Organisers are hoping for a celebration of winter sport at Milano Cortina 2026 but tensions will not be far from the surface

A short stroll from where the grandees of the International Olympic Committee are staying in Milan sits the Museum of Illusions – a place devoted to magic and misdirection. Mirrors distort. Perspectives shift. And nothing is quite what it seems. It is an apposite metaphor for these Winter Olympics, which officially open in Italy on Friday.

Over the following 16 days, the world will be enraptured by the dazzle and spin of these Games: downhill skiers bombing down mountains at 95mph, snowboarders twirling like gyroscopes, the balletic grace of the world’s best skaters. But in Milano Cortina a fresh cold war is also brewing amid global political chaos.

The sad truth is that we are witnessing a legacy of the over-indulgent late queen: an organisation unable to meet today’s challenges

Curious that the Epstein scandal, which has caused such an overwhelming furore in the US, should so far have done more to damage the British royal family than the US presidency. Even though many Americans have an obsession with the minutiae of the monarchy and all its works – despite proudly revolting against the institution themselves 250 years ago – their concerns have understandably focused more on their own big beasts, Donald Trump and the Clintons, than ours. It’s as if King Charles and his brother, the artist now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, are some quaint curlicue, a baroque adornment to the main event. Which, of course, is how they see the British monarchy anyway.

Kings and queens have always been susceptible to men with money and power. In the past they were able to bestow both on their loyal followers. Now it is more transactional. It is evident that what appealed to Epstein was access to class and status: the chance to sit jokily on the throne in Buckingham Palace or have a weekend in Balmoral or Sandringham and thereby tie a susceptible royal into his web of contacts and obligations. What appealed to Andrew and his importunate and permanently hard-up former wife, Sarah, was access to cash and the luxuries that went with it. Hard to believe given the royal family’s wealth, but what probably appealed most was cosying up to the sort of money that has brownstone mansions in Manhattan to stay in and private islands for holidays in the Caribbean.

Stephen Bates is a former royal correspondent of the Guardian

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One is the ultimate hun, the other is TV’s most infectiously funny presence and together, they’re a dream team. Their feelgood Greek Job is like a holiday with your two most outrageous mates

It might have aired on 5 January but it was instantly hailed as a contender for TV moment of the year. Egged on by his pal Amanda Holden, the reluctant Alan Carr braved a huge slide at a water park in Corfu called the Black Hole. “It’s pitch black,” warned Holden. “You won’t see a thing.” “Sounds awful,” said the nervous comedian, asking the lifeguard to “Pray for me.”

He proceeded to fall out of his rubber ring and scream all the way down a long, dark tunnel before hurtling head first into the pool. Holden just about recovered from her hysterical mirth to wrap the traumatised Carr in a towel, noting that he looked like “ET on the bike”. Welcome to Amanda & Alan’s Greek Job – the most feelgood guilty pleasure on air.

A shower before bed, with the bathroom lights off, is said to get you to sleep more quickly and rinse off the day’s stress. No wonder it’s suddenly so popular

Name: Dark showering.

Age: The name is new; the idea is not.

We simmered 40 batches of soup to see which makers are worth their stock, including self-cleaning wonders and the best for busy families

• The best blenders, tested

When our bodies crave something nourishing, few things fit the bill better than a bowl of thrifty, healthy and comforting homemade soup. Having a few soup recipes in your back pocket is an affordable and easy way to up your vegetable intake.

However, homemade soups can be time-consuming to make – what with having to saute the veg, stand over the pan as you add liquid and simmer, before you finally blend into the finished soup. Not so with a snazzy soup maker, which will handle much of that faff with the press of a single button. And most of them take less than half an hour to run the programme from start to finish.

Best soup maker overall:
Tefal Easy Soup

Best budget soup maker:
Aldi Ambiano soup maker

A new painting by the maestro of Trumpian kitsch offers a fever dream of musical unity – and fundamentally misunderstands orchestras and conductors. And where are the music stands?

Events in the United States of Trumpland continue to reveal staggering new dimensions to the possibilities of orchestral music. Trump’s announcement that his “Trump Kennedy Center” is to be shut for a refit is a brilliantly cynical way to stop the noise when artists try to cancel their appearances during the rest of his presidential tenure: it’s shut already! Bigly losers, all of you!

But that’s not the new dawn for the artform I’m talking about. I mean the inspirational painting unveiled by the maestro of Trumpian kitsch, Jon McNaughton (and stamped with the presidential seal of approval – ie a post on Truth Social).

MPs say release of papers on Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador could trigger leadership challenge

Labour MPs have warned that Keir Starmer’s days as prime minister are numbered after a day of fury over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador despite his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.

The government was on the brink of a defeat in the Commons until a mid-debate amendment brokered by Meg Hillier and Angela Rayner to force the release of documents about Mandelson’s appointment and the depth of his relationship with the convicted child sex offender.

The message, believed to be from Ghislaine Maxwell, was released as part of the latest tranche of the Epstein files

An email believed to have been sent by Ghislaine Maxwell appears to confirm a photograph of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor with his arm around Virginia Giuffre’s waist is real.

The message, released as part of the latest tranche of the Epstein files, was headed “draft statement” and sent by “G Maxwell” to Jeffrey Epstein in 2015.

Kemi Badenoch hopes parliamentary procedure will release documents relating to ambassador’s appointment

Kemi Badenoch is using an arcane parliamentary procedure known as a humble address to try to compel the government to release documents relating to the appointment of Peter Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to the US.

The Conservative leader’s aim is to secure the release of documents including the due diligence work carried out by the Cabinet Office, and emails between Mandelson and Morgan McSweeney, an ally of the former peer who is now chief of staff at No 10.

Melinda French Gates insists Microsoft founder has questions to answer over his relationship with Epstein

Bill Gates has said he “regrets” ever knowing Jeffrey Epstein, as his former wife Melinda French Gates alluded to “muck” in their marriage, and insisted the Microsoft founder has questions to answer over his relationship with the deceased child sex offender.

Allegations that Gates hid a sexually transmitted disease from his wife after contact with “Russian girls” surfaced in the latest release of the Epstein files, which have provided remarkable insight into the disgraced financier’s multiple celebrity connections and activities.