Author: Liam Porter

What is Death Stranding 2 trying to say? It’s a question you will ask yourself on many occasions during the second instalment of Hideo Kojima’s hypnotising, mystifying, and provocatively slow-paced cargo management simulator series. First, because during the many long and uneventful treks across its supernatural vision of Mexico and Australia, you have all the headspace in the world to ponder its small details and decipher the perplexing things you just witnessed. And second, because the question so often reveals something profound.That it can stand up to such extended contemplation is a marker of the fine craftsmanship that went into…

Ezra Miller may be making a return to Hollywood. “The Flash” star’s career was derailed after a series of abuse and harassment allegations leading up to the release of the DC Comics film in 2023. Since then, they’ve been keeping a low profile, but recently made an appearance at the Cannes Film Festival premiere of “Die My Love” to support Lynne Ramsay, who directed Miller in “We Need to Talk About Kevin.” Miller was at another fest recently, Filming Italy Sardegna, and gave an interview to Italian publication Lo Speciale Giornale where they said they’d return to the industry “on…

The secret to these ultra-fluffy scones? Cream cheese. In a fit of inspiration (I was thinking about rugelach at the time), I replaced almost all the butter with it to great success. These scones are a hit with children, too: my three-year-old quite competently helped make them, from fetching rosemary from the garden to stamping out the dough and brushing on the egg wash. A nice kitchen activity for any resident children, even if your dog turns up for the cheese tax at the last stage.Mini parmesan, apple and rosemary sconesPrep 15 minCook 15 minMakes 30 mini scones25g cold butter,…

There was nothing about giving birth that didn’t feel personal, from the agony of my 30-hour induced labour to my eventual journey to the operating theatre where my son was delivered by emergency caesarean section. At that point, I had no idea that I was part of an upward trend in the number of C-sections. Rates of the procedure are rising globally, but it is particularly stark in the UK. When I gave birth in 2017, 29% of births in England took place by C-section. In 2025, that figure stands at 42%.Why is this happening? There are leading voices within…

Liam Delap is a bit of a throwback. Chelsea’s new No 9 runs the channels and relishes a physical contest. “I love those battles,” the striker says on a muggy afternoon in Philadelphia. “I always have since I was a kid. I really love the aggressive side of it and the competitive nature of the sport. It’s got to be controlled at times but it’s my game ultimately.”The strange thing is that English football has placed a heavy emphasis on producing nimble, technical players in recent years. England have a lot of No 10s but a shortage of No 9s.…

A Liverpool pet products company, Boss Pets, has been told to take down its website after the fashion house Hugo Boss said its name was infringing its trademark.“Boss” is a commonly used slang word in Merseyside, used to mean something is great or excellent. Ben McDonald, from Bootle, set up the online pet health supplies business in February, the BBC reported.McDonald, who describes himself as “just a lad from Bootle” who had spent “every spare penny” launching the business, said his “whole world collapsed” when he received a letter from the brand demanding he stop using the word. He was…

A British man has told of his fears for his family who are trapped in Iran after winning the right to reunite in the UK, because the Home Office has appealed against the decision.After news broke in the early hours of Sunday morning that the US had bombed three nuclear sites in Iran, fears for the safety of the man’s parents and sister, currently stranded in Tehran, are mounting.The man, whom the Guardian is not naming to protect his family, said: “It breaks my heart knowing the difficulties that my parents and sister are having. The daily worry and coordination…

A cargo ship cruises toward the Strait of Hormuz off the shores of Khasab in Oman on Jan. 15, 2011.Marwan Naamani | Afp | Getty ImagesBEIJING — The recent flare-up in Middle East tensions isn’t denting Chinese business optimism about opportunities in the region.Chinese shipments to Dubai’s logistics hub have risen by 20% this month from a year ago, as locals stock up on batteries and daily necessities, according to estimates from Bear Huo, China general manager at FundPark, a fintech startup that lends money to small Chinese businesses selling overseas via internet platforms.”Overall, Chinese merchants are relatively optimistic,” he…

Tesla’s long-awaited robotaxis rolled out for the first time on roads in Austin, Texas on Sunday.In videos shared by Tesla on X, a small group of invited analysts, influencers and shareholders were shown participating in paid rides. The small number of vehicles deployed had a human safety operator in the passenger seat, according to reports.Analysts said the “low-key” robotaxi launch highlights Tesla’s big bid to compete with existing self-driving taxi operators in the US and China, as the sector grows.Musk congratulated Tesla’s artificial intelligence and chip design teams on the launch in a post on X, writing that it was…

Maxine Peake’s film career took off as Stephen Hawking’s nurse and second wife in 2014’s The Theory of Everything, in a role that the Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw said she approached “with delicacy”. It was a far cry from Twinkle the snarky dinner lady from Victoria Wood’s sitcom Dinnerladies, but not the first time she portrayed a real-life person. She played Myra Hindley in the 2006 ITV drama See No Evil: The Moors Murders, and the titular 19th-century Yorkshire lesbian landowner in the 2010 BBC period drama The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister.Peake has done a ton more TV: she…