It’s easy to focus on authoritarians and their petty victories. But zoom out and the picture is more encouraging, says the woman who popularised the term ‘mansplaining’, whether it’s in feminism, or the environment, or civil rights

When I speak to Rebecca Solnit, she is beaming, and I can’t immediately figure out why. Her new book, The Beginning Comes After the End: Notes on a World of Change, blasts in with a pragmatic positivity, it’s true. She writes with a “pull yourself together, don’t even think about despair” tone. But that’s not why she’s smiling – it’s because Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor just got arrested. “Why is the UK doing these things the US should be doing? Why now? Wow!”

This “feminist chortling” (as she calls it) about the disgraced royal is right in the bailiwick of the writer who virtually invented the term mansplaining. A truly hilarious story about a man explaining her own book to her at a party became the pandemically viral essay Men Explain Things to Me in 2008, then a fierce, controlled critique of the patriarchy in a book of the same name in 2014.

The president promised to spill the beans about little green men. Is that why the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency registered the domains alien.gov and aliens.gov?

There are some very important files sitting in a US government building right now, full of shocking details that certain entities would prefer to keep hidden. For far too long the public has been kept in the dark but, thanks to the self-proclaimed “most transparent administration in history”, the truth could be about to be revealed.

Obviously I’m not talking about the Epstein files. I’ve got a funny feeling we’re never going to see the rest of those. FBI agents have been paid nearly $1m in overtime to work on the “Epstein Transparency Project”, also referred to as the “Special Redaction Project”, but even with all that special redacting, more than 2m documents have reportedly not been released. No, I’m talking about proof of alien life – which is far less fanciful than the idea that powerful people might actually face accountability.

The US staple was doomed to fail in cynical Britain. But after grabbing the attention of the most powerful man in the world, we should root for it to ruffle some more feathers

Keir Starmer and Donald Trump’s “special” relationship? It’s complicated. This week, hours before a scheduled phone call between the two leaders, Trump shared a clip of another conversation. It was a sketch from the inaugural episode of Saturday Night Live (SNL) UK, in which a nasal and stressed Starmer, played by George Fouracres, repeatedly tried to get out of calling the president. “I just want to keep him happy, Lammy,” moaned the PM to his deputy. “You don’t understand him like I do – I can change him.”

After weeks of very real tensions over what Trump perceives as a lack of British support for US military action in Iran, the humiliating clip was a nightmare for Downing Street. But you know who it was a dream for? SNL UK, which just had its arrival announced by the most powerful man in the world.

James Luckey’s ordeal sheds light on the mistreatment political prisoners faced under Nicolás Maduro

There were few countries James Luckey didn’t see during three years backpacking across the Americas, from Haiti and Honduras to Bolivia and Uruguay. Early last December, he set off from a budget hotel in the Brazilian Amazon hoping to fill in one of the final gaps.

Luckey’s intended destination was the two-billion-year-old tabletop mountain Mount Roraima, one of the most spectacular corners of South America’s most troubled nation, Venezuela. But within hours of crossing into the border town of Santa Elena de Uairén, that plan went up in smoke.

Reform’s use of the football club has shocked fans and left the ownership red faced but how did it happen?

When photographs of Nigel Farage’s visit to Portman Road went viral on Tuesday morning, a wave of shock quickly spread among Ipswich Town’s staff. Some were furious, others genuinely devastated by the carelessness that saw the club allow itself to be leveraged for Reform UK’s political gain. The anger was palpable and hardly assuaged by an email sent to employees by the chief executive, Mark Ashton, who sought to douse the fire by stating there had been no intention to endorse Farage nor his policies.

The problem for Ipswich is that the horse has bolted. At best, they were grievously naive in letting Farage and his social media team run amok after arriving for a pre-booked stadium tour; a less generous reading would be that they simply stood by and let it happen, fully aware of Reform’s propensity to create sensation from the smallest gulp of oxygen. A photo of Farage holding an Ipswich shirt aloft, seemingly in their press conference room, was swiftly emblazoned as the banner on his party’s X account. Before long Farage, ever the opportunist, was launching a video from the scene and cockily linking himself with the Ipswich manager’s job.

As physical media makes an unlikely comebac​k​ among younger gamers, the humble VHS emerges as an unexpected archive of gaming’s messy, magical evolution​ that I saw first time around

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As I am nostalgic and of a certain age, I recently bought a VHS video recorder, just for the retrospective thrill of it; then I won a 32-inch CRT television at an auction in Shepton Mallet. Partly, this was to play a few old videos I had found in my loft, including one of me appearing in a 1990s youth TV show talking about sexism and Tomb Raider. (I was against the sexism, to be clear). But it was also because I wanted a new way of spending my money on fragile video-game nostalgia.

The rise of the games industry in the 1980s and 90s coincided with the explosion of the home-video business, and the two crossed paths in lots of interesting ways. There are the obvious treasures I want to get hold of: VHS copies of Street Fighter: The Movie and the 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie, naturally, as well as early games-inspired hits such as The Last Starfighter, The Wizard and WarGames. I rented most of these from my local video shop in the 80s – which, like many others, also sold computer games by the budget publisher Mastertronic, another interesting (at least to me) crossover between these two entertainment formats.

Iran says it fired missiles at Israel and US forces in bases in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain; military spokesman asks US if it is ‘negotiating with yourselves’

• Trump’s rehashed 15-point Iran plan unlikely to appease Tehran

Iranian nationals with valid Australian tourist visas will be blocked from entering the country for six months, Australia’s home affairs minister said, citing concern some may decide to stay longer than they’re allowed.

Tony Burke said the direction was necessary as there was a risk Iranians on tourist visas visiting Australia may be unable or unlikely to leave when their visa expires.
The order only applies to people with a valid tourist visa outside of the country.
The government said “sympathetic consideration” would be given to citizens with Iranian parents.

The government said it would closely monitor global developments and adjust settings as required.

If you’re just joining us, here’s a quick recap of the day:

An Iranian military spokesperson mocked US attempts at a ceasefire deal, insisting Americans were only negotiating with themselves. Lt Col Ebrahim Zolfaghari’s statement came after the Trump administration reportedly sent a 15-point ceasefire plan to Iran through Pakistan.

Even as Donald Trump claimed productive negotiations to end the war were ongoing with Tehran, Iran’s relentless bombardment of the Gulf states showed no sign of relenting. Kuwait and Bahrain were both hit with damaging strikes on Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, as the patience of the Gulf states after rebuffing constant attacks for almost a month began to wear thin.

The World Trade Organisation warned disruptions to international fertiliser supplies caused by the closing of the strait of Hormuz will cause food scarcity and high prices. A third of the world’s fertilisers normally transit the strait.

Oil prices fell nearly 6% and Asian shares gained, after reports Donald Trump had sent a peace plan to Iran fuelled optimism in the market. A barrel of Brent crude was down 5.92% at $98.30, while benchmark US oil contract, West Texas Intermediate, was down 5.01% at $87.72.

Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed nine people, state media reported. Citing the health ministry, Lebanon’s official National News Agency said strikes had killed people across towns and a Palestinian refugee camp.

News that Trump had approved the deployment of more than 1,000 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East further undermined the US president’s repeated claims of successful peace talks. Iran has previously threatened to mine the gulf surrounding the island if the US appeared to be landing troops.

Israel and Gulf states targeted by Iran in latest strikes while Tehran denies any negotiations with US to end war

• Middle East crisis – live updates

The US is poised to deploy airborne troops to the Middle East as strikes intensify, signalling it may consider boots on the ground despite Donald Trump’s claims of “very good” talks with Iran, as it was reported that the US president had delivered a 15-point negotiation plan to Tehran via Pakistan.

Early on Wednesday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had launched a new wave of attacks against locations in Israel including Tel Aviv and Kiryat Shmona, as well as US bases in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain. Drones hit a fuel tank and sparked a fire at Kuwait international airport, the Gulf state’s civil aviation authority said.

Wael Sawan warns of pressure on diesel and petrol if strait of Hormuz does not reopen to oil and gas shipping

• Middle East crisis – live updates

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Europe could face a shortage of energy and fuel as soon as next month without a reopening of the strait of Hormuz, Shell’s chief executive has said.

The boss of Europe’s biggest oil company said it was working with governments to help them address the oil and gas supply crisis, which has already led to energy rationing in Asian countries.

Steve Reed makes statement to MPs following the Rycroft review into political funding

Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question at PMQs.

Wes Streeting, the health secretary, has urged people to reject “conspiracy” theories about the loss of Morgan McSweeney’s phone.