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Screenwriter Paul Schrader talks the inspiration and legacy of Martin Scorsese’s incendiary New York nightmare
If Travis Bickle were real and alive today, he would not be a taxi driver but more likely be sitting in his parents’ basement, exploring the dark, misogynistic depths of the internet.
“We call them incels now,” reflects Paul Schrader, who wrote the screenplay for Taxi Driver, released 50 years ago on Sunday. “‘Incels’ wasn’t a word at that time but it is these guys who are lonely, who see themselves unable to make contact with women, have a repressed backlog of anger and resentment and imagine some kind of glorious transcendent transformation through violence.”
Continue reading...Mon, 09 Feb 2026 11:03:03 GMT
The Grammy-winning Puerto Rican megastar delivered a powerful, detail-packed performance that paid tribute to his history and teased more greatness for his future
When the NFL announced in September that Bad Bunny would perform at the Super Bowl half-time show, the immediate expectation was that Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio would Make a Statement.
There was, of course, backlash from the people who think a performance in Spanish is un-American (all while Puerto Rico remains a US territory). But there was also criticism from those who argued that, post-Kaepernick, there is no performance on an NFL stage that could meaningfully challenge the power whose invitation into its center of capital and nationalism these artists accepted. And as we’ve reached peak Bad Bunny this week, Puerto Ricans have pointed out that many fans’ investment in the island ends with the artist.
Continue reading...Mon, 09 Feb 2026 04:09:33 GMT
Members of an athletics club in Madagascar formed by rickshaw drivers are now beating elite athletes in international endurance events
It is a fiercely competitive market, and one of the toughest physical jobs in Madagascar’s Antsirabe, but over the past five years cycle rickshaw driver Haja Nirina has honed his athletic prowess alongside his business.
In this city, about 100 miles (160km) south of the capital, Antananarivo, there are more than 4,000 rickshaws for a population of 265,000, the cheapest transport available for people and goods. Some are pulled by cycles, others by hand. Each day, Nirina makes between 10 and 15 trips, making 10,000 to 15,000 ariary (£1.70 to £2.60). Unlike 99% of drivers, Nirina doesn’t lose 5,000 ariary of his income paying a daily rental fee for the rickshaw. For the past three years, he has owned his, thanks to a programme run by his local athletic club.
The chaotic streets of Antsirabe, where the rickshaw drivers vie for trade
Continue reading...Mon, 09 Feb 2026 11:00:03 GMT
We’re often told the PM is a ‘decent’ man. But in appointing Peter Mandelson he chose political convenience over doing right by trafficked women and girls
Contempt everywhere. From Jeffrey Epstein’s email exchanges to the scandal of Peter Mandelson’s appointment, contempt radiates. Contempt for women and girls, for the law, for the public. A continuum of disdain runs from Epstein on the one end to our political establishment on the other. The other thing that joins them is a restless pursuit of power.
Contempt is not a byproduct of that power, it is the point of it. Procuring, trading, objectifying and violating women and girls is the summit of potency for those who already have everything else: money, status, respect. To subordinate another human being to your urges, to reduce her in all ways, is to be initiated into a club of super-predators who are above the law. The Epstein emails are a demonstration of how misogyny – there really should be a stronger word for it in this context – is a currency, lavishly spent to show how much power you have. The gut-twisting way that casual references to body parts would come up in correspondence is part of a whole language of signalling. Referring to women as “pussy” – or just “P” – is to flash your exclusive club membership card.
Nesrine Malik is a Guardian columnist
Continue reading...Mon, 09 Feb 2026 06:00:52 GMT
Union to appeal after losing case against historic talent index in battle that could reshape UK acting landscape
For almost a century it has been the casting directors’ bible, a shopfront for actors from Laurence Olivier, Olivia Colman and Daniel Craig to the 16-year-old Adolescence star Owen Cooper to help land their next theatre, film or TV role.
But now Spotlight is locked in a costly legal battle prompted by Equity, the equally venerable union that represents tens of thousands of performers that rely on the casting directory’s services, in an internecine conflict that could dramatically reshape the UK acting landscape.
Continue reading...Mon, 09 Feb 2026 10:06:31 GMT
Liverpool rue costly mistakes, Viktor Gyökeres builds up a head of steam and Rayan gets the hype train chugging
Arne Slot was close to landing a coup against Pep Guardiola, the coach he admires most. Then came more of the individual errors that have ruined Liverpool’s title defence. Aching weaknesses within Slot’s squad were exposed again. Dominik Szoboszlai playing Bernardo Silva onside for Manchester City’s equaliser was an error midfielders playing full-back will make. Szoboszlai’s late red card was, though, foolish. Alisson’s foul on Matheus Nunes for Erling Haaland’s decisive penalty was another rush of blood. Liverpool’s huge summer spend was motivated by their executives’ belief in buying the best individuals to unlock the Premier League’s tactical cages. City’s key individuals showed such a policy can pay off, with Silva inspirational, Gianluigi Donnarumma making the save that sparked the game’s chaotic final scenes, Marc Guéhi looking an astute defensive signing and Haaland supplying Silva’s goal. City had been unconvincing but their mentality held, allowing them to eventually profit from Hugo Ekitiké’s misses and the waning of Mohamed Salah. John Brewin
Match report: Liverpool 1-2 Manchester City
Match report: Brighton 0-1 Crystal Palace
Match report: Arsenal 3-0 Sunderland
Match report: Newcastle 2-3 Brentford
Continue reading...Mon, 09 Feb 2026 08:00:56 GMT
Sarwar said to be furious Starmer’s repeated mistakes have heavily damaged Scottish support before May elections
Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, is to call on Keir Starmer to stand down as prime minister and Labour leader at a hastily arranged press conference in Glasgow.
Sarwar is said to be furious that the prime minister’s repeated mistakes have heavily damaged support for Scottish Labour in the run-up to crucial Scottish parliament elections in May.
Continue reading...Mon, 09 Feb 2026 14:02:19 GMT
Georgia Gould reassures parents that no child will be asked to leave school or have levels of assistance removed
Children with special needs will not lose their places at special schools or current levels of assistance, an education minister has told parents anxious that the government would strip away their child’s support.
Facing questions at an online forum, part of the Department for Education’s (DfE) “national conversation” on changing special needs provision in England, Georgia Gould said: “No child is going to be asked to leave the school that they’re in. So I just want to give that reassurance.”
Continue reading...Mon, 09 Feb 2026 12:54:56 GMT
Mountbatten-Windsor suspected of forwarding reports to child sex offender when he was government trade envoy
Police are assessing allegations that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor passed on confidential information about overseas trips to the child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Mountbatten-Windsor is suspected of forwarding official reports about trips to Singapore, Hong Kong and Vietnam in 2010 and 2011 when he was a government trade envoy.
Continue reading...Mon, 09 Feb 2026 13:19:49 GMT
Nathan Bennett convicted of offences against children aged two and three in case described as ‘every parent’s nightmare’
A 30-year-old man has been found guilty of sexually abusing five children who were in his care at a nursery in Bristol.
Nathan Bennett won the trust of young boys at the Partou King Street nursery by showering them with affection, Bristol crown court heard. The prosecution said his behaviour showed “a certain level of predation” and described the case as “every parent’s nightmare”.
Continue reading...Mon, 09 Feb 2026 13:05:14 GMT
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