Harlem Renaissance documentary finally gets global premiere 50 years after cameras rolled 16. May 2026 (14:00) Once Upon a Time in Harlem, completed by relatives of William Greaves after his death, showcased at CannesIn 1969, the pioneering documentarian William Greaves wrote of his fury over the racially degrading stereotypes that white film producers threw up on American screens. “It became clear to me that unless we black people began to produce information for screen and television there would always be a distortion of the ‘black image,’” he said.Three years later, Greaves began work on what he considered the most important footage he ever shot: a feature documentary gathering surviving figures of the Harlem Renaissance to reflect on the movement they had built half a century earlier. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Peacock ‘invasion’ of Italian seaside town ruffles feathers 16. May 2026 (14:00) With Punta Marina residents loving or loathing the incomers, ‘peacock rangers’ have been appointed to defuse tensionsFederico Bruni was sitting on a bench, eating a piadina romagnola (flatbread sandwich) and minding his own business, when a peacock strutted up in the hope of a few crumbs. High-pitched squeals emanated from the direction of a disused military barracks across the road. “That would be the call to love,” Bruni said. “The male peacocks are courting the female ones – we’re in peak mating season.”As another couple of peacocks wandered by, their iridescent trains sweeping the pavement behind them, this could be mistaken for a wildlife park. But the scene is Punta Marina, a seaside town on the Adriatic coast of Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region that has been colonised by the birds, to the delight – or despair – of its approximately 1,000 residents. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Divers in Maldives resume search for Italian scuba divers who drowned in cave 16. May 2026 (13:45) Authorities previously suspended recovery operation for bodies of four divers believed to have died while exploring Vaavu Atoll caveDivers in the Maldives have resumed their search for the bodies of four Italian scuba divers who drowned while exploring a deep underwater cave.Due to rough weather on Friday, Maldivian authorities had temporarily suspended the high-risk operation to recover the bodies of the divers who, according to Italy’s foreign ministry, had “apparently died while attempting to explore caves at a depth of 50 metres (164ft)”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton win battle to stop 29-storey block being built by Thames 16. May 2026 (13:35) Planning inspector backs council’s rejection of development which was ‘not exemplary, extraordinary, remarkable or distinctive, just tall’Celebrities including Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger have defeated plans to build a 29-storey tower on the banks of the River Thames.Jagger, along with fellow rockstar Eric Clapton, actor Felicity Kendal and comic Harry Hill, fought the developer Rockwell Property for two years over its plan to erect a 100-metre tower next to Battersea Bridge. If the tower had been built on the south bank of the Thames in south-west London, it would have rivalled the heights of the famous chimneys on Battersea power station. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Andalucíans to vote in election seen as gauge of Spain’s wider political change 16. May 2026 (13:01) Conservatives expected to keep majority as socialists face drubbing and ballot tests trajectory of far-right Vox partyVoters in the southern Spanish region of Andalucía will cast their ballots in an election this weekend that is likely to deliver an absolute majority to the conservative People’s party (PP) and inflict another debilitating defeat on Pedro Sánchez’s embattled socialists in what was previously one of their proudest strongholds.Sunday’s election in Spain’s most populous region – the last big poll before next year’s general election – will serve as a barometer of wider electoral opinion and could also reveal whether the popularity of the far-right Vox party is beginning to peak. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Research here is world class’: son of Steve Jobs looks to invest in UK cancer care 16. May 2026 (13:00) After death of his father, Reed Jobs is keen for his $1bn venture capital fund Yosemite to make a difference“I saw my dad have cancer when I was a kid, and unfortunately that happens far too often. And that really motivated me to try to transform outcomes for other people out there.”Reed Jobs is talking about the death of his father, the Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, to a rare form of pancreatic cancer in 2011 at the age of 56, the experience that underlines his mission to make cancer a non-lethal, treatable disease. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Republican Louisiana senator in tough primary after Trump backs opponent 16. May 2026 (13:00) Bill Cassidy raised ire of US president for voting to impeach after January 6 – so Trump is backing Julia LetlowThe power of Donald Trump’s endorsement will be put to its latest test on Saturday, when Louisiana holds primary elections in which the US senator Bill Cassidy, who voted to impeach the president following the January 6 insurrection, then tried to make amends by casting the pivotal vote to confirm Robert F Kennedy Jr as health secretary, stands a chance of losing his party’s nomination.An incumbent Republican running for a third term representing a deeply Republican state, Cassidy would normally be a shoo-in for re-election. But in January, Trump abruptly said that the US representative Julia Letlow should run against Cassidy and offered his endorsement, underscoring his continued willingness to seek revenge against anyone in the Republican party who has crossed him. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Florida tightens rules on capturing giant manta rays but stops short of full ban 16. May 2026 (12:00) Move follows upsetting viral video of ray being manhandled into unmarked boat in Florida waters last yearWildlife officials in Florida will continue to allow threatened giant manta rays to be taken from the ocean, but have tightened their policies after a viral video showed a captured ray in severe distress, and a bipartisan group of politicians called for an end to the controversial practice.Members of the Florida fish and wildlife conservation commission (FWC) voted on Wednesday to adopt an amended final rule reserving the right to say when and where rays can be captured for “responsible exhibition” in the US. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
At least five people pardoned by Trump for Capitol attack accused of new crimes 16. May 2026 (12:00) Ryan Nichols is the latest such person to face charges after he allegedly brandished a gun during an argumentThe number of president’s supporters accused of committing new crimes after Donald Trump pardoned them for their roles in the 6 January 2021 US Capitol attack recently increased to at least five.Ryan Nichols, 35, became the latest such Capitol attacker on 10 May, when authorities in Harleton, Texas, say he threateningly displayed a handgun to a person with whom he was arguing in a church parking lot. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Extra 4,000 officers in London as police brace for far-right and pro-Palestine marches – live 16. May 2026 (11:56) Police monitoring both Tommy Robinson’s ‘Unite the Kingdom’ march and also the annual ‘Nakba day’ pro-Palestine marchStrict conditions on the timings and the routes of both demonstrations are in place.Tommy Robinson’s Unite the Kingdom march will begin in Kingsway and move along the Strand before ending in Parliament Square. Crowds are expected to gather for the rally from 11am. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
