 January this year.

Despite that, for the entirety of last year, Courtenay stayed in his previous role, even though Red Bull were fighting McLaren for the drivers’ championship.

For now, the same thing will happen with Lambiase – he will continue in his role as Red Bull’s head of racing and race engineer to Verstappen for the foreseeable future.

However, just because Red Bull’s statement announcing his departure said he would not be joining McLaren until 2028 does not necessarily mean that will be the case.

McLaren’s statement said Lambiase would join “no later than 2028”. That means they will be hoping to come to an agreement with Red Bull that shortens that timeframe.

It’s worth pointing out, meanwhile, that McLaren have emphasised that Lambiase is joining to provide support for team principal Andrea Stella, not ultimately replace him.

Stella has until now been fulfilling the role to which Lambiase has been appointed, that of chief racing officer, in addition to that of team principal.

Stella said last week: “Zak (Brown, the chief executive officer of McLaren Racing) and I have built a flat team structure, in which it is essential to ensure all leaders are properly empowered, but at the same time, we must guarantee there is always the necessary level of long-term support.

“It goes without saying that, with this approach, the dual role I currently hold could not be sustainable in the long run.”

McLaren have indirectly – but very clearly – rejected what are said to be inaccurate reports that Stella is on his way to Ferrari.

Stella said in a statement issued by McLaren on Friday: “Some of the recent rumours, including those regarding astronomical salaries and mythical pre-contracts, have made me smile.

“It almost seems as though the ‘silly season’, which usually begins before summer, has arrived early!

“I’m quite used to this sort of thing by now and I take with a smile. It almost looks as if some envious pastry chef has tried to spoil the preparation of a good dessert at the McLaren patisserie. However, we do know very well how to distinguish the good ingredients from the poisoned biscuits.”

During a recent Zoom interview from his studio in Switzerland, Peter Zumthor offered a candid look at the making of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s new David Geffen Galleries.

The Pritzker Prize-winning architect addressed long-standing criticisms of the building and answered questions about his craft. He noted that the structure is a rejection of the overly “slick” architecture he believes defines the present moment, and shed light on the building’s early development, describing a contained process in which the concept was shaped before being presented to the public.

Finally, he discussed the broader ambition of the endeavor: dissolving traditional circulation and prioritizing emotional experience over institutional order.

The following interview excerpts have been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

You are well–known as both an architect and a craftsman. I think the biggest place for that focus was the concrete. I’m curious about how you formed it. It’s not the typical museum concrete.

I work like an artist in building. This means I custom-make buildings. I can use a few standard details or products, like in the basement. But where the building has an identity, becomes visible, it’s almost all handmade. I have an image of what I want to do, what the building should do, how it should look. So I need people who can help me make custom-made products.

The people who did the formwork — the concrete pouring — [worked in] groups of 100 or more. They were fantastic. They loved their work. At the beginning, formwork leaked on a door, and it looked terrible. They said, “Peter, we’re sorry. We made a mistake. We can fix this. You will not see this afterwards.” But if you make a mistake, you cannot mend it, because what you’re doing here is a concrete sculpture. Sculptures are never mended.

It’s not a perfectly smooth concrete. I’m assuming that’s on purpose?

I love this kind of rawness. This was what I gladly learned. Michael [Govan] in a very friendly, careful way let me know that he would like more “American details” and fewer “European details.” OK, my European details, they stand. That’s what I did 20, 30 years ago. My background as a furniture maker shows, and I can do this. But the challenge in this museum is to get the right “American” roughness. And I think I pretty much succeeded.

What I learned in California [came] back to Europe, and many times we now say in the office, “Let’s do this more L.A.-style.” Because we have too many slick magazines in the world. We have this corporate architecture which doesn’t want to see any touch of a hand. No mistakes. What we need is not refinement. We need wholehearted directness. This is what I take back from America. There’s a certain freshness. It’s not overly refined. I’m proud of that. The roughness has to do with our times. Because our time is slick and glossy, right? The time to make refined, slick architecture is over.

Horizontal light enters from floor-to-ceiling windows around the perimeter of LACMA’s new David Geffen Galleries, which use concrete as a kind of living building material.

(Iwan Baan)

In a 2023 interview with [architecture critic] Christopher Hawthorne, you said there were no “Zumthor details” left in the building. Do you think there are any Zumthor details now?

Of course there are Zumthor details. And I love them. They are not Swiss details. I think Christopher got this wrong. I was actually proudly speaking of how I learned a new way of looking at details. It doesn’t have to be refined all the time.

[Editor’s note: Zumthor told Hawthorne verbatim, “There are no Zumthor details any more,” in the 2023 interview with the New York Times.]

There’s always a tension with every building when it comes to value engineering. Were there any other places where you would want [David Geffen Galleries] to be different?

Basically, I say no. I’m very proud of this building. This is what I wanted to do, and this is what Michael helped me to do. This is exactly it. It’s one of my children and I love it.

Do you see this approach as an evolution in your work? Or is it more specifically for L.A.?

L.A. has changed me. And it’s in a good way. I would [not] have changed and reacted to our slick times the same way without L.A.

There were complaints that the project, and the process, were not as public as some people thought they should be. What is your reaction to that criticism?

I think I can say this: Michael said, “We cannot make a competition or anything like it, because competitions in the U.S. always end up with a winner who doesn’t build because he found out his own way of staging this whole procedure. The first, the most important thing, is that we start on a small budget, just the two of us.” That’s what we did. So when we started to talk about this museum, it was him and me, basically, and he gave me a little bit of money. And he said, “There will come a time when we will have to show something to the public. Let’s see whether people say yes.” They could have said no, but I think what they saw at that point was already too convincing.

Architect Peter Zumthor speaks at the press preview for the David Geffen Galleries at Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

(LACMA/ Museum Associates / Gary Leonard)

Because the museum’s not organized in a traditional way, it might be harder than normal to navigate for some people. It might be a little confusing. What do you say to that concern?

This will take some time, to see the benefits of this new type of museum. I think if you start to like this building in one corner or in another, or you get lost, you start to understand what it is all about. When something new comes, you have to learn, right? But I hope you can see this building never looks down on you. This building is, in a way, deeply human. And it lets you have your opinion.

There are people who have said, very loudly, this space shouldn’t have lost square footage. What is your response to that?

Small museums are beautiful, big museums tend to be really difficult. And the bigger the museum gets, the more difficult it is to make it easily accessible. So I’m very glad that this is not bigger. But it feels bigger.

What is this with bigness? What kind of a hang-up is this? You don’t have to be big. It has the right scale. We were often asked, “Can you experience this building and this collection in one day?” And we said, “Maybe. But maybe it will be better to come back.” Start from the other end. You have your own personal path. And then you research a little bit further. I think these are the beautiful ideas of how to experience the building. And I think it’s endless.

The interior of LACMA’s new David Geffen Galleries encourages guests to wander and make their own connections rather than follow a linear path.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Can you go back to the beginning and talk about the core concept for the museum?

There are three major things that I always have to answer, whatever I do. What does the building do with the place? Does it help the place? Does it interpret the place? And then, what is the content of the building? What does the building have to do? Why are we building this?

To start out, there was a museum here which was modeled a bit after Lincoln Center. Later, it got clogged up with new buildings and you didn’t recognize the initial idea anymore. These things we took away. Whenever a building is there, whether it’s beautiful or ugly, it will always have grown into the soul of somebody. There will always be people saying, “No, no, I want to keep it.” This is part of my life. I understand this kind of thing always comes up.

The place was rather difficult because I couldn’t see any big urbanistic concept in L.A. L.A. [is] not urban in the European sense with, for instance, the market square.

There was a master plan, which was made by Renzo Piano. And this presented a long axis, and I tried to follow it. It just did not feel right. So I started to react in a more organic way, inspired by the tar pits. This whole area, which to me, is the ancient part of the site, became the starting point.

There was more: like the idea that side light is the most human light. Yeah, no skylights. And another thing was the museum had to be open to its surroundings. So contemporary L.A. should be present at all times. It should come in, whenever you can look out.

Another important thing … was to create or enlarge the public space that Michael [Govan] had started to create between his buildings. Friday evenings, Saturday, you saw so many families there. There is a desire here, a wish, for public space. This is not exactly the strength of L.A. So I think it was amazing that we were allowed to lift up the building and have the whole ground free for people.

Also, let’s do the museum on one level only. Classical museums have a main level, then they have a second level and a third level, a south wing and north wing and so on. And then, as an artist, you can have your work on the main level in the most beautiful spot. But as an artist, you can also land top left, third level near to the attic. So let’s make a building type which treats everybody equal.

LACMA’s David Geffen Galleries are hoisted above the ground on discrete piers, allowing for ample public space below.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

And then we started to think about how we wanted something open for wandering, experiencing and dreaming. This is always difficult to explain — let’s have the knowledge of art, of the history of art, coming second. It’s not because I think this is a secondary thing. It’s just because our experience should come first.

As a boy, I saw the opposite. There’s a tour and there’s a guide, and the guide starts to tell you what you should think. And I never liked this. We thought we should lay out things on a big plane where you can stroll and wander and develop your interest in art. Follow your own path.

You’re overturning a lot of unspoken rules in the art world. And I guess that’s the point in a lot of ways?

This is our point. You see other rules. For instance, if you do a new museum, the conservators say art can be exposed to less daylight. I told them as a joke, “If it goes on like this, soon the art will be in the basement, locked away.”

We have a building wide and long enough that within the building, you can find strong daylight for, let’s say, china or pottery, which love daylight. Then you can go deep into the building where it gets darker, and you can put pieces you don’t want to expose too much to the light. All without having to flip a switch.

The NHS Couch to 5K app is celebrating its 10-year anniversary having been downloaded more than eight million times.

The app, which is a collaboration between the BBC and the Department of Health and Social Care is a free, beginner-friendly running plan and aims to help people go from being non-runners to be able to complete 5km.

As well as eight million downloads, the app has also supported more than one billion minutes of movement since its launch in 2016.

To mark the anniversary, a series of special programmes across the BBC are taking place – including a Traitors special of the BBC Sport Couch to 5K Podcast.

“NHS Couch to 5K has been a real success story and to achieve supporting over one billion minutes of movement over a decade from runners across the UK is truly incredible,” said the BBC’s chief content officer Kate Phillips.

“We all know the physical and mental benefits of taking up regular exercise.”

The NHS says regular running has been shown to reduce the risk of long-term illnesses, such as heart disease, type two diabetes and stroke, as well as helping to maintain a healthier weight and improve mood and wellbeing.

Here are ways to download the NHS Couch to 5K app: