Stacey Vint was a long-time addict when she was arrested in Middlesbrough, now she speaks publicly about her experience

The footage spread quickly. A woman falling flat on her face while pushing a burning wheelie bin towards a line of police officers during far right riots in Middlesbrough after the Southport attack. Within hours, the clip had been shared widely online, replayed across news bulletins and turned into memes.

Among those watching was a retired primary school teacher. “I recognised her straight away,” said Satti Collins. “I just couldn’t believe it.”

From passionate romantasy novels to premium television dramas, culture is bringing the agency, desires and interior lives of women to the fore. It’s proving good for business, but is this a permanent revolution?

Do you voraciously read the pages of steamy romantasy bestsellers by Sarah J Maas or Rebecca Yarros? Or flood your group chat with breathless recaps of the latest goings-on in TV series such as Heated Rivalry or Bridgerton? Or even immerse yourself in the divisive and challenging cinematic worlds of Emerald Fennell? If so, you surely can’t have failed to notice that in pop culture, the female gaze – storytelling that highlights the meandering, textured, sublimely messy inner worlds and wants of women – is enjoying an explosion.

On TV, you can see it everywhere, in the interior lives and desires taken up by Big Little Lies, Sirens or Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington’s Little Fires Everywhere. Romantasy harbours it in the shape of powerful maidens and sex in fae (fairy) realms, while Fennell’s Wuthering Heights and Promising Young Woman are marketed with the promise of converting women’s experiences into dark beauty on the big screen.

The damage to the economy dwarfs the upsides from the various non-EU trade deals the UK has struck since 2016

Rachel Reeves joined EU finance ministers for dinner in Washington last week, on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund spring meetings – the first time a chancellor had done so since Brexit.

It was the latest symbolic step in Labour’s marked shift towards prioritising closer EU relations.

Determined to see their homes, displaced residents use shaky ceasefire to journey to their villages – but the mood turns sombre when they arrive

Mohammed Ashour was on the road at 5am, speeding towards his hometown of Shaqra. The Lebanese army, the Israel Defense Forces and Hezbollah had all told residents of south Lebanon not to return, that it was still dangerous despite a ceasefire. But the 60-year-old had been displaced for 44 days – he had counted each day – and he would not wait another hour before seeing his home.

At 3pm, Ashour was still on the road. The normally two-hour drive turned into 10, as the line of cars returning south stretched for miles down the Lebanese coastal highway. The Lebanese army had worked through the night to repair the Qasmiyeh Bridge into Tyre, bombed by Israel hours before the ceasefire, and cars were inching over the ad-hoc crossing one by one.

“They told me my house was destroyed. But I wanted to come and see it for myself,” said Ashour, still in his car. He had left his family in Beirut, wanting to shield them from the destruction that awaited them in their village.

Sol and João had a whirlwind romance and now have a baby on the way – which has changed their sexual connection for better and worse …
• How do you do it? Share the story of your sex life, anonymously

João has been turned on by the changes pregnancy has brought so far

Sol’s pregnancy has changed the way we have sex, but I’m also attracted to the changes

Farmers and delivery firms launch new options for those seeking alternative to traditionally pasteurised product

Raw milk has long been popular, as well as controversial, in the US. While health authorities warn it can carry harmful bacteria, supporters argue it is more natural, and it has also become tied to anti-government and “natural living” movements.

In the UK, it is now gaining popularity, particularly among younger consumers, farmers say, as a less processed option, with new products launching to meet demand.

The US president said negotiators would head to Pakistan as Iran pledged to keep the strait of Hormuz closed until the US naval blockade is lifted

• Full report: Iran closes strait of Hormuz again ‘until US lifts blockade’

UN secretary-general António Guterres has strongly condemned the killing of a French peacekeeper and the wounding of three others in an attack in southern Lebanon, spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said in a statement to the Associated Press.

The UN peacekeeping force came under attack with small-arms fire on Saturday morning, with two of the injured hurt seriously, France’s president and the force known as UNIFIL said.

Liz Kendall tries to limit fallout from vetting scandal as PM prepares for Commons showdown

Keir Starmer did not gamble with national security by appointing Peter Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to Washington, a cabinet minister has said, as the government tried to limit fallout from the scandal.

With the prime minister preparing for a high-stakes Commons showdown on Monday, Liz Kendall said Starmer should not lose his job over last week’s revelations because he had “made the right calls” on the big issues facing the country.

Exclusive: George Robertson calls on officials to identify the ‘fit and willing’ in UK’s 95,000-strong strategic reserve

The Ministry of Defence has lost track of military veterans they intend to recall at a time of national danger, according to a key government adviser.

About 95,000 former soldiers and officers are in the strategic reserve but it is claimed that officials have failed to maintain a full record of their contact details.

Deputy leader ran shell companies that reportedly did not pay tax on profits from 2020 to 2022, during which time his firm donated £1.1m to party

Richard Tice allegedly failed to pay almost £100,000 in corporation tax to the benefit of his investment company, which in turn made donations to Reform UK, it has been reported.

In response to the report in the Sunday Times, the deputy leader of Reform UK posted a lengthy statement on X, in which he said: “A long career with multiple businesses is bound to feature some errors. Naturally I am always happy to put things right and if numbers need rechecking, of course I will pay what is owed – be that more or less.”