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Rapid scientific progress has given us the tools to stop time more convincingly than ever – but lurking behind these claims is the same fear of ageing

Andrea holds a PhD in literature and works for a non-profit in Dallas. She’s in her late 40s and tells me that the pressure to remain youthful in her city is palpable. Almost completely irresistible.

“You don’t know what it’s like here,” she said. “Everyone has a facelift if they can afford one and everyone has had some work done. I’m a feminist to the core, but if I had the money, I would get a deep-plane facelift in a heartbeat. I’m saving up to get my neck done.”

Carl McDaniel, 65, says run-in ‘was not as catastrophic as it could’ve been’ in first remarks since attack that injured him

A grandfather flipped 8ft in the air by a bull bison at Yellowstone national park recently has spoken out for the first time about the encounter that broke his femur in four places, saying he believes the animal spared his life by choosing not to gore him.

The entire incident, he said, “was not as catastrophic as it could have been”.

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Sure, an Argentina-England Geopolitics World Cup semi-final has a lot going for it. It’ll be 40 years since the Hand of God and, somehow, the first meeting between the two teams since an incredibly rare event: a memorable friendly, with Michael Owen’s late headers setting up a 3-2 victory in Geneva 21 years ago. In Atlanta, England supporters will finally have the chance to send some choice words in the direction of Lionel Messi. But we all know that the real show – the final in spirit, the game that’ll be far easier on the eye – is the other one: Les Bleus against La Roja.

Filling the gap in GWC action, I just watched Ein Sommer in Italien, the story of the 1990 World Cup from the perspective of the West German national team. It’s a fascinating documentary piece that mixes old home movie clips, archive TV footage, and fresh interviews with the 1990 squad. One moment really stood out. Having beaten Czechoslovakia to reach the semi-final, their manager Franz Beckenbauer wasn’t impressed. Interviewed on German TV straight after the game, he said: ‘It was an awful performance. I simply cannot understand how we played worse against 10 Czechs than against 11.’ As (substitute goalkeeper) Raimond Aumann recalled: ‘We’d won 1-0 and we were actually very happy with the result. Only one person wasn’t happy, and that was Franz.’ With the knowledge of what that German team went on to achieve, here’s hoping there’s a parallel with today’s England squad/manager dynamic” – Roger Mart.

US government says it wants to ‘systematically disable’ The Hague-based international criminal court

A spokesperson for the EU has pushed back against the Trump administration’s assertion that the international criminal court poses a threat to US sovereignty, a day after the US government said it would work to “systematically disable” a global tribunal that seeks to prosecute the perpetrators of the world’s gravest crimes.

Anouar El Anouni, an EU spokesperson, said on Tuesday: “We stand firm in our support for the international criminal court (ICC). Attacks or threats against the court, elected officials, personnel or those cooperating with the court are simply not acceptable.”

More than 158,000 items of fake kit seized featuring World Cup semi-finalists England, France and Spain

More than 158,000 fake football strips have been seized in an operation targeting World Cup counterfeit kit and blocking criminals from trying to “cash in on fan demand”.

Edinburgh’s trading standards team confiscated 9 tonnes of Scotland, England and other nations’ fake kits, worth an estimated £5.5m.

Exclusive: Emmanuel Macron honours outgoing prime minister for leadership role in supporting Ukraine

Keir Starmer has become the first UK prime minister to be presented with the Légion d’honneur by a French president, in recognition of his work with France on the security of Europe.

Emmanuel Macron awarded the historic honour to Starmer for his leadership in setting up the coalition of the willing – a group of countries chaired by France and the UK that have pledged to support Ukraine – at a critical moment for Europe in early 2025.

US government says it wants to ‘systematically disable’ The Hague-based international criminal court

A spokesperson for the EU has pushed back against the Trump administration’s assertion that the international criminal court poses a threat to US sovereignty, a day after the US government said it would work to “systematically disable” a global tribunal that seeks to prosecute the perpetrators of the world’s gravest crimes.

Anouar El Anouni, an EU spokesperson, said on Tuesday: “We stand firm in our support for the international criminal court (ICC). Attacks or threats against the court, elected officials, personnel or those cooperating with the court are simply not acceptable.”

A troubling pattern of federal agents fatally shooting civilians is developing, with deaths in Maine, Texas and Tennessee. The family of a man shot by agents told NPR they want answers.

The New Yorker writer Jonathan Blitzer says thousands of people are being held in tents in the El Paso desert, where inhumane conditions have become a tool to pressure people to accept deportation.

Skeleton judged to be one of the largest and most complete ever unearthed was excavated on a ranch in South Dakota

A vast, fossilized Tyrannosaurus rex nicknamed Gus sold at Sotheby’s in New York on Tuesday for $50.1m with fees (£37.4m) to a phone bidder – making it the most valuable dinosaur fossil sold at auction.

It also sold well above a pre-sale estimate of $20m to $30m (£15m to £22.4m).

Skeleton judged to be one of the largest and most complete ever unearthed was excavated on a ranch in South Dakota

A vast, fossilized Tyrannosaurus rex nicknamed Gus sold at Sotheby’s in New York on Tuesday for $50.1m with fees (£37.4m) to a phone bidder – making it the most valuable dinosaur fossil sold at auction.

It also sold well above a pre-sale estimate of $20m to $30m (£15m to £22.4m).

The reported infections are the latest in a series of health concerns at the federal immigration jail in Aurora

At least 12 people detained at a federal immigration jail in Colorado have contracted tuberculosis in recent days, according to testimony from inside the facility where dozens of others have reportedly been placed in quarantine.

Those affected by the outbreak are also being made to endure their isolation without air conditioning, one detainee who has been at the facility in Aurora since December told the Guardian, through his partner, in a telephone call on Monday afternoon.

Rapper paid JM Burkman & Associates $600,000 to push for president’s pardon but firm says no partial refund promised

Louisiana rapper Boosie Badazz is reportedly looking to claw back $300,000 from a firm of Washington DC lobbyists after they failed to secure a Donald Trump pardon that he hired them to pursue over his conviction on charges of possessing a loaded weapon at music video shooting in 2023.

Boosie – whose legal name is Torence Hatch and who hails from his home state’s capital of Baton Rouge – paid JM Burkman & Associates $600,000 in 2025 to advance his push for a pardon from the US president, according to a report on Monday from Notus, which covers the federal government.

We’d like to hear how you’re adapting your expenditure as the cost of living rises amid the conflict in the Middle East

Rising prices and economic uncertainty linked to the conflict in the Middle East are putting pressure on household budgets across the world.

The International Monetary Fund has warned the conflict is pushing up the cost of energy and food, increasing borrowing costs and weighing on economic growth. Surveys suggest millions of households are already making changes to cope – cutting back, dipping into savings or taking on debt.

We would like to hear about the holidays reads you’d recommend

Summer is here, which means lazy days at the beach or the pool with a great book by your side.

We would love to hear from people about their favourite beach reads. What books have you loved reading on holiday? What are the page turners that you keep returning to every summer and always recommend to friends? We would love to hear what books these are and why they make a great beach read.

From rising fuel, fertiliser and feed costs linked to the conflict in Iran to the impact of climate change, farmers around the world are facing a range of pressures. We want to hear how these challenges are affecting you

Farmers are facing rising costs for fuel, fertiliser and animal feed as a result of the conflict in Iran, adding to existing pressures on the industry.

The sector is also grappling with extreme weather after the UK’s hottest May day on record, alongside wider concerns about the impact of climate change. Europe also experienced record-breaking temperatures in late May and the UN has warned about the imminent return of El Niño – a powerful weather pattern that raises global temperatures and worsens some rainfall.

Almost 6,000 young men apply to be excluded on moral or religious grounds despite ‘conscription lite’ policy

The number of young men applying to be conscientious objectors and refuse armed military service in Germany has risen sharply this year, undermining a drive by Berlin to create Europe’s strongest conventional army and deter the Russian threat.

More people had applied to exclude themselves from service on religious or moral grounds in the first half of 2026 than in the whole of last year, according to figures provided by the government on Tuesday.