Director says Seven Jewish Children by Caryl Churchill, which provoked fury at its first production in 2009, is a ‘family story’ at heart
The premiere of Caryl Churchill’s short play Seven Jewish Children at the Royal Court theatre 16 years ago proved to be one of British theatre’s most controversial opening nights.
Audiences were immediately divided by the British playwright’s deliberately stripped-back treatment of Jewish generational fear and Israel’s history of conflict.
Continue reading...Netanyahu wants Hamas to allow for release of hostages without troop withdrawal, in plan Israel says came from US
Israel has cut off humanitarian supplies to Gaza in an effort to pressure Hamas into accepting a change in the ceasefire agreement to allow for the release of hostages without an Israeli troop withdrawal.
The office of the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Sunday it was imposing a blockade on Gaza because Hamas would not accept a plan which it claimed had been put forward by the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, to extend phase one of the ceasefire and continue to release hostages, and postpone phase two, which envisaged an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
Continue reading...PM says he and Macron have agreed to begin talks as Europe scrambles to respond to White House disaster
Britain and France will work on their own peace plan for Ukraine, Keir Starmer has said, as European leaders scrambled to respond to Friday’s disastrous White House meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The prime minister told the BBC on Sunday that he and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, had agreed to begin negotiations separate to those between the US and Russia, after a series of hurried phone calls on Saturday evening.
Continue reading...Ukraine leader embraced in No 10 and given £2.26bn defence loan one day after his White House dressing down
Keir Starmer has described his meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “meaningful and warm”, according to Downing Street.
The British prime minister met the Ukrainian president on Saturday evening, just 24 hours after Zelenskyy’s meeting with the US president, Donald Trump, and vice-president, JD Vance, in Washington.
Continue reading...Pontiff, 88, spends long periods off noninvasive ventilation, showing improving lung function as he battles pneumonia
Pope Francis remains in stable condition a day after a respiratory crisis, and has spent long periods off the noninvasive ventilation he initially needed in a sign that his lung function was improving as he battles double pneumonia.
Francis had no further episodes of bronchial spasms, the Vatican said in its late update on Saturday. He had no fever and no signs of new infection, was feeding himself and continued his respiratory physiotherapy, the Vatican said.
The 88-year-old pope had a good response in his blood gas levels even during the “long periods” he was off the ventilator mask and only using high-flow supplemental oxygen. But his prognosis remained guarded, meaning he wasn’t out of danger.
“The Holy Father is always vigilant” and aware of what’s going on around him, the statement said, adding that he received the Eucharist and spent time in prayer.
The comparatively positive update came after Francis suffered a setback Friday in his two-week battle against pneumonia.
Francis had a coughing fit in which he also inhaled vomit. Doctors aspirated the vomit and placed Francis on noninvasive mechanical ventilation, a mask that pumps oxygen into his lungs. Doctors said episode resulted in a “sudden worsening of the respiratory picture.”
The pope remained conscious and alert at all times and cooperated with the manoeuvres to help him recover.
The fact that Francis on Saturday was able to use just high-flow oxygen for long periods, without any significant effect on the levels of oxygen in his blood, was a sign his respiratory function was improving.
The pope, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, has lung disease and was admitted to Gemelli after a bout of bronchitis worsened and turned into pneumonia in both lungs.
The Vatican said the episode was different from the prolonged respiratory crisis on 22 February, that was said to have caused Francis discomfort. Doctors not involved in Francis’ care said it was particularly alarming given his existing lung disease and fragility.
Types of noninvasive ventilation include a BiPAP machine, which helps people breathe by pushing air into their lungs. Doctors will often try such a machine for a while to see if the patient’s blood gas levels improve so they can eventually go back to using oxygen alone. Friday’s statement said Francis showed a “good response” to the gas exchange using the mechanical ventilation.
Doctors did not resume referring to Francis being in “critical condition”, which has been absent from their statements for four days now. But they say he isn’t out of danger, given the complexity of his case.
Israel had agreed partial troop withdrawal by 9 March, but start of second phase of truce hits impasse
Talks aimed at maintaining the ceasefire in Gaza hit an impasse in Cairo on Saturday , over whether the truce should advance to a second phase.
A Hamas official said the multilateral negotiations in the Egyptian capital had made no progress on Friday, and there was no evidence the talks had resumed on Saturday, the last day of the ceasefire’s first six-week phase.
Continue reading...Flamboyant singer helped point his city’s music scene towards punk, before a successful solo career and eye-catching acting roles
David Johansen, the swaggering, peacocking frontman with glam rock band New York Dolls, has died aged 75.
Last month he had announced he was living with cancer, and recently suffered a broken back. “David Johansen passed away peacefully at home, holding the hands of his wife Mara Hennessey and daughter Leah, in the sunlight surrounded by music and flowers,” reads a statement on a website created to raise funds for his medical care.
Continue reading...The showdown between the US president and the Ukrainian leader dumbfounded various outlets and politicos
One television star turned president visits another far more powerful one on a stage set and attempts to introduce a plot twist of sorts. What could go wrong?
The high-stakes White House showdown that unfolded on Friday after the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, demanded US security guarantees was deemed a damaging setback to Donald Trump’s goal of forging a peace deal – and a win for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin – by some US political commentators.
Continue reading...Europe can’t wait to react to Trump’s mood swings but must show we have the will and the wallet to take back control
It’s exhausting and humiliating to have no control – watching every meeting in the Oval Office for a glimmer of Trump’s approval or displeasure, our security resting on a perceived slight or a mood.
The last week of meetings between Trump, Macron, Starmer and finally Zelenskyy always felt like crawling across a minefield. Some might agonise about whether Zelenskyy could have played things differently. It’s the wrong question. The point is that we can’t carry on being so dependent on every meeting at the White House. Until we start taking charge of our future, we will always be one heart palpitation away from dreading doomsday.
Continue reading...Negotiations on next part of truce have begun in Egypt, but militant group has accused Israel of procrastination
The latest round of talks on the second phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has yet to make any progress and it was unclear whether they would resume on Saturday, a senior Hamas official has said.
The ceasefire took effect on 19 January after more than 15 months of war following Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, the deadliest in the country’s history.
Continue reading...More than a thousand people have been evacuated near forest of Ofunato in northern region of Iwate
More than a thousand people have been evacuated as Japan battles its largest wildfire in more than three decades.
The flames are estimated to have spread over about 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres) in the forest of Ofunato in the northern region of Iwate since a fire broke out on Wednesday, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
Continue reading...Doctors caring for pontiff, 88, are assessing how Friday’s incident will affect his condition, says official
Pope Francis, who has been in hospital for two weeks with pneumonia in both lungs, has spent a peaceful night after suffering a breathing crisis, the Vatican said.
Francis, 88, had suffered an “isolated breathing crisis” that caused him to vomit and provoked a “sudden worsening” of his respiratory condition, the Vatican said.
Continue reading...Kurdish militant group responds to call from its jailed leader, Abdullah Öcalan, to lay down arms
Outlawed Kurdish militants have declared a ceasefire with Turkey after a landmark call by the jailed PKK leader, Abdullah Öcalan, asking the group to disband.
It was the first reaction from the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK) after Öcalan this week called for the dissolution of the group and asked it to lay down arms after fighting the Turkish state for more than four decades.
Continue reading...Little-noticed order that gives US president powers far beyond mere oversight denounced as ‘breathtaking’
Unusually for him, Donald Trump made no great fuss as he signed one drily worded executive order last Tuesday.
Public attention was distracted that day – by the headline-grabbing drama of Elon Musk bludgeoning his way through the federal bureaucracy, by immigrants deported to Guantánamo Bay, and by the torrent of other directives Trump has issued since his inauguration last month.
Continue reading...New Mexico town shocked by deaths of actor, wife and dog – but answers to critical questions may take time to emerge
As New Mexico authorities investigate the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, their adopted home town of Santa Fe is grappling with the mystery of what happened to the couple.
Hackman, a Hollywood legend with two Academy Awards picked up over a 60-year career, and Arakawa, a classical pianist, had lived in the area for decades and had embraced the close-knit community that is New Mexico’s capital city.
Continue reading...Ukraine president expresses regret over contentious meeting but says relationship with Trump can be salvaged
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed regret that an Oval Office meeting with Donald Trump devolved into a shocking display of acrimony between the leaders of two historically allied nations, while insisting that their relationship could be salvaged.
Hours after the public confrontation in which Trump and Vice-President JD Vance berated Zelenskyy, accusing him of “gambling with world war three,” the Ukrainian leader defended himself during an in-studio interview on Fox News, while also agreeing that the dispute was “not good for both sides”.
Continue reading...Rafael Caro Quintero arraigned in New York over federal agent’s death after years as one of US’s most wanted men
After years as one of US authorities’ most wanted men, the Mexican drug cartel boss Rafael Caro Quintero was brought into a New York courtroom on Friday to answer charges that include orchestrating the 1985 killing of a US federal agent.
Caro Quintero pleaded not guilty to running a continuing criminal enterprise. Separately, so did Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, the leader of another cartel. Carrillo is accused of arranging kidnappings and killings in Mexico but not accused of involvement in the death of the DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena.
Continue reading...President’s warmth towards PM was apparent – but will No 10’s strategy prove successful longer-term?
“We’re feeling good, we’re very well prepared,” one senior UK official declared on the eve of Keir Starmer’s highly anticipated first meeting with Donald Trump at the White House. The prime minister had just landed in Washington DC and been driven straight to a glitzy reception at the UK ambassador’s opulent Edwin Lutyens-designed residence.
Under the sparkling crystal chandeliers and among the grand marble columns, his euphoric host, Peter Mandelson, introduced Starmer to guests including the new FBI director, Kush Patel. The Republican senator Lindsey Graham and the New York-based editor Tina Brown were also present.
Continue reading...Recent incidents indicate US is no longer characterizing Russia as a cyber security threat, marking a radical departure: ‘Putin is on the inside now’
The Trump administration has publicly and privately signaled that it does not believe Russia represents a cyber threat against US national security or critical infrastructure, marking a radical departure from longstanding intelligence assessments.
The shift in policy could make the US vulnerable to hacking attacks by Russia, experts warned, and appeared to reflect the warming of relations between Donald Trump and Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.
Continue reading...Plan for IDF-protected ‘humanitarian hubs’ to selectively issue aid casts doubt on Israeli intent to withdraw
The Israeli military has presented the UN and aid organisations with a plan for running Gaza that involves Israel having tighter control than it did before the war, according to humanitarian officials, casting doubt on whether Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has any intention of carrying out a military withdrawal.
At meetings with UN representatives on Wednesday and with officials from other agencies on Thursday, Cogat, the army unit given the task of delivering aid to the occupied territories, outlined a scheme of distributing supplies through tightly managed logistics hubs to vetted Palestinian recipients.
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