A ‘diabolical’ Wizard of Oz show charging £75 for tickets was hit with mass audience walk-outs and demands for refunds – as attendees branded it the ‘worst they’ve ever seen’.

Inept performers injuring themselves, random breaks in the action and a bizarrely suggestive cucumber scene were among the complaints from the Brighton performance – and now the producer has spoken out to defend the show.

Wicked Wizard Of Oz: A Cirque Spectacular showed at Brighton Centre on Tuesday and Wednesday this week as part of its UK tour, where tickets cost between £30 and £75.

The production company, World’s Biggest Productions, touted it as a ‘breath-taking’ interpretation where ‘panto meets Cirque’.

But audience members disagreed, complaining they were misled by false advertising and that the spectacle fell well short of their expectations.

The show got off to a flat start, and things only went downhill from there, according to a number of scathing reviews from the first night.

The Wizard himself opened the performance with a rendition of Happy Birthday on the piano whilst ‘technical faults’ were ironed out backstage.

Things finally got moving with an odd scene where two cowboys took turns to stack cardboard boxes on top of each other.

Wicked Wizard Of Oz: A Cirque Spectacular received a barrage of scathing reviews after its showing in Brighton this week

Audience members complained of amateur performers and unexplained lulls in the action at Brighton Centre

David Parker from Crawley, who watched the show with his partner and daughter, said the show was ‘so bad it was laughable’.

‘One performer did six tumbles and got five wrong,’ he told BBC Radio Sussex.

The group walked out ten minutes into the second half at the insistence of Mr Parker’s nine-year-old daughter.

He recalled one actor ‘eating a cucumber and spitting it on another performer’, and another ‘using a cucumber in a very provocative manner’.

Deborah Collins, another unfortunate spectator, made a break for it even earlier.

‘My husband and I left at the interval. I have never left a show early, it was that bad,’ she told The Argus.

‘It was an amateur production, completely mis-advertised. We thought we were sneaking out until we got to the foyer and saw hundreds had also decided to leave.’

Mike Naunton told the publication the show was ‘absolutely diabolical’. 

‘I would guess half the audience left during or before the interval,’ he added.

Meanwhile, James Macmillan said the sound was ‘appalling’ and the dancing was ‘awful’.

‘I have seen better at a holiday hotel in Turkey,’ he said.

Some of the dissatisfied reviews left in Facebook comments

For Georgina Alexandra, the cucumber scene was the final straw – which she referred to as a ‘gloryhole skit’.

Katherine Hollisey-McClean, reviewing the show for Sussex World, lamented having to stay for the whole performance.

She wrote: ‘After just 15 minutes of this bizarre panto/circus/musical, I really wanted to [leave].’

The journalist recalled the performance grinding to a halt for ten minutes while The Greatest Showman blared over an empty stage, before the cast reappeared without explanation.

The audience could reportedly hear panicked shouting from behind the curtain during the lull.

Keely Beecroft from Seaford was equally unimpressed, insisting the ‘awful’ show was a ‘misrepresentation’ of what was advertised.

She told the BBC that the lighting was dodgy and one of the acrobats even injured themselves during their tumbles.

Production company World’s Biggest Productions touted the show as a ‘breath-taking’ interpretation where ‘panto meets Cirque’

One of the performers reportedly injured themselves in a fudged acrobatics move

The disastrous reviews continued on the Ticketmaster website, where on wrote: ‘This must be the worst production I’ve seen in a long time.

‘As I’m writing this, it is only halfway through and so many people have walked out.’

Another wrote: ‘Childish. The “acrobats” were very basic.

‘Lots of people left early and we didn’t even make it to half time. We feel conned.’

As the reviews piled up, Jon Conway, the show’s producer, was forced to speak out and explain the shambles.

He said: ‘Wicked Wizard Of Oz: A Cirque Spectacular opened its tour three weeks ago to great critical acclaim and fantastic audience reviews at the Winter Gardens Blackpool.

‘Due to unforeseen technical issues on the first performance in Brighton last night a number of items had to be cut for safety reasons and the show had to start 25 minutes late.

‘We acknowledge that some audience members were disappointed and will be contacting them.

‘However, more than two thousand people gave the show a rapturous reception at the finale and all issues have been resolved for tonight’s sell out performance.’

Daily Mail has contacted World’s Biggest Productions for comment.

Some had better assessments of the show

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China is to tax contraception for the first time in more than three decades in a move aligned with efforts to get more families to have children.

Contraceptive drugs and products such as condoms will no longer be exempt from China’s 13% value added tax from January 1, the country’s newest tax laws have revealed.

The move comes as the country’s birth rate declines. In 2024, 9.5 million babies were born in China, about one-third fewer than the 14.7 million born in 2019, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Image:
China has moved on from the decades when it used a one child policy in an attempt to curb a massive population boom. Pic: Reuters.

As deaths have outpaced births in China, India overtook it as the world’s most populous country in 2023.

But the tax change has been ridiculed on on Chinese social media by people who have joked that they would be fools not to know that raising a child is more expensive than using condoms, even if they are taxed.

“That’s a really ruthless move,” said Hu Lingling, mother of a 5-year-old who said she is determined not to have another child. She said she would “lead the way in abstinence” as a rebel.

“It is also hilarious, especially compared to forced abortions during the family planning era,” she said.

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Three things you might have missed in China.

More seriously, experts are raising concerns over potential increases in unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases due to higher costs for contraceptives.

Read more:
China’s population falls for the first time in 60 years
China’s demographic sparks fears for retirement

In previous decades China’s huge population growth prompted the ruling Communist Party to ban couples from having more than one child in a rule that enforced from about 1980 until 2015, through fines and other penalties.

In some cases women underwent forced abortions and children born over the one child limit were deprived of an identification number, effectively making them non-citizens.

The government raised the birth limit to two children in 2015. Then, as China’s population began to peak and then fall, it was lifted to three children in 2021. Contraception has previously been actively encouraged and easily accessed, sometimes for free.

Image:
The limit was lifted to three children in 2021 under President Xi Jinping.  Pic: AP

Director of the University of Virginia’s Demographics Research Group, Qian Cai said: “Higher prices may reduce access to contraceptives among economically disadvantaged populations, potentially leading to increases in unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. Those outcomes could, in turn, lead to more abortions and higher health-care costs.”

She also said the new taxes would have a “very limited” effect on reproductive decisions.

“For couples who do not want children or do not want additional children, a 13% tax on contraceptives is unlikely to influence their reproductive decisions, especially when weighed against the far higher costs of raising a child,” she said.

But University of Wisconsin-Madison senior scientist Yi Fuxian said imposing the tax was “only logical”.

“They used to control the population, but now they are encouraging people to have more babies; it is a return to normal methods to make these products ordinary commodities,” he said.

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AFC have sanctioned India’s Mohun Bagan for refusing to visit Iran for their Asian Champions League match in September.

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Indian club Mohun Bagan Super Giant have been banned from Asian Football Confederation competitions and ordered to pay more than $100,000 for refusing to travel to Iran for an Asian Champions League Two clash with Sepahan SC in September, the Asian football body said in a statement.

In a decision on Wednesday, the AFC’s disciplinary and ethics committee excluded Mohun Bagan from the next edition of the Asian competition they qualify for, up to the 2027-28 season.

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The Indian champions were also handed a $50,000 fine and told to pay an additional $50,729 for damages and losses incurred by the AFC and Sepahan. Mohun Bagan have also forfeited any subsidy for participating in the continental second-tier tournament.

Mohun Bagan were withdrawn from the competition after they refused to travel to Iran for the group stage match, citing a lack of security assurances and medical insurance coverage in Iran, and their matches were declared null and void by the AFC.

The club had moved to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), asking for the match to be relocated to a neutral venue, but CAS turned down their initial request.

“The players decided they can’t take this risk, where lives and their families’ future are at stake. So we have to stand with them,” a senior Mohun Bagan official told the Reuters news agency.

Mohun Bagan have five players from Australia, Spain and the United Kingdom, countries that have advised their citizens against travel to Iran, the official added.

The club also did not travel to Iran last year for a match against Tractor SC scheduled for October 2, 2024, the day after Iran launched ballistic missiles towards Israel. Mohun Bagan were withdrawn from the tournament as a result.

Mohun Bagan are considering appealing against the suspension, the official said.

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Sentencing bill plan for fewer offenders to go to jail will undermine VAWG strategy, victims’ commissioner claims

Here are some more extracts from the statement about the VAWG strategy issued by Claire Waxman, the incoming victims’ commissioner for England and Wales. Here comments about funding were quoted at 9.25am. But other points are worth noting.

• Waxman says that, while elements of the plan are welcome, it remains to be seen if, overall, it will provide what is needed.

While many individual initiatives are welcome, it remains to be seen whether the overall Strategy provides the scale, pace, and leadership required to match the government’s ambition – and truly tackle this emergency.

In terms of specific measures, the national rollout of the Child House model – pioneered by Lighthouse in London – is a welcome step I have long called for. It marks vital progress towards delivering on the recommendations of the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse.

There is more about the Child House model here, and more on the Lighthouse here.

• She also welcomes the expansion of Operation Soteria, a police/CPS partnership to improve the prosecution of rape and serious sexual offences.

I also welcome initiatives such as the expansion of Operation Soteria to reduce the re-traumatisation too many victims experience in the trial process. Long after my 2019 rape review, ‘end-to-end’ reform of the justice system for serious sexual offences is finally in sight – but only if the government now delivers on its commitment to independent legal advice for rape survivors, and tackles the long waits for justice.

Without clear, sustainable investment and cross-government leadership, I am concerned we run the risk of the Strategy amounting to less than the sum of its parts; a wish-list of tactical measures rather than a bold, unifying strategic framework.

The Sentencing Bill underlines this lack of cohesion. Victims need confidence that the system will protect them, yet under the proposals in the bill, the reality is that many abusers will avoid prison entirely or benefit from early release – undermining the very safety this Strategy seeks to guarantee.

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UK willing to share with EU allies risks of using frozen Russian allies to help Ukraine, No 10 suggests

Downing Street has indicated that Britain is prepared to share the risks with European allies of using frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine.

At the morning lobby briefing, the PM’s spokesperson was repeatedly asked if the government was willing to accept Belgium’s requests to share the risk of unlocking frozen Russian assets for use in Ukraine.

He indicated the Government would, telling reporters:

I think it’s evident within the government’s actions that what we want to see is those immobilised assets used to support Ukraine.

We believe that delivering these funds sends a very clear signal to Putin that he cannot outlast the support of the UK and our allies, that is what we remain focused on.

ShareKemi Badenoch soldering a circuit board during a visit to Evolve Dynamics, a company working on drone technology, in Farnham, Hampshire, today. Photograph: Jordan Pettitt/PAShare

Part of the VAWG strategy being announced shortly will involve getting schools to teach their pupils more about consent, misogyny and healthy relationships. One person who might not approve is Nick Gibb, the former Tory schools minister. In a memoir published recently, Reforming Lessons: Why English Schools Have Improved Since 2010 and How This Was Achieved, written with Robert Peal, he is critical of interventions like this. He says:

On the question of adding non-academic subjects to the national curriculum, calls in the media that ‘schools should really teach [insert favoured issues here]’ are the bane of life of any school reformer interested in raising standards … In 2018, Parents and Teachers for Excellence (a campaign group sympathetic to our reforms) decided to monitor this phenomenon, which they termed ‘curriculum dumping’. That year, they identified 213 such calls for the school curriculum to incorporate new topics, including knife crime, obesity, gambling, litter picking, bushcraft, sadomasochism, Love Island, sign language, the 1819 Peterloo Massacre, revenge porn, tree climbing, trampolining, and, rather extraordinarily, ‘how to swear’. In individual cases, all of these issues (well, almost all) had merit in being known, but taken together, no school in the country has enough hours in the year to cover such a panoply of fleeting media fancies.

Many ex-ministers write books, but mostly they focus on politics. Gibb was unusual because he did the same job, on and off, for more than 10 years, and he became a proper expert in his portfolio. As a political memoir, his book is exceptional because it’s a serious book about policy. For anyone at all interested in education, Reforming Lessons is a good read.

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Ash Regan faces two-day suspension from Holyrood over code of conduct breach during gender recognition row

Severin Carrell

Severin Carrell is the Guardian’s Scotland editor.

Ash Regan, a former Scottish National party minister who defected to Alex Salmond’s nationalist party Alba, faces a two-day suspension from the Scottish parliament for breaching its code of conduct in a row over gender recognition.

Holyrood’s standards committee has recommended Regan, who now sits as an independent after quitting Alba some months after losing a leadership contest, be suspended on a Wednesday and Thursday – its busiest two days. That needs to be approved by a full vote in parliament, after the Christmas recess.

It ruled she had breached the MSP’s code by posting a claim on the social media site X which attacked the Scottish Green MSP Maggie Chapman, over remarks Chapman made about the UK supreme court ruling on the definition of woman.

Chapman has been one of Holyrood’s most vociferous supporters of trans rights; Regan is one of its most vociferous gender critical activists.

Regan said on X: “I’ve formally reported Maggie Chapman MSP to the presiding officer and standards committee following her dangerous dismissal of the supreme court’s ruling on the Equality Act as a ‘political attack’. MSPs have a duty to uphold the law, not undermine it.”

After considering a report from Holyrood’s ethics commissioner, the committee unanimously agreed this was a breach of part 9.1 of the code of conduct, which bars MSPs from disclosing, communicating or discussing complaints about other MSPs before a report on that complaint has been published.

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VAWG minister Jess Phillips says UK will consider results of Australia’s social media ban for under-16s ‘very closely’

In interviews last week, Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, played down the prospect of the UK following Australia and banning under-16s from having their own social media accounts. She did not rule out the idea, but she said she did not believe it would be easy to enforce.

But, in her interviews this morning, Jess Phillips, the minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls (VAWG) sounded much more positive about the Australian experience, saying the government would consider it “very closely”. She told Times Radio:

What I would say is that you cannot have a violence against women and girls policy that doesn’t look at the online environment, or certainly one that looks at misogyny and the behaviours of boys who grow into men without looking at an online world …

The government will be looking very, very closely at what is happening in Australia, and we would always take the best of what is available around the world with regard to the safety and security of children.

But Phillips also said the UK had been a “trailblazer” for online safety.

Today, when the full policies are announced in the violence against women and girls strategy, you will see that online harm, online harms to children, are very, very much part of that.

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Updated at 12.38 CET

MPs cheer as speaker tells them employment rights bill has received royal assent

The employment rights bill has received royal assent, which means it is now the Employment Rights Act and it is law, Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker, told the Commons this morning. Labour MPs cheered when they heard the news.

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Voters overwhelmingly favour UK rejoining Erasmus student exchange scheme, poll suggests

Richard Adams

Richard Adams is the Guardian’s education editor.

The British public supports the government’s decision to rejoin the Erasmus youth education and work experience programme, according to snap polling released by YouGov.

The pollsters asked 7,300 adults about one element of the scheme – UK students spending “a year at European universities as part of their UK degrees courses without paying extra fees, and vice versa for European students” – and found that 65% would support it and only 12% were opposed, while 22% answered “don’t know”.

The good news for the government is that younger people aged 18 to 24 – those most likely to take part – were even more enthusiastic.

However the question didn’t note the £570m cost to the UK for one years’ membership, which shadow education secretary Laura Trott described as “nuts”. It also didn’t mention that the Erasmus+ programme includes far more than university students: before the UK left in 2020 schools were its most active participants.

The question’s mention of studying “without paying extra fees” suggests that the higher education element will operate as it did prior to 2020, although that remains to be set out, according to university leaders.

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Jess Phillips’s statement to MPs about the VAWG strategy will start after noon, after the business statement is over. After that, there will be two more ministerial statements – from Luke Pollard, the armed forces minister, on Ukraine, and from Alison McGovern, the local government minister, on local government reorganisation.

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Crown court backlog for England and Wales rises to almost 80,000

The crown court backlog in England and Wales has risen to nearly 80,000 cases in a new record high, PA Media reports. PA says:

Data published this morning showed the open caseload was 79,619 at the end of September, up 2% from 78,096 at the end of June.

It is also up 9% from the same point a year earlier, according to Ministry of Justice figures.

The number of cases open for a year or more passed 20,000 for the first time at 20,155 at the end of September, which is up 25% year on year and up 6% from the end of June.

Open caseload refers to the number of outstanding cases.

Ministry of Justice projections published earlier this month suggested the crown court backlog could reach a high estimate of 125,000 by the end of this parliament under current conditions. David Lammy, the deputy PM and justice secretary, says his plans to limit jury trials will help to reduce this.

Commenting on the figures today, Lammy said:

This Government inherited a system on the brink of collapse.

Victims’ lives are being put on hold as cases are kicked several years into the future.

The scale of this crisis means tinkering at the edges is not enough. We simply cannot spend our way out of this mess – only fundamental reform can give the brave survivors of crime fairer and faster justice.

Crown court backlog figures for England and Wales Photograph: MoJShare

Here is Jessica Elgot’s full story about Keir Starmer planning to hold the king’s speech more or less straight after the elections next year for the Scottish parliament, the Senedd in Wales and English councils. They take place on Thursday 7 May.

Henry Zeffman from the BBC says the king’s speech will take place either on Tuesday 12 May or Wednesday 13 May.

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Tories propose re-allocating £17bn in government spending for defence, mostly from net zero projects

Kemi Badenoch has vowed to scrap green spending to pay for a multibillion-pound fund to rearm the UK, PA Media report. PA says:

Accusing Labour of failing to invest in the UK’s armed forces, the Conservative leader has proposed reallocating £17bn to “accelerate” Britain’s “war readiness”.

She said: “We must ensure our armed forces are equipped and ready to defend our country, because defence of the realm must be the first priority of any government.”

The money includes £11bn from the national wealth fund that is currently allocated to net zero projects, with the fund itself turned into a new national defence and resilience bank.

Another £6bn over three years would be taken from the government’s research and development budget and given to the Ministry of Defence to invest in new technology.

Alongside investment from the private sector, the Tories said they expected their plan to mobilise £50bn for defence.

Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said the money would “deliver the drone revolution our armed forces require” and create a “more lethal” military.

As well as investing in UK defence firms, the money is expected to be used to build more resilient supply chains, reducing Britain’s reliance on “hostile states” such as China.

Labour has previously pledged to raise defence spending to 2.5% of GDP from 2027 and to 3% by the end of the decade.

The Tories claim that, together, these measures would fund a £50b “sovereign defence fund”. In a briefing, this is how they explain it.

-£6bn (£2bn per annum over the course of this parliament) would be reallocated from the Research and Development (R&D) budget in the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology to the MOD. It is well known that defence technology and innovation can have spillover effects into other sectors, like communications and transport, causing a multiplier effect.

-£11bn ringfenced from the national wealth fund (NWF) – which will become the national defence and resilience bank (NDRB). This funding is currently allocated to many of Ed Miliband’s costly eco-projects. We would leave the remainder of financing in the fund for national resilience like water and transport.

-Approximately £33bnn of private finance via NDRB mobilisation. The existing NWF target of mobilising £3 of private investment for every £1 of public investment would remain for the SDF – so this could unlock tens of billions of pounds in private investment.

In response, a Labour party spokesperson said:

The Tories are gaslighting the British public on defence.

These are yet more fantasy figures from a Conservative party that cut defence by £12bn in their first five years in power. Look at their record: their time in office starved our forces of funding, drove down morale and left Britain less safe. They did it before, and they’d do it again.

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Labour MPs denounce plan to limit jury trials as ‘madness’ and likely to ’cause more problems than it solves’

Almost 40 Labour MPs have signed an open letter to Keir Starmer describing the government’s plans to limit access to jury trials as madness.

In the letter, organised by Karl Turner, who is normally a loyalist, the MPs say:

The drastic restriction of the right to trial by jury is not a silver bullet. To limit a fundamental right for what will make a marginal difference to the backlog, if any, is madness and will cause more problems than it solves.

Letter by Labour MPs condeming plan to limit trial by jury Photograph: Karl Turner

The government has a working majority of 167 and so, even if all 39 MPs who have signed the letter were to vote against the government when it legislates for its plans next year, they would not be enough to see it defeated.

But there are other Labour MPs who share the concerns of this group, and the government is already under strong pressure to a sunset clause on the plans – meaning the jury trial restrictions were time-limited for just a few years – as a compromise.

Ben Quinn has more on the story here.

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Schools in England warning of rise in misogyny towards teachers, says Phillips

Schools have warned of growing misogyny from pupils towards teachers and a lack of avenues to seek help about concerns over sexually aggressive behaviour, Jess Phillips, the VAWG minister, has said. Jessica Elgot has the story.

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Sentencing bill plan for fewer offenders to go to jail will undermine VAWG strategy, victims’ commissioner claims

Here are some more extracts from the statement about the VAWG strategy issued by Claire Waxman, the incoming victims’ commissioner for England and Wales. Here comments about funding were quoted at 9.25am. But other points are worth noting.

• Waxman says that, while elements of the plan are welcome, it remains to be seen if, overall, it will provide what is needed.

While many individual initiatives are welcome, it remains to be seen whether the overall Strategy provides the scale, pace, and leadership required to match the government’s ambition – and truly tackle this emergency.

In terms of specific measures, the national rollout of the Child House model – pioneered by Lighthouse in London – is a welcome step I have long called for. It marks vital progress towards delivering on the recommendations of the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse.

There is more about the Child House model here, and more on the Lighthouse here.

• She also welcomes the expansion of Operation Soteria, a police/CPS partnership to improve the prosecution of rape and serious sexual offences.

I also welcome initiatives such as the expansion of Operation Soteria to reduce the re-traumatisation too many victims experience in the trial process. Long after my 2019 rape review, ‘end-to-end’ reform of the justice system for serious sexual offences is finally in sight – but only if the government now delivers on its commitment to independent legal advice for rape survivors, and tackles the long waits for justice.

Without clear, sustainable investment and cross-government leadership, I am concerned we run the risk of the Strategy amounting to less than the sum of its parts; a wish-list of tactical measures rather than a bold, unifying strategic framework.

The Sentencing Bill underlines this lack of cohesion. Victims need confidence that the system will protect them, yet under the proposals in the bill, the reality is that many abusers will avoid prison entirely or benefit from early release – undermining the very safety this Strategy seeks to guarantee.

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Updated at 11.04 CET

Starmer planning to hold next king’s speech soon after May elections

Jessica Elgot

Jessica Elgot is the Guardian’s deputy political editor.

Keir Starmer is planning for a new king’s speech after the crunch May elections as a reset moment for the government amid speculation over the prime minister’s future.

Senior sources in parliament said planning was under way to end the parliamentary session the week after local elections in England, making it a significantly longer session than normal, and nearly two years since Labour first set out its legislative agenda.

Labour is facing a potentially devastating set of results in England, Wales and Scotland, with the possible loss of hundreds of council seats to Reform and the Greens in England as well as defeat for the first time in Wales, where Plaid Cymru and Reform are leading in the polls.

In Scotland, the Scottish National party are polling on course to maintain power despite pre-election hopes that Labour’s Anas Sarwar could become first minister. Critics of Starmer’s leadership have repeatedly named May as the moment when would-be leadership challengers could call for him to stand aside.

The last king’s speech was in July 2024, weeks after Labour won the general election, but a combination of parliamentary rebellions, international and economic turmoil and defeats in the House of Lords has meant the government needs more time to complete the legislation.

The relatively late end to the session will raise some hopes among supporters of assisted dying that it may be possible to complete the bill, which will fall if it does not pass by the end of the session. They expect many opponents will try to use procedure to talk out the private members’ bill and bar it from progressing.

Further changes to the House of Lords are among a number of measures expected in the king’s speech, including introducing a mandatory retirement age of 80.

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Potential lack of funding for plan to prevent violence against women ‘deeply concerning’, says victims’ commissioner

Good morning. The government is finally publishing its violence against women and girls (VAWG) strategy. In its manifesto Labour said it wanted to halve VAWG within a decade, and so this is a vital policy area. Publication of the strategy has been delayed three times. In the Commons on Monday, in response to an urgent question on this, Jess Phillips, minister for safeguarding and VAWG, said the delays were down to her. “It is entirely my fault because, with every iteration, the strategy was not ambitious enough. I could have done it more quickly, and then it would not have been as good,” she said.

Although the document is being published today, the VAWG strategy is being promoted via a budget-style, week-long media strategy. We have already had announcements form the Home Office covering extra spending for abuse victims, specialist NHS help for abuse victims, and all police forces introducing specialist rape and sexual offence teams.

And, overnight, the government has been briefing on plans to tackle misogynist behaviour in schools. Alexandra Topping and Rajeev Syal have the details here.

Phillips has been giving interviews this morning and she has described these measures as particularly important because, while other aspects of the strategy deal with the consequences of VAWG, this aspect deals with prevention. She told Times Radio:

I’m a bit sick, I have to say, as somebody who’s campaigned on this for many years, of just trying to put nicer plasters onto ever growing scars, and so we’ve got to – the government is really, really focused on the prevention.

But how good is the strategy overall? Claire Waxman, the incoming victims’ commissioner for England and Wales, has issued a statement saying that, while the plan contains many welcome measures, potential lack of funding is “deeply concerning”. She says she is worried it could end up as “less than the sum of its parts”.

She says:

Ultimately, the success of this strategy hinges on whether delivery partners are equipped to succeed. Early indications around funding are deeply concerning. The strategy introduces welcome measures in schools and the NHS which will, by design, drive up disclosures and referrals to police and victim services. Yet frontline services are already overstretched and struggling to meet need, and the criminal justice system remains in crisis.

Funding is critical. Driving up demand without increasing capacity puts victims at risk and threatens to destabilise the very partners the strategy relies upon. This concern is heightened by the lack of meaningful consultation. Victim services are not an optional extra to this strategy – they must be the backbone of it.

Without clear, sustainable investment and cross-government leadership, I am concerned we run the risk of the strategy amounting to less than the sum of its parts; a wish-list of tactical measures rather than a bold, unifying strategic framework.

Here is the agenda for the day.

9.30am: The Ministry of Justice publishes its latest figures on the courts backlog.

9.30am: Emma Reynolds, the environment secretary, takes questions in the Commons.

11am: Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader, and John McDonnell, the Labour MP, speak at a press conference held by relatives and supporters of the Palestine Action-lined hunger strikers.

After 11.30am: Jess Phillips, the VAWG minister, makes a statement to MPs about the government’s plan to tackle violence against women and girls.

Morning: Kemi Badenoch is on a visit in east Hampshire.

Noon: The Bank of England announces its decision on interest rates.

The government is also making announcements via 13 written ministerial statements, covering police funding, the cost of the government’s response to the Covid inquiry, the Minette Batters review of farm profitability, and the inquiry into conditions at the Manston asylum centre.

If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line when comments are open (normally between 10am and 3pm at the moment), or message me on social media. I can’t read all the messages BTL, but if you put “Andrew” in a message aimed at me, I am more likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word.

If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social. The Guardian has given up posting from its official accounts on X, but individual Guardian journalists are there, I still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary.

I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.

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Updated at 10.44 CET

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He was rarely silent. For over five decades, he transformed German cinema, directed more than 150 short and feature films, and influenced the LGBTQ+ movement. His work was often uncomfortable, colorful, angry, sometimes offensive, but always thought-provoking.

Rosa von Praunheim, who has died on December 17 in Berlin at the age of 83, leaves his mark as a pioneering figure of queer cinema.

Born as Holger Radtke, von Praunheim emerged as one of the most outspoken activists in the gay movement in Germany during the early stages of his career. He fought for visibility and demanded change, sometimes using forceful methods to achieve his goals.

One notable incident was his 1991 live broadcast, in which he publicly outed German television stars Hape Kerkeling and Alfred Biolek without their consent. This radical act generated significant scandal at the time and caused considerable distress to the entertainers involved; it remains controversial to this day.

This incident illustrates how uncompromising von Praunheim could be and highlights his belief that openness was essential for progress. While his critics accused him of crossing boundaries, his supporters praised his courage. Throughout his career, von Praunheim navigated the complex terrain between these two perspectives.

Rosa von Praunheim at the Berlinale’s Teddy Awards, which honors LGBTQ+ films, in February 2025Image: Christophe Gateau/dpa/picture alliance

His farewell film: ‘Satanic Sow’

He stayed artistically engaged throughout his life, creating films, writing books and directing plays. His final work, “Satanic Sow” (2025), became a legacy film: autobiographical and experimental, serving as both a reflection on his life and a farewell. Von Praunheim described the film as “a poem — and a very experimental one at that.” When asked why he made it, he responded simply, “I make films and plays all the time, so there’s no particular reason. I just do it to be creative.”

In ‘Satanic Sow,’ von Praunheim revisited his life and some of the 150 films he madeImage: Rosa von Praunheim Filmproduktion

In a December 2025 interview with DW, filmmaker Rosa von Praunheim, spoke candidly about his impending death: “It’s the end of my life, and I soon will die. I have a brain tumor and don’t have much time left.”

“I’m looking forward to dying. It’s a wonderful feeling to rest, not to be constantly running around and shooting one film after another. I’ll be glad when I find my peace,” he added.

A key figure in the LGBTQ+ movement

Von Praunheim was known as a person full of contradictions. Loud in his art, quiet in his personal life. When asked what he liked about filmmaking, he replied dryly, “Nothing, really. It’s always full of tension and fear of doing something wrong.”

Behind the enfant terrible filmaker was someone filled with doubts who chose to press on regardless.

With his drama film “It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, But the Society in Which He Lives” (1971), von Praunheim became a crucial voice in the LGBTQ+ movement, shining a light on gay life and sparking meaningful discussions.

The avant-garde film ‘It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, But the Society in Which He Lives’ called for equality in all areas of lifeImage: EuroVideo

An emancipatory call for gay men to organize and fight for their freedom, it inspired the formation of many homosexual activism groups in West Germany and Switzerland.

His films challenged societal norms, broke taboos and confronted audiences with various issues. In his later years, he adopted a calmer demeanor. “When I was young, I was radical. For a long while, I haven’t been so actively involved in the gay and political scene. I make my art, and that’s it.”

Rosa von Praunheim in 1973Image: Volkmar Hoffmann/picture alliance

For von Praunheim, art didn’t necessarily need to be experimental: “I think queer cinema can be like any other cinema, completely individual. There are hundreds of ways to go about it. But queer cinema should also be radical and give society the middle finger.”

This attitude shaped his work and that of many who followed him. He hoped for “peace and justice” for the future of the LGBTQ+ community. He knew that this task would remain challenging even in the 21st century: “Many people aren’t very progressive and want everything to stay the same. Change drives them crazy, so they hate anything that doesn’t conform to the ‘norm.'”

Rosa von Praunheim extended his artistic exploration of issues such as sexuality, identity and society in his paintingsImage: picture alliance/dpa

Expressing his queerness

He believed there was only one way to promote tolerance in society: “Expressing your queerness and supporting the feminist movement. It’s good to have a group of people who support each other.”

He didn’t expect his last film, “Satanic Sow,” to attract much attention. “I thought people wouldn’t understand it, and I’m glad that some people like it.”

‘Satanic Sow’ won a Teddy Award at the Berlin International Film Festival this yearImage: Rosa von Praunheim Filmproduktion

Just a few days before his death, Rosa von Praunheim and his long-time partner Oliver Sechting got married.

It is a quiet farewell to a loud life. Von Praunheim provoked, inspired, hurt and healed. He opened doors where others saw none and showed that art can serve as a tool for freedom, visibility and change.

The DW interview with Rosa von Praunheim was conducted by Dima Elagin.

This article was originally written in German.

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The Vatican on Thursday accepted the resignation of Cardinal Timothy Dolan and announced that Bishop Ronald Hicks of Joliet, Illinois, will become the next archbishop of New York.

This is a breaking news story; check back for updates.

Ashley Carnahan is a writer at Fox News Digital.

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Pope Leo XIV has made a key US appointment, naming Bishop Ronald Hicks as the new archbishop of New York. The fellow Chicagoan will lead one of the nation’s largest archdioceses, which faces the challenge of navigating relations with the Trump administration and its immigration crackdown.

Bishop Hicks, currently the bishop of Joliet, Illinois, replaces Cardinal Timothy Dolan, a prominent conservative figure in the US Catholic hierarchy. Cardinal Dolan recently finalised a plan to establish a $300 million fund to compensate victims of sexual abuse who had sued the archdiocese.

Cardinal Dolan had submitted his resignation in February, as is required upon turning 75. However, the Vatican often delays major leadership changes in dioceses if lingering abuse litigation or other governance issues need resolution by the outgoing bishop, implying his recent action cleared the path.

The handover, though, represents a significant new chapter for the U.S. Catholic Church, which is forging a new era with the Chicago-born Leo as the first American pope. Leo and the U.S. hierarchy have already shown willingness to challenge the Trump administration on immigration and other issues, and Hicks is seen as very much a Leo-style bishop.

A call for solidarity with immigrants

Hicks, 58, grew up in South Holland, Illinois, a short distance from the suburban Chicago childhood home of Leo, the former Robert Prevost.

Like Prevost, who spent 20 years as a missionary in Peru, Hicks worked for five years in El Salvador heading a church-run orphanage program that operated in nine Latin American and Caribbean countries.

“Taking a new position as archbishop of New York is an enormous responsibility, but I can honestly say that Bishop Hicks is up to the task,” said the Rev. Eusebius Martis, who has known Hicks since the mid-1980s and worked with him at Mundelein Seminary, the Chicago archdiocesan seminary.

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Bishop Ronald Aldon Hicks Preaching at the Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Regional Mass at Lewis University. (Matschreiner23/ CC BY-SA 4.0)

He said New York was lucky to have him.

“He is a wonderful man, always thoughtful and attentive to the needs of seminarians,” Martis, professor of sacramental theology at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute of Sant’Anselmo, the Benedictine University in Rome, said in an email.

In November, Hicks endorsed a special message from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops condemning the Trump administration’s immigration raids, which have targeted Chicago in particular.

In a statement then urging Catholics to share the message, Hicks said it “affirms our solidarity with all our brothers and sisters as it expresses our concerns, opposition, and hopes with clarity and conviction. It is grounded in the church’s enduring commitment to the Catholic social teaching of human dignity and a call for meaningful immigration reform.”

A similar hometown

Though they both hail from Chicago, Hicks only met the future pope in 2024, when then-Cardinal Prevost visited one of Hicks’ parishes and took part in a question and answer conversation for the public.

Hicks, who sat in the front pew, said he learned that day what sort of future pope Leo would be and said he liked what he saw both in his public remarks and then in their private conversation. “Five minutes turned into 10 minutes and the 10 minutes turned into 15 and the 15 turned into 20,” Hicks told local Chicago WGN-TV news after Leo’s May election.

He said he recognized their shared backgrounds and priorities to build bridges. “We grew up literally in the same radius, in the same neighborhood together. We played in the same parks, went swimming in the same pools, like the same pizza places.”

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Pope Leo XIV wearing a Chicago Cubs hat in the Vatican City (Getty Images)

Hicks served as a parish priest in Chicago and dean of training at Mundelein Seminary before Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich made him vicar general of the archdiocese in 2015. Three years later, Hicks was made an auxiliary bishop, and in 2020 Pope Francis named him bishop of Joliet, serving around 520,000 Catholics in seven counties.

Cupich, seen as a progressive in the U.S. church, has been a close adviser to both Francis and Leo, and Hicks’ appointment to such a prominent job likely could not have come without Cupich’s endorsement.

A pastor for New York

The New York archdiocese is among the largest in the nation, serving roughly 2.5 million Catholics in Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island in New York City, as well as seven counties to the north.

The gregarious Dolan is one of the most high-profile Catholic leaders in the United States and a prominent voice in the city.

Dolan is widely viewed as conservative, writing a 2018 Wall Street Journal column headlined “The Democrats Abandon Catholics.” Yet in 2023, he also wrote a letter of welcome to a conference at Fordham University celebrating outreach programs aimed at LGBTQ+ Catholics, and he welcomed LGBTQ+ participation in the city’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade.

Dolan has ties to the current Republican administration. As archbishop of New York, Dolan hosted the annual Al Smith white-tie dinner that raises millions of dollars for Catholic charities. It has traditionally offered candidates from both parties the chance to trade lighthearted barbs ahead of Election Day, though in 2024 only Donald Trump participated since Democratic nominee Kamala Harris declined the invitation.

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Cardinal Timothy Dolan sits next to Donald Trump at the annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Trump, who has long-standing connections to his native New York City, later had the cardinal pray at his inauguration and appointed Dolan to his new Religious Liberty Commission.

Dolan was Trump’s pick to succeed Pope Francis, though Dolan did criticize the president for sharing an AI-generated image of Trump, who is not a Catholic, dressed up as a pope before the May conclave that ultimately elected Leo.

Dolan was named archbishop of New York by Pope Benedict XVI in February 2009 after serving as archbishop of Milwaukee. He was made cardinal in 2012 and headed the U.S. bishops conference from 2010-2013.

A first task to oversee abuse settlements

In one of his biggest first tasks, Hicks will have to oversee the implementation of the abuse settlement fund that Dolan finalized, which is to be paid for by reducing the archdiocesan budget and selling off assets. The aim is to cover settlements for most, if not all of the roughly 1,300 outstanding abuse claims against the archdiocese.

Hicks is no stranger to managing the fallout of the abuse scandal, after the Joliet diocese under his predecessors and the rest of the Illinois church came under scathing criticism by the state’s attorney general in 2023.

A five-year investigation found that 451 Catholic clergy abused 1,997 children in Illinois between 1950 and 2019. Hicks had been appointed to lead the Joliet church in 2020. The attorney general’s report was generally positive in recognizing the diocese’s current child protection policies, but documented several cases where previous Joliet bishops moved known abusers around, disparaged victims and refused to accept responsibility for their role in enabling the abuse.

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If you’ve been searching for a pair of shoes for the gym, your daily walks, and everywhere else your day takes you, then check out one of the best sneakers we’ve tried: the Hoka Mach 6 Sneakers. 

Zappos currently has the style marked down to as little as $91 — a rare price drop, considering the brand’s shoes almost never dip below the $100 mark. After testing nine different Hoka models for overall comfort, stability, and everyday value, the Mach 6 sneakers easily came out on top for daily use.

We put them through long dog walks, errand-filled days, boxing classes, pickleball games, and tennis sessions over four months of consistent wear. We found them to be comfortable with “ample cushioning that supports steps and movement” — impressively, they held up nicely through it all. 

Hoka Macha 6 Sneakers

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The sneakers are built with a lightweight EVA midsole that provides comfortable support without weighing you down, and the rubber outsole adds the kind of durability you can feel. The mesh upper is a big plus, too. It lets your feet breathe so you don’t overheat halfway through the day.

During our testing, we were impressed by how well the shoes held up. Even after much wear, tear, and mileage they still looked surprisingly fresh. 

When it comes to fit, they ran true with generous toe room, though the overall width felt a touch snug. One downside is that there was a bit of rubbing at the back of the heel, so if you like a little more wiggle room, we recommend going up half a size.

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We aren’t the only fans of these shoes. They’ve racked up hundreds of perfect ratings from reviewers. “I am 68 years young and have never experienced such a comfortable athletic shoe,” one shopper wrote. “I have purchased numerous pairs of shoes in my lifetime but none can come close to this Mach 6.” 

“I have plantar fasciitis and the footbeds of these are so cushiony, supportive, and light,” another reviewer shared. 

A final customer called the Mach 6 shoes “the best,” then added that they “teach and walk three miles per day… [And] at the end of the day, my feet, knees, and hips feel no pain.”

If you’re ready to give your feet the support they deserve from morning to night then head to Zappos to scoop up the Hoka Mach 6 sneakers while they’re on sale. Then keep scrolling for more markdown Hoka shoes.

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Palestinians have called Ahmed al-Ahmed, the brave Syrian-Australian who risked his own life to disarm a gunman during the Bondi massacre, a ‘traitor’.

Ramallah News, one of the most popular news outlets in Palestine, shared a story about Mr al-Ahmed’s brave actions on Sunday.

It’s alleged two gunmen, father Sajid Akram and son Naveed, stormed a Jewish festival celebrating the first night of Hanukkah at Bondi Beach.

The pair allegedly killed 15 innocent people and injured dozens more before finally being shot by police, ending the attack. Sajid died while Naveed was hospitalised.

Mr al-Ahmed had confronted Sajid during the attack and wrestled his gun from him, risking his own life to save others.

Ramallah News’ post about Mr al-Ahmed was quickly spread around Arab communities, which overwhelmingly condemned him for saving Jewish lives.

According to analysis by a senior researcher for Palestinian Media Watch, Ahron Shapiro, of the 1,000 comments left under the article – 75 per cent were unsupportive of Mr al-Ahmed, 20 per cent were supportive and five per cent were neutral.

‘Treason comes to you from the closest people,’ one commenter wrote. 

Ahmed al-Ahmed (pictured with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese) bravely disarmed one of the gunmen during the Bondi massacre on Sunday and was shot twice in his arm

Mr al-Ahmed (left) wrestled the gun from terrorist Sajid Akram (right), in a move that saw hundreds of Palestinians call him a ‘traitor’

Other comments were just as appalling. 

‘He sold himself and his life for the safety of the Jews,’ one said.

‘I wish it (the bullet) hit (his) heart,’ another wrote.

Other commenters accused Mr al Ahmed, a 43-year-old Arab Muslim, of seeking money.

‘He played it right, he wants the money,’ one wrote, while another said, ‘He has received a million dollars in rewards … he acted ‘manly’ in the wrong place’.

Some comments were even threatening towards Mr al-Ahmed. 

‘By Allah we will surely chop you to pieces … we will not leave a trace of you,’ one said. ‘May God send you a disease,’ another wrote.

Fortunately, there were also several comments praising Mr al-Ahmed as a ‘hero who defended his brothers’.

Palestinians under a post by Ramallah News, slammed Mr al-Ahmed (pictured) for saving Jewish lives

‘He raised the banner of Islam and Muslims and proved to the world what Islam is,’ one said. 

Others wrote Mr al-Ahmed is ‘a hero, a Muslim in truth and reality’ and praised his ‘courage, chivalry and high morals’. 

A shocking number of commenters repeated a conspiracy theory that claimed the attack was orchestrated by Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad.

‘They want the world’s sympathy. They are the ones who commit these tricks,’ one said.

Dr Ran Porat, a research associate at Monash University’s Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation, told The Australian the online reaction was indicative of the wider attitude towards Israel in the Middle East.

‘What connects these phenomena is a lack of self-reflection and a refusal to take responsibility for the extremism that emerges from education and incitement,’ he said.

Several Palestinians also praised Mr al-Ahmed (pictured) as a ‘hero who defended his brothers’

‘Even more disturbing is the fact that these views are being echoed in Australia by fundamentalist preachers in mosques, in media outlets targeting Australian Arabs and Muslims, and within universities.

‘The Australian authorities must crack down on individuals and organisations that spread such hate and conspiracy theories.’

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