The art activists made headlines during the US president’s state visit when they shocked the waiting media with a short documentary – and were quickly arrested

When Donald Trump’s second state visit was announced, and when the finer details for the Windsor banquet on 17 September 2025 became known, there was no way Led By Donkeys was going to let that pass unprotested. It was just so craven, rolling out the red carpet for Trump. Their next art-activist event unfolded like clockwork.

Led By Donkeys made a nine-minute film about Trump’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein which ended: “The president of the United States was a long-time close friend of America’s most notorious child sex trafficker. He’s alleged to be mentioned, numerous times, in the files arising from the investigation into that child sex trafficker … Now that president, Donald Trump, is sleeping here, in Windsor Castle.” (Trump says that he fell out with Epstein years before Epstein was first arrested, and has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.)

From corny adverts to snowy murder plots, test your knowledge with these seasonal questions

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Michelle Williams put in a stunning performance in this tale of a dying woman’s quest to have an orgasm. It’s not just clever, tender and blackly comic – it’s a beautiful meditation on what it means to live (and die) well

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Dying for Sex is about a fortysomething woman leaving her husband and having lots of experimental sex after she is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Except, of course, it’s not. It’s about so much more than that. By the end, the sex scenes – many and varied though they may be – are just a bagatelle.

Partly this is because there is no false hope offered here. None of the sexy set pieces are a full escape from reality. The series is based on a true story and the podcast made about Molly Kochan’s decision to cram years of sexual experience into the little time she was told she had left before metastasised breast cancer killed her. Whatever Molly does, whatever we see her do – enjoy or not enjoy – we know it will not change the ultimate outcome. This is the frame in which all the scenes of sex parties, age-gapped hookups, discovery of “pup play” and mastering the tricky latches on cock cages in Molly’s pursuit of her first partnered orgasm are set.

There’s no shortage of stunning scenery and daytime activities in the Lakes. Now, an observatory is offering stellar nocturnal events too

A tawny owl screeches nearby in the dark and her mate replies, hooting eerily from the forest below. A white dome floats in the gloaming above a plain black doorway outlined with red light, like a portal to another dimension. I’m in Grizedale Forest, far from any light-polluting cities, to visit the Lake District’s first public observatory and planetarium, which opened in May.

Grizedale Observatory offers immersive films in the planetarium and three-hour stargazing events that go on late into the night. There are sessions on astrophotography and, on moonless nights, dark sky astronomy with the chance to see “a glittering tapestry of stars, galaxies, nebulae and star clusters”. Its director, Gary Fildes, is a veteran in the field, having founded and led three UK observatories over two decades. The goal at Grizedale, he says, is to create “an immersive, year-round astronomy and science destination that brings the beauty of the Lake District skies to visitors”.

Raisa K’s solo album is primitive and intimate, Saeko Killy adds a euphoric touch to her dimly lit sound and Bitchin Bajas get blissed out
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Chicago minimalist trio Bitchin Bajas are experts in crafting the ultimate slow burn, with a discography full of soundscapes that often stretch languorously around or beyond the 10-minute mark. Their latest record follows suit with four winding, blissed-out tracks over a 40-minute run time. But it’s not just overindulgent lounge music: the analogue loops quietly build to transcendental heights, nudged along by wandering sax solos, spritely keys and other cosmic flourishes. It’s a lush, often moving odyssey which, towards the end of the epic 18-minute closer, climaxes in an effervescent flurry.

Hate crimes are rising around the UK, after a summer of flags going up on lamp-posts across the country and racist riots in 2024. Taj Ali is a Muslim journalist who has been collating evidence of these attacks. Even in big diverse areas there is a sense of fear, but what is life like for smaller ethnic minority communities in smaller towns? On his journey with video producers Christopher Cherry and Maeve Shearlaw he finds a sense of anger about the loss of community but people everywhere determined to roll up their sleeves and make things better. 

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Documents allege Epstein’s accomplice and ex-girlfriend ‘normalized’ his grooming and ‘directed’ girls on what to do

A document among the tranche of newly released Jeffrey Epstein files casts fresh light on psychological tricks that his ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell deployed in her effort to lure vulnerable teen girls into his abusive orbit.

She doted. She joked. She even seemed to listen.

Chris Philp says Mary-Ann Stephenson is dismissing ‘legitimate concerns about mass migration’

Animal rights groups are mostly positive about the animal welfare strategy being published today. (See 9.26am and 9.36am.) Here are some of their comments.

About the proposals for farm animals

The government’s commitment to phase out the use of farrowing crates for mother pigs is extremely welcome. We are concerned that this and other measures are being held hostage by ongoing trade negotiations with the EU because if the UK doesn’t clearly protect our right to set our own animal welfare standards, we will be unable to stop cruel products, like pork from caged pigs, from coming into our country, which could undermine the viability of a crate ban for British farmers. We need the government to ensure that high animal welfare standards are a foundation of our trade policy, not a casualty of it.

Overall this a very promising strategy – but the mooted bans on cages need to be implemented before we can truly celebrate. However, the direction of travel for farmed animals suggests the government understands the need to reform factory farming.

But some of the rhetoric in the press, that this strategy is a war on farmers, needs massive pushback. Making British farming more compassionate makes the lives of animals and farmers better, as workers won’t need to collect as many dead animals or see so much suffering.

We welcome the inclusion of a ban on cages for laying hens and on crates for mother pigs in the government’s animal welfare strategy, being published today. These measures address some of the cruellest elements of UK factory farming. But they do not go far enough.

Most farmed animals are raised in environments that cause needless suffering and create huge climate, environmental and human health costs. Animal welfare is a strong indicator of the harms a system does to people and planet – what is bad for one is bad for the other.

From Owen Sharp, chief executive of the Dogs Trust

We welcome the government’s new animal welfare strategy, particularly its commitment to delivering the measures set out in the recently passed animal welfare bill, which will prevent the import of underage puppies, heavily pregnant dogs and dogs with mutilations. We are also pleased that the government plans to consult on the regulation of rehoming centres. We have seen too many cases of neglect and fatalities involving dogs at the hands of unregulated individuals, and the public strongly supports mandatory licensing and regular inspections.

It is also positive that the government intends to consult on banning the use of cruel and unnecessary electric shock collars. However, we are disappointed that the proposals stop short of committing to a full ban on the sale of shock collars and other aversive devices.

There is much to welcome in the animal welfare strategy, but it must have real teeth to deliver for animals. Ministers must set clear timescales to phase out crates and cages, properly support farmers through the transition and not allow imports that don’t meet UK standards.

I welcome the action on snares, hunting and puppy farming. Puppy legislation must end breeding for extreme, unhealthy traits in dogs. The strategy could go further for animals, particularly by ending greyhound racing, as the Welsh government is doing.

Office for Students accused of ‘glacial’ response to allegations of fraud, bullying and mismanagement

England’s universities regulator has been attacked for being “asleep at the wheel” over its delays in investigating suspected fraud, bullying and mismanagement at the University of Greater Manchester.

Phil Brickell, the MP for Bolton West whose constituency adjoins the campus, has accused the Office for Students (OfS) of failing to act on whistleblowers’ reports and media investigations for almost a year.

Russia’s Investigative Committee says it is looking into whether Ukraine intelligence services were behind attack

A Russian general has been killed after an explosive device detonated beneath his car in what Moscow described as a likely assassination carried out by Ukrainian intelligence services.

Lt Gen Fanil Sarvarov, the head of the operational training directorate of the Russian armed forces’ general staff, died of his injuries, a spokesperson for Russia’s Investigative Committee said in a statement.