Jury hears from adult film star on 13th day of ex-presidentas criminal trial in New York

• Trump trial key takeaways, day 13

Donald Trumpas criminal trial entered a new stage on Tuesday with testimony from Stormy Daniels, an adult film star at the center of his hush-money scandal, who told jurors that they had a sexual liaison in 2006 that left her nervous and ashamed.

aMy hands were shaking so hard that I was having a hard time getting dressed,a said Daniels, who told jurors that she had gone to Trumpas Lake Tahoe hotel room under the belief that they would be getting dinner after meeting there.

Defence minister says operation will continue until militant group is defeated or begins to free hostages

Israel has launched a major military offensive against Hamas forces in Rafah, Gazaas southernmost city, seizing control of a key border crossing and cutting off most aid into the territory a day before indirect talks on a ceasefire deal are due to restart.

Images released by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) showed tanks flying large Israeli flags driving through the post and crushing a concrete sign reading aI Love Gazaa.

Aileen Cannon, overseeing Trumpas prosecution on charges of retaining classified files, says case is not ready to take before jury

The federal judge overseeing Donald Trumpas prosecution on charges of retaining classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago club on Tuesday formally scrapped her scheduled 20 May trial date without setting a new date, ruling the case was nowhere near ready to take before a jury in Florida.

The fact that the original May trial date would not hold was a foregone conclusion and has been apparent since last year, given delays with pre-trial litigation and the number of unresolved legal issues that have only increased in recent months.

Severe thunderstorms bring hail and structural damage, with tornadoes hitting cities including Kalamazoo and Battle Creek

Thousands of Michigan residents are without power and face a deluge of hail and tornado warnings amid severe thunderstorms, with tornadoes hitting cities including Kalamazoo and Battle Creek.

aTAKE COVER NOW,a the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids warned in a post directed at Portage residents on their Facebook page.

President would have been caught and executed, spy chief targeted from the air; aabout halfa of North Korean missiles duds. What we know on day 804

Two Ukrainian security officials have been detained over an alleged Russian assassination plot against Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukraineas president. Luke Harding writes from Kyiv that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said it had exposed a network of agents run by Russiaas FSB that also intended to kill Ukraineas military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, and the SBUas head, Vasyl Maliuk.

The plans included finding someone in the presidential entourage to capture and kill Zelenskiy, the SBU said; and to kill Budanov and others with a missile strike, kamikaze drones launched locally, then another missile strike to destroy the evidence of drones.

The SBU named three FSB intelligence officers behind the operation as Maxim Mishustin, Dmytro Perlin and Aleksii Kornev. In intercepted messages, Perlin referred to the missile attack on Budanov as a abig birda and the drone as a asmall birda. He emphasised: aThe order is rocket, drone, rocket.a

The SBU said it recovered drones, warheads and mines from one of the arrested Ukrainian alleged accomplices. He and others face charges of treason and terrorism. One of the alleged agents was a colonel serving in Ukraineas state guard service, said to have met Kornev secretly before 2022 in a neighbouring European country.

Ukrainian prosecutors say they have examined debris from 21 of around 50 North Korean ballistic missiles launched by Russia between late December and late February. The office of the chief prosecutor, Andriy Kostin, told Reuters the missilesa failure rate appeared to be high: aAbout half of the North Korean missiles lost their programmed trajectories and exploded in the air; in such cases the debris was not recovered.a

Use of North Korean missiles by Russia threatens a nearly two-decade consensus among permanent members of the UN security council on preventing North Korea expanding its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. Russia recently vetoed the annual renewal of UN sanctions monitoring of North Korea.

Russia has been shipping refined petroleum to North Korea at levels that appear to violate the mandates of the security council, a US official said on Thursday, adding that the US was planning new sanctions in response. The US would continue working with other countries to impose sanctions aagainst those working to facilitate arms and refined petroleum transfers between Russia and the DPRKa.

Romaniaas president, Klaus Iohannis, has said he is open to discussing sending a Patriot system to Ukraine after German appeals to EU and Nato member states.
Iohannis met with the US president, Joe Biden, at the White House on Tuesday.

Ukrainian forces on Tuesday attacked an oil storage depot and sparked a large fire, injuring five people, on the outskirts of the Russian-held city of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, the regionas Russia-installed leader said. There was no official Ukrainian statement on the incident. Separatist fighters backed and financed by Russia seized control of large chunks of Luhansk and Donetsk regions in eastern Ukraine in 2014 after Moscow annexed Crimea.

In a blow to reproductive rights advocates and Democrats, judge rules procedures were not followed for constitutional amendment

A New York judge on Tuesday blocked a politically important abortion rights amendment from appearing before voters on the November ballot, dealing Democrats a setback as the party moved to focus battleground races in the state around abortion access.

State supreme court justice Daniel J Doyle found that state lawmakers failed to follow procedural rules around passing constitutional amendments, incorrectly approving the amendment before getting a written opinion on the language from the attorney general.

John Hostettler of Indiana, whom pro-Israel groups deemed aantisemitica, loses to Mark Messmer, who led opponents with 40% of vote

Republican John Hostettler has lost his House primary in Indiana, delivering a victory to pro-Israel groups who sought to block the former congressman from returning to Washington. The groups attacked Hostettler as insufficiently supportive of Israel at a time when criticism of Benjamin Netanyahuas government has hit new highs because of the war in Gaza.

When the Associated Press called the eighth district primary race at 7.49pm ET, less than an hour after the last polls closed in Indiana, Mark Messmer led his opponents with 40% of the vote. Messmer, the Indiana state senate majority leader, will advance to the general election in November, which he is heavily favored to win because of the districtas Republican leanings. The victor will replace Republican congressman Larry Bucshon, who announced his retirement earlier this year.

Javier Ortiz, accused of false arrests, harassment and doxxing, is now member of group reportedly becoming combat-ready militia

A former Florida police captain with a long history of civilian complaints, including false arrests and harassment, has joined the stateas state guard under governor Ron DeSantis.

Javier Ortiz, 44, joined the Florida state guard in February, the Miami Herald first reported. Ortizas enrollment comes months after being reinstated by the Miami police department, after he was initially dismissed for slew of conduct complaints.

Group includes 11 US citizens, including five minors, but tens of thousands of people remained detained five years after defeat of IS

The United States has repatriated two dozen western citizens, half of them Americans, from Islamic State prison camps in north-eastern Syria where tens of thousands have languished.

The operation is the largest ever of US citizens and comes as rights groups warn of dire conditions in the camps still in use some five years after the ultra-violent extremist movement lost its last territory in Syria.

Animals were strolling through the backyard of a house when they decided to take a bit of a swim in the pool

As southern California warms up this month, everyone is looking to soak up the sun while staying cool a even the bears.

A family of bears in Monrovia, about 30 minutes from Los Angeles, took a stroll through a backyard on Monday afternoon, exploring their surroundings and investigating a pool. Video captured by the homeas occupant Rick Martinez showed a bear and her cubs roaming the property and scratching a tree. At one point the adult bear hopped into the pool and went for a swim while two tiny cubs watched on curiously.

Cathy Nori is one of just three women elected to Solomon Islandsa 50-seat parliament in last monthas election

In the final days of her election campaign, Cathy Nori considered giving up. The 57-year-old had been trekking up a mountain, near her home in Isabel province, Solomon Islands, when she was overcome with exhaustion.

aI couldnat help but question my purpose, silently asking a| why I was enduring such hardship,a Nori says in an interview with the Guardian.

Itas a moment of truth for Bidenas policy on Israel and the Palestinians a and at the least will make continued prevarication harder to disguise

When Israeli troops paraded through the Rafah crossing with an oversized star of David on Tuesday morning, they were making a point to Hamas a and at the same time driving up to the very edge of Joe Bidenas ared linea.

The Biden administration avoids that phrase at all costs. Its top officials also served Barack Obama, who drew a red line he did not enforce over Syriaas chemical weapons. But there is no hiding from the fact that they have clearly and repeatedly stated US opposition to a Rafah offensive, absent proper humanitarian provision for the more than 1 million people sheltering there.

IOC will use Paris 2024 to promote wellness among athletes after concerns raised over mental health in sport

When it comes to sporting success stories anyone would be hard pressed to find elite athletes more impressive than Simone Biles, Bryony Page and Holly Bradshaw. But while the trio are great competitors and multiple medal winners, they are also notable for their openness about the mental health of athletes.

In summer 2021 Biles withdrew from the womenas gymnastics team final at the Tokyo Olympics saying she had lost her air sense and admitted she awas still scared to do gymnasticsa months later. The pole vaulter Bradshaw voiced concerns earlier this year about damaging herself in the pursuit of sporting achievement, while the British gymnast Page has recounted struggles with alost skills syndromea, which, she says, fuelled anxiety leading up to the Olympics in Rio.

More than half of couples take on debt to finance their weddings. We asked some how they feel about it

Cale Weissman, 35, and his partner didnat have an exact budget for their 2018 wedding, but they knew they couldnat afford to spend more than $10,000 (APS8,000).

aWe thought in terms of, what do we want from the experience, and what are the ways we can make it feasible without putting us in dire financial straits,a he says.

Tiger Stripes, about a girl who turns into a jungle cat when her periods start, was chosen by Malaysia as its Oscar entry. But they wanted cuts. Amanda Nell Eu relives a apainful and comedica experience

The director Amanda Nell Eu has always been a bit of a rebel, she says over video chat from her home in Kuala Lumpur. aWhen I was a teenager, I was sometimes labelled a monster by my parents and teachers. I probably wasnat the most obedient child.a Now Eu has turned the horrors of puberty into an actual horror movie. Tiger Stripes is her feature debut, a funny and political film with a whopping air punch of girl power. Set in a conservative Muslim school, it mixes body horror with Mean Girls energy and a sprinkle of Malaysian folklore.

Eu cast her trio of leading girls during lockdown, putting adverts on Instagram and searching through TikTok profiles: aSchools were shut, everything was shut.a Zafreen Zairizal plays 12-year-old Zaffan, a rebel who is constantly yanking off her headscarf and daringly wears a bra to school. Zaffanas body is changing: hairs sprout and spots erupt. Then, when she becomes the first girl in class to get her period, sheas ostracised by her two best friends. aYouare dirty now,a adds her mother.

The American authoras 20th book reads as a series of parables on grace. In an interview, she reflects on a life she thought she wouldnat get to live

When I speak with Anne Lamott, she is in a ahotel-motela in Ypsilanti, Michigan, halfway through a cross-country book tour, flaunting sparkly pink nails. The manicure was part of a coping strategy initiated in response to a bad review a aseriously the worst reviewa of her life, said Lamott. No matter that Somehow: Thoughts on Love, her 20th book, is cresting the New York Timesa bestseller list a a dig by a prominent critic can still capsize her day.

But this is Anne Lamott, known for her preternatural ability to uncover grace in all her trials, from the trivial to the existentially unmooring. Lamott has found Christ-like qualities in a colicky baby, self-love in the abyss of addiction, and even ways to shepherd her own neuroses when they arrive at the writing desk like damaged relatives awith their weird coppery breatha.

The hairless cats live on average for just 6.8 years, while a Burmese could survive to be 14, according to research

They may sound ancient but you should avoid a sphynx cat if you want a pet to grow old with, research suggests.

Experts have revealed how many years on average domestic cats in the UK have left to live based on their current age.

This forerunner to the writeras charming romcoms is real and relatable a the truest of her meditations on love

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aDisarm the audience with comedy,a Fleabagas creator, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, once said, athen punch them in the gut with drama when they least expect it.a She wasnat actually invoking Nora Ephronas autobiographical novel Heartburn or its film adaptation when offering this advice but both encapsulate it to a T.

Ephron, who died in 2012, is mostly remembered for writing and directing romantic comedies. Her oeuvre is packed with witty banter and charming meet-cutes: youare probably picturing Meg Ryan simulating orgasm in a coffee shop, or Meg Ryan dumping Bill Pullman for Tom Hanks, or Meg Ryan dumping Greg Kinnear for Tom Hanks. Ephron also possessed a wryly observational and frequently acerbic wit, reminiscent of Dorothy Parker and David Sedaris, and Heartburn is at times so acerbic itas enough to induce actual heartburn. Its apparent dearth of charm is perhaps why itas less universally beloved than When Harry Met Sally (1989), Sleepless in Seattle (1993) or Youave Got Mail (1998). After all, its basic plot a aman serially cheats on his heavily pregnant wifea a isnat exactly conducive to Netflix and chilling.

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Late-night hosts talk Donald Trumpas latest day in court, more Kristi Noem book excerpts and the Maga Republican race to be Trumpas running mate

Late-night hosts talked Donald Trump potentially going to jail for another gag order violation and even more strange excerpts from Kristi Noemas book.

Star wore two dresses by John Galliano at event cutting across fashion, celebrity and Hollywood

The Met Gala and its red carpet is an annual X-ray of where power lies in fashion and in the adjacent worlds of celebrity, Hollywood and music.

It shows us who is in and who is out, who is up and who is down. It is a heat map showing us the connections between culture and entertainment, between the establishment and new money, between the tech billionaires who have the deep pockets to fund nights like these and the designers whose dresses their wives want to wear. These are the new corridors of soft power, and the Met Gala draws back the veil on the alliances, feuds and fallings-out.

Our panel of culinary experts offers advice on seasonal quiches and tarts with an edge

• Got a culinary dilemma? Email feast@theguardian.com

The thing about quiches and tarts, says Kitty Coles, author of Make More with Less, is people are set in their ways. aQuiche really can be whatever you want it to be, so donat worry about following exact rules.a That said, a rough formula is always helpful. aItas some sort of creamy thing [creme fraiche, cream cheese, ricotta, say], plus an egg or two [depending on the size of the quiche/tart youare making], plus any ingredients you have in your fridge.a That could simply be herbs (parsley stalks or chives) or the end of a bunch of spring onions, plus some lemon. aThat would be a great start to a quiche, because you can just blitz it all up and youall have instant flavour.a Top with radishes tossed in oil or serve with a side of veg.

Spring, however, doesnat always mean greens, so donat forget about first-harvest beetroot and carrots. aWe donat always think of them as spring-like, but they are so tender,a says Anna Shepherd, author of Love Vegetables. She finely shaves raw beetroot and uses it to top filo, ready-rolled puff or shortcrust pastry alongside shallots and pink peppercorns. aLayer that with some plant-based creme fraiche and serve with a bit of cheese, just to give it an accent.a A few peppery leaves on the side would also be very welcome.

Got a culinary dilemma? Email feast@theguardian.com

Social networking company reported $575m in losses, but strong revenue and an increase in users buoyed investor confidence

Reddit shares rose more than 15% in after-hours trading on Tuesday following its first quarterly earnings since going public in March. The company reported overall losses of $575m, citing expenses from its initial public offering for the decline. But strong revenue and user increases boosted confidence in the company after its long-awaited public offering.

Reddit reported a revenue of $243m during the first quarter of 2024 a an increase of 48% from the previous quarter. It also posted record user traffic, with daily active users increasing 37% to 82.7 million from the previous three months. The report comes after its initial public offering saw a positive response, with shares up 48% on the first day of trading.

Joe Biden signed a bill giving ByteDance up to 19 January 2025 to sell TikTok to an approved buyer or risk being banned from the US

TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have sued to block a law signed by Joe Biden just weeks ago that would force the sale of the short video app or ban it from the US.

The companies filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the US government in the court of appeals for the District of Columbia, arguing the law is unconstitutional and violates free speech protections.

University and police denounced as masked group marched on campus and attacked pro-Palestinian demonstrators last week

The University of California, Los Angeles, said that it would create a new office dedicated to campus safety following mounting criticism of authoritiesa slow response to a brutal attack on pro-Palestinian protesters by a mob of ainstigatorsa.

The schoolas chancellor, Gene Block, said on Sunday that urgent changes were needed to abetter protect our community moving forwarda and announced that a new office of campus safety would oversee the university police department and the UCLA office of emergency management, aeffective immediatelya.

Officers in riot gear raid encampment at dawn as university warns demonstrators that failure to leave could lead to arrest

Police have dismantled the student-led Palestinian solidarity encampment at the University of Southern California.

About 4am on Saturday, as many as 100 Los Angeles police officers in riot gear raided the encampment at dawn as anti-war student demonstrators slept in the tents. In a series of tweets during the raid, the university warned demonstrators to leave the area, adding that apeople who donat leave could be arresteda.

Trumpas disgraced former attorney somehow frittered away almost $120,000 in January. As a cash-strapped millennial, Iam delighted to share some money-saving tips

aBankruptcya is a surprisingly amorphous term. For poor people, it means not having any money. For corporations and the super-wealthy it means a nifty legal strategy that can shield their riches from lawsuits. And for Rudy Giuliani, the disgraced former mayor of New York City and personal attorney of Donald Trump, it means being forced to try to subsist on a measly $43,000 (APS34,200) a month.

Half a million dollars in spending money a year might seem a princely sum to the common man, but aSira Rudy (recipient of an honorary knighthood) is anything but. Weare talking about a gentleman with elevated tastes here: a bon vivant who, during a legal battle with his estranged third wife, was accused of spending $7,000 on fountain pens and $12,000 on cigars over a five-month period. In that same timeframe, his ex-wifeas lawyer claimed he spent $286,000 on his alleged lover, $165,000 on personal travel and $447,938 afor his own enjoymenta. Thatas a lot of enjoyment.

When asked what advice an eminent surgeon might give other doctors, I brace myself for another mountain I canat climb

aWhatas a Festschrift?a my youngest asks.

aIn German it means acelebration writinga,a I say, aIam going to an academic conference to honour a doctor.a

Roll up for a buffet of baffling outfits, celebs scared stiff of Anna Wintour and an utter refusal to acknowledge the outside world

Tuesday is officially the morning after the Met Gala of the night before, when we civilians get to press our noses up against the glass of our phone screens and pass unsparing judgment on dresses whose trains alone cost more than HS2.

If you havenat sat in mismatched pyjamas huffing toast while remarking what an unacceptable misstep Lana Del Reyas mosquito net was, and how Chanel seems to be going tits up, then you have simply failed to capitalise on the digital banquet spread out for you. These are dark times, and nothing but a| gratitude, I think? a| should be shown for film director Taika Waititias decision to come dressed as a brown pleather three-piece suite, while his wife, Rita Ora, presented as the ribbon curtain tacked over their back door to keep the flies off it.

Israelas evacuation orders and seizure of the key crossing are exacerbating the suffering of Palestinians and endangering hostages

Men, women and children danced in the streets of Rafah on Monday after Hamas said it had approved a ceasefire deal. There was little to celebrate. Hours later, Israel ordered 100,000 in the city to flee and protesters took to the streets in Israel warning that the government was endangering the lives of surviving hostages taken on 7 October. Shortly afterwards, Israeli forces took control of the Palestinian side of the crossing with Egypt a the key entry point for aid a and shut off supplies.

Hopes of a deal have been raised and dashed repeatedly. There are differing accounts of what precisely Hamas agreed to, including the timing of hostage releases and a most painfully a whether their figure includes the dead as well as the living. Continued fighting does not negate negotiations to end a conflict. But the end of the war is likely to mean the end of Benjamin Netanyahuas prime ministership and polling suggests that while most Israelis prioritise a deal to release hostages over military action in Rafah, that is reversed among the rightwing voters on whom Mr Netanyahuas future rests.

What the two laws have in common is desire to silence Israel-Gaza war critics

The White House rightly said it was aconcerninga when Israelas parliament laid the groundwork to shut down Al Jazeera within its borders in April. On Sunday, Israel made its move. The Foreign Press Association called it a adark day for democracya.

If the White House remains concerned, it has a strange way of showing it. Joe Biden and his administration have supported and encouraged recent censorial laws and court cases that virtually ensure that adark daysa are ahead at home as well.

Seth Stern is the director of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation and a first amendment lawyer

Have you ever had the experience of getting tantalisingly close to a big opportunity in your creative career a but not quite making it? Maybe it was a pitch, or a competition, a publishing opportunity, a senior role, or a funding application. Maybe you got really positive feedback. They said you were great, your work […]

The post Are You in the Ballpark? (finally, The 21st Century Creative on YouTube) appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

When the Covid 19 pandemic struck in 2020, human life on earth was massively disrupted. Not only the human tragedy of millions of lives lost, but also the social and economic damage caused by the virus and our attempts to control it. As a writer and a coach for creatives, I have been particularly concerned […]

The post Creative Disruption: How 12 Creatives on 5 Continents Rose to the Challenge of the Pandemic appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Welcome to Episode 10 of the Creative Disruption season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. Itas been my most ambitious season yet, with creatives from 5 continents and probably the closest Iall ever […]

The post How I Created, Funded and Launched My New Podcast (while the World Was in Meltdown) appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Welcome to Episode 9 of the Creative Disruption season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. This week we are off to Tokyo, to meet Ichi Hatano, a wonderful artist whose work has deep […]

The post From Tattoos to NFTs with Ichi Hatano appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Welcome to Episode 8 of the Creative Disruption season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. Have you ever had the idea for a creative project that youave never quite got round to starting? […]

The post Using Lockdown to Launch a Dream Project with Nicky Mondellini appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

If you work on your own a in your office or studio, or your bedroom or at your kitchen table a it can feel like no one is watching. So it doesnat matter whether you show up. If you skipped a day on your novel, who would know? If you didnat go to the studio […]

The post All Arts Are Performing Arts appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Welcome to Episode 7 of the Creative Disruption season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. Today weare focusing on a creative sector that is close to my heart, which was massively disrupted but […]

The post Taking Deep Work Online with Laura Davis appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

A few months ago I was listening to the DavidBowie: AlbumtoAlbum podcast, a terrific show about Bowie hosted by Arsalan Mohammed. In Season 3 episode 11 Arsalan spoke to Donny McCaslin, the leader of the jazz band that Bowie discovered in a New York club, and asked to work with him on what turned out […]

The post Sometimes You Have to Grind the Work Out appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Welcome to Episode 6 of the Creative Disruption season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. Today we are off to Australia in the company of Charlotte Abroms, a music manager based in Melbourne […]

The post Helping Musicians Through Lockdown with Charlotte Abroms appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Last week I suggested that if youare serious about achieving your creative ambitions, you need to think in terms of projects, not tasks. Because if you get up every morning and ask yourself aWhat should I work on today?a you risk making decisions based on what feels urgent right now, rather than what will make […]

The post Work on Multifaceted Projects appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Welcome to Episode 5 of the CREATIVE DISRUPTION season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. Today we are going to look at one of the biggest challenge for many people during lockdown, whether […]

The post Staying Creative as a Parent (Even in a Pandemic) with Kay Lock Kolp appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

When we think of productivity we typically think about tasks and to-do lists, working habits and routines. We focus on how to make the most of our time on a daily or at most a weekly basis. All of which is great, but if this is all we focus on, thereas a danger of getting […]

The post Focus on Projects, Not Tasks appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Welcome to Episode 4 of the CREATIVE DISRUPTION season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. Today we meet Amrita Kumar, the co-founder and CEO of Candid Marketing, an innovative marketing agency in India. […]

The post Launching a New Business in the Pandemic with Amrita Kumar appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Marketing is a word that strikes fear into the heart of a lot of creatives. Itas an area where a lot of us feel we donat have a natural talent a weare far more comfortable making work than telling the world about it, let alone trying to get people to buy it. One reason for […]

The post Make Your Marketing Personal with a Media Dashboard appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Welcome to Episode 3 of the CREATIVE DISRUPTION season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. Today we are looking at the world of film and TV production, which was massively disrupted by the […]

The post Rebooting Global Filming with Hometeam appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

A lot of creative professions involve submitting work to gatekeepers of various kinds: agents, editors, publishers, gallerists, funders, producers, studios and competition judges and so on. Yes, the 21st century gives us plenty of options for creating things without gatekeepers a you can sell direct, build your own platform, launch your own event, self-publish or […]

The post Why Rejection Doesnat (Necessarily) Mean Your Work Isnat Good Enough appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Welcome to Episode 2 of the CREATIVE DISRUPTION season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. This week we are off to South Africa, to hear from Earl Abrahams, an artist and filmmaker who […]

The post Lockdown Series: Windows on a Changed World with Earl Abrahams appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

aEat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you for the rest of the day.a This quote is often attributed to Mark Twain. Apparently thereas no hard evidence linking it to him, but that hasnat stopped it from concentrating the minds of many people when they ask themselves […]

The post Eat that Frog (But Eat the Cake as Well) appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Today we kick off Season 6 of The 21st Century Creative, the podcast that helps you thrive as a creative professional amid the demands, distractions and opportunities of the 21st Century. The theme for this season is CREATIVE DISRUPTION. Every episode will feature an interview with a creator whose work was disrupted by the Covid-19 […]

The post The Rocky Road for Theatre through the Pandemic with Steven Kunis appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

I hope this finds you as well as can be. Here in the UK weare bracing for what we are assured will be a large wave of Omicron. I know things may be very different for you, depending on where you are in the world. But whatever the circumstances, I hope you are finding your […]

The post Video: Forget the Career Ladder a Start Creating Assets appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Today is the launch of my new podcast, and itas something Iave been planning and dreaming of sharing with you for years. Itas called A Mouthful of Air. And in several ways, itas the opposite of my 21st Century Creative podcast. I designed the two shows to work together from the start, although it’s taken […]

The post My new podcast (and why itas the opposite of The 21st Century Creative) appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Last night I was about to go to bed when I suddenly remembered an idea Iad had for an article a few months ago. Though I say so myself, it was a great idea, and I was keen to revisit it, so I opened up the Scrivener project where I had written it downa| and […]

The post Ideas Are Leprechauns appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Todayas guest on The 21st Century Creative is Michael Bungay Stanier, a returning guest whose interview way back in Season 1 proved very popular. And his book The Coaching Habit turned out to be even more popular, as it went on to sell three quarters of a million copies. Michael is back with some excellent […]

The post Avoiding the Advice Trap with Michael Bungay Stanier appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

A lot of productivity advice tells us that we need to stop procrastinating, beat Resistance, and get things done. The Americans like to talk about ashippinga, meaning finished and sent out for delivery. This emphasis on getting things done and out to market is part of their extraordinary entrepreneurial culture. Famously, Guy Kawasaki even said […]

The post Every Creative Project Is a Revolving Door appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Todayas guest on The 21st Century Creative is Krystal Lauk, an illustrator who took an unconventional path by creating illustrations for tech companies, and founded a studio that counts Google, Uber, Facebook and The New York Times among its clients. Itas a fascinating story of discovery and enterprise at what Krystal calls athe intersection of […]

The post The 21st Century Illustrator with Krystal Lauk appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Iave recently started taking one-to-one Japanese conversation lessons. It hasnat been easy. In fact, itas been a bit of a humbling experience. Between work and family responsibilities, I only have 30 minutes a day to study Japanese, and Iave spent this time every day for the past two years memorising kanji characters, vocabulary and grammar […]

The post You Have to be Bad to Get Good appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Todayas guest on The 21st Century Creative is Cynthia Morris, a coach for creatives who shares insights on the book-writing process, based on her latest book The Busy Womanas Guide to Writing a World-Changing Book. So if you are contemplating writing a book – whether itas your first one or your twenty-first – there is […]

The post Writing a World-Changing Book with Cynthia Morris appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

If you think about overhearing something, you probably think of listening to someone elseas conversation, whether deliberately or accidentally, and picking up a titbit of information that you would never otherwise have been privy to. It might be funny, or shocking or useful, or – as in the case of so many loud phone calls […]

The post The Art of Overhearing Yourself appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Todayas guest on The 21st Century Creative is Emily Kimelman, a thriller author who has travelled the world in a boat and criss-crossed the USA in an Airstream trailer while writing and publishing her books, and selling hundreds of thousands of copies in the process. Emilyas adventurous spirit shines through in her writing as well […]

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Jury hears from adult film star on 13th day of ex-presidentas criminal trial in New York

• Trump trial key takeaways, day 13

Donald Trumpas criminal trial entered a new stage on Tuesday with testimony from Stormy Daniels, an adult film star at the center of his hush-money scandal, who told jurors that they had a sexual liaison in 2006 that left her nervous and ashamed.

aMy hands were shaking so hard that I was having a hard time getting dressed,a said Daniels, who told jurors that she had gone to Trumpas Lake Tahoe hotel room under the belief that they would be getting dinner after meeting there.

Defence minister says operation will continue until militant group is defeated or begins to free hostages

Israel has launched a major military offensive against Hamas forces in Rafah, Gazaas southernmost city, seizing control of a key border crossing and cutting off most aid into the territory a day before indirect talks on a ceasefire deal are due to restart.

Images released by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) showed tanks flying large Israeli flags driving through the post and crushing a concrete sign reading aI Love Gazaa.

Aileen Cannon, overseeing Trumpas prosecution on charges of retaining classified files, says case is not ready to take before jury

The federal judge overseeing Donald Trumpas prosecution on charges of retaining classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago club on Tuesday formally scrapped her scheduled 20 May trial date without setting a new date, ruling the case was nowhere near ready to take before a jury in Florida.

The fact that the original May trial date would not hold was a foregone conclusion and has been apparent since last year, given delays with pre-trial litigation and the number of unresolved legal issues that have only increased in recent months.

Severe thunderstorms bring hail and structural damage, with tornadoes hitting cities including Kalamazoo and Battle Creek

Thousands of Michigan residents are without power and face a deluge of hail and tornado warnings amid severe thunderstorms, with tornadoes hitting cities including Kalamazoo and Battle Creek.

aTAKE COVER NOW,a the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids warned in a post directed at Portage residents on their Facebook page.

President would have been caught and executed, spy chief targeted from the air; aabout halfa of North Korean missiles duds. What we know on day 804

Two Ukrainian security officials have been detained over an alleged Russian assassination plot against Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukraineas president. Luke Harding writes from Kyiv that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said it had exposed a network of agents run by Russiaas FSB that also intended to kill Ukraineas military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, and the SBUas head, Vasyl Maliuk.

The plans included finding someone in the presidential entourage to capture and kill Zelenskiy, the SBU said; and to kill Budanov and others with a missile strike, kamikaze drones launched locally, then another missile strike to destroy the evidence of drones.

The SBU named three FSB intelligence officers behind the operation as Maxim Mishustin, Dmytro Perlin and Aleksii Kornev. In intercepted messages, Perlin referred to the missile attack on Budanov as a abig birda and the drone as a asmall birda. He emphasised: aThe order is rocket, drone, rocket.a

The SBU said it recovered drones, warheads and mines from one of the arrested Ukrainian alleged accomplices. He and others face charges of treason and terrorism. One of the alleged agents was a colonel serving in Ukraineas state guard service, said to have met Kornev secretly before 2022 in a neighbouring European country.

Ukrainian prosecutors say they have examined debris from 21 of around 50 North Korean ballistic missiles launched by Russia between late December and late February. The office of the chief prosecutor, Andriy Kostin, told Reuters the missilesa failure rate appeared to be high: aAbout half of the North Korean missiles lost their programmed trajectories and exploded in the air; in such cases the debris was not recovered.a

Use of North Korean missiles by Russia threatens a nearly two-decade consensus among permanent members of the UN security council on preventing North Korea expanding its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. Russia recently vetoed the annual renewal of UN sanctions monitoring of North Korea.

Russia has been shipping refined petroleum to North Korea at levels that appear to violate the mandates of the security council, a US official said on Thursday, adding that the US was planning new sanctions in response. The US would continue working with other countries to impose sanctions aagainst those working to facilitate arms and refined petroleum transfers between Russia and the DPRKa.

Romaniaas president, Klaus Iohannis, has said he is open to discussing sending a Patriot system to Ukraine after German appeals to EU and Nato member states.
Iohannis met with the US president, Joe Biden, at the White House on Tuesday.

Ukrainian forces on Tuesday attacked an oil storage depot and sparked a large fire, injuring five people, on the outskirts of the Russian-held city of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, the regionas Russia-installed leader said. There was no official Ukrainian statement on the incident. Separatist fighters backed and financed by Russia seized control of large chunks of Luhansk and Donetsk regions in eastern Ukraine in 2014 after Moscow annexed Crimea.

In a blow to reproductive rights advocates and Democrats, judge rules procedures were not followed for constitutional amendment

A New York judge on Tuesday blocked a politically important abortion rights amendment from appearing before voters on the November ballot, dealing Democrats a setback as the party moved to focus battleground races in the state around abortion access.

State supreme court justice Daniel J Doyle found that state lawmakers failed to follow procedural rules around passing constitutional amendments, incorrectly approving the amendment before getting a written opinion on the language from the attorney general.

John Hostettler of Indiana, whom pro-Israel groups deemed aantisemitica, loses to Mark Messmer, who led opponents with 40% of vote

Republican John Hostettler has lost his House primary in Indiana, delivering a victory to pro-Israel groups who sought to block the former congressman from returning to Washington. The groups attacked Hostettler as insufficiently supportive of Israel at a time when criticism of Benjamin Netanyahuas government has hit new highs because of the war in Gaza.

When the Associated Press called the eighth district primary race at 7.49pm ET, less than an hour after the last polls closed in Indiana, Mark Messmer led his opponents with 40% of the vote. Messmer, the Indiana state senate majority leader, will advance to the general election in November, which he is heavily favored to win because of the districtas Republican leanings. The victor will replace Republican congressman Larry Bucshon, who announced his retirement earlier this year.

Javier Ortiz, accused of false arrests, harassment and doxxing, is now member of group reportedly becoming combat-ready militia

A former Florida police captain with a long history of civilian complaints, including false arrests and harassment, has joined the stateas state guard under governor Ron DeSantis.

Javier Ortiz, 44, joined the Florida state guard in February, the Miami Herald first reported. Ortizas enrollment comes months after being reinstated by the Miami police department, after he was initially dismissed for slew of conduct complaints.

Group includes 11 US citizens, including five minors, but tens of thousands of people remained detained five years after defeat of IS

The United States has repatriated two dozen western citizens, half of them Americans, from Islamic State prison camps in north-eastern Syria where tens of thousands have languished.

The operation is the largest ever of US citizens and comes as rights groups warn of dire conditions in the camps still in use some five years after the ultra-violent extremist movement lost its last territory in Syria.

Animals were strolling through the backyard of a house when they decided to take a bit of a swim in the pool

As southern California warms up this month, everyone is looking to soak up the sun while staying cool a even the bears.

A family of bears in Monrovia, about 30 minutes from Los Angeles, took a stroll through a backyard on Monday afternoon, exploring their surroundings and investigating a pool. Video captured by the homeas occupant Rick Martinez showed a bear and her cubs roaming the property and scratching a tree. At one point the adult bear hopped into the pool and went for a swim while two tiny cubs watched on curiously.

Cathy Nori is one of just three women elected to Solomon Islandsa 50-seat parliament in last monthas election

In the final days of her election campaign, Cathy Nori considered giving up. The 57-year-old had been trekking up a mountain, near her home in Isabel province, Solomon Islands, when she was overcome with exhaustion.

aI couldnat help but question my purpose, silently asking a| why I was enduring such hardship,a Nori says in an interview with the Guardian.

Itas a moment of truth for Bidenas policy on Israel and the Palestinians a and at the least will make continued prevarication harder to disguise

When Israeli troops paraded through the Rafah crossing with an oversized star of David on Tuesday morning, they were making a point to Hamas a and at the same time driving up to the very edge of Joe Bidenas ared linea.

The Biden administration avoids that phrase at all costs. Its top officials also served Barack Obama, who drew a red line he did not enforce over Syriaas chemical weapons. But there is no hiding from the fact that they have clearly and repeatedly stated US opposition to a Rafah offensive, absent proper humanitarian provision for the more than 1 million people sheltering there.

IOC will use Paris 2024 to promote wellness among athletes after concerns raised over mental health in sport

When it comes to sporting success stories anyone would be hard pressed to find elite athletes more impressive than Simone Biles, Bryony Page and Holly Bradshaw. But while the trio are great competitors and multiple medal winners, they are also notable for their openness about the mental health of athletes.

In summer 2021 Biles withdrew from the womenas gymnastics team final at the Tokyo Olympics saying she had lost her air sense and admitted she awas still scared to do gymnasticsa months later. The pole vaulter Bradshaw voiced concerns earlier this year about damaging herself in the pursuit of sporting achievement, while the British gymnast Page has recounted struggles with alost skills syndromea, which, she says, fuelled anxiety leading up to the Olympics in Rio.

More than half of couples take on debt to finance their weddings. We asked some how they feel about it

Cale Weissman, 35, and his partner didnat have an exact budget for their 2018 wedding, but they knew they couldnat afford to spend more than $10,000 (APS8,000).

aWe thought in terms of, what do we want from the experience, and what are the ways we can make it feasible without putting us in dire financial straits,a he says.

Tiger Stripes, about a girl who turns into a jungle cat when her periods start, was chosen by Malaysia as its Oscar entry. But they wanted cuts. Amanda Nell Eu relives a apainful and comedica experience

The director Amanda Nell Eu has always been a bit of a rebel, she says over video chat from her home in Kuala Lumpur. aWhen I was a teenager, I was sometimes labelled a monster by my parents and teachers. I probably wasnat the most obedient child.a Now Eu has turned the horrors of puberty into an actual horror movie. Tiger Stripes is her feature debut, a funny and political film with a whopping air punch of girl power. Set in a conservative Muslim school, it mixes body horror with Mean Girls energy and a sprinkle of Malaysian folklore.

Eu cast her trio of leading girls during lockdown, putting adverts on Instagram and searching through TikTok profiles: aSchools were shut, everything was shut.a Zafreen Zairizal plays 12-year-old Zaffan, a rebel who is constantly yanking off her headscarf and daringly wears a bra to school. Zaffanas body is changing: hairs sprout and spots erupt. Then, when she becomes the first girl in class to get her period, sheas ostracised by her two best friends. aYouare dirty now,a adds her mother.

The American authoras 20th book reads as a series of parables on grace. In an interview, she reflects on a life she thought she wouldnat get to live

When I speak with Anne Lamott, she is in a ahotel-motela in Ypsilanti, Michigan, halfway through a cross-country book tour, flaunting sparkly pink nails. The manicure was part of a coping strategy initiated in response to a bad review a aseriously the worst reviewa of her life, said Lamott. No matter that Somehow: Thoughts on Love, her 20th book, is cresting the New York Timesa bestseller list a a dig by a prominent critic can still capsize her day.

But this is Anne Lamott, known for her preternatural ability to uncover grace in all her trials, from the trivial to the existentially unmooring. Lamott has found Christ-like qualities in a colicky baby, self-love in the abyss of addiction, and even ways to shepherd her own neuroses when they arrive at the writing desk like damaged relatives awith their weird coppery breatha.

The hairless cats live on average for just 6.8 years, while a Burmese could survive to be 14, according to research

They may sound ancient but you should avoid a sphynx cat if you want a pet to grow old with, research suggests.

Experts have revealed how many years on average domestic cats in the UK have left to live based on their current age.

This forerunner to the writeras charming romcoms is real and relatable a the truest of her meditations on love

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aDisarm the audience with comedy,a Fleabagas creator, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, once said, athen punch them in the gut with drama when they least expect it.a She wasnat actually invoking Nora Ephronas autobiographical novel Heartburn or its film adaptation when offering this advice but both encapsulate it to a T.

Ephron, who died in 2012, is mostly remembered for writing and directing romantic comedies. Her oeuvre is packed with witty banter and charming meet-cutes: youare probably picturing Meg Ryan simulating orgasm in a coffee shop, or Meg Ryan dumping Bill Pullman for Tom Hanks, or Meg Ryan dumping Greg Kinnear for Tom Hanks. Ephron also possessed a wryly observational and frequently acerbic wit, reminiscent of Dorothy Parker and David Sedaris, and Heartburn is at times so acerbic itas enough to induce actual heartburn. Its apparent dearth of charm is perhaps why itas less universally beloved than When Harry Met Sally (1989), Sleepless in Seattle (1993) or Youave Got Mail (1998). After all, its basic plot a aman serially cheats on his heavily pregnant wifea a isnat exactly conducive to Netflix and chilling.

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Late-night hosts talk Donald Trumpas latest day in court, more Kristi Noem book excerpts and the Maga Republican race to be Trumpas running mate

Late-night hosts talked Donald Trump potentially going to jail for another gag order violation and even more strange excerpts from Kristi Noemas book.

Star wore two dresses by John Galliano at event cutting across fashion, celebrity and Hollywood

The Met Gala and its red carpet is an annual X-ray of where power lies in fashion and in the adjacent worlds of celebrity, Hollywood and music.

It shows us who is in and who is out, who is up and who is down. It is a heat map showing us the connections between culture and entertainment, between the establishment and new money, between the tech billionaires who have the deep pockets to fund nights like these and the designers whose dresses their wives want to wear. These are the new corridors of soft power, and the Met Gala draws back the veil on the alliances, feuds and fallings-out.

Our panel of culinary experts offers advice on seasonal quiches and tarts with an edge

• Got a culinary dilemma? Email feast@theguardian.com

The thing about quiches and tarts, says Kitty Coles, author of Make More with Less, is people are set in their ways. aQuiche really can be whatever you want it to be, so donat worry about following exact rules.a That said, a rough formula is always helpful. aItas some sort of creamy thing [creme fraiche, cream cheese, ricotta, say], plus an egg or two [depending on the size of the quiche/tart youare making], plus any ingredients you have in your fridge.a That could simply be herbs (parsley stalks or chives) or the end of a bunch of spring onions, plus some lemon. aThat would be a great start to a quiche, because you can just blitz it all up and youall have instant flavour.a Top with radishes tossed in oil or serve with a side of veg.

Spring, however, doesnat always mean greens, so donat forget about first-harvest beetroot and carrots. aWe donat always think of them as spring-like, but they are so tender,a says Anna Shepherd, author of Love Vegetables. She finely shaves raw beetroot and uses it to top filo, ready-rolled puff or shortcrust pastry alongside shallots and pink peppercorns. aLayer that with some plant-based creme fraiche and serve with a bit of cheese, just to give it an accent.a A few peppery leaves on the side would also be very welcome.

Got a culinary dilemma? Email feast@theguardian.com

Social networking company reported $575m in losses, but strong revenue and an increase in users buoyed investor confidence

Reddit shares rose more than 15% in after-hours trading on Tuesday following its first quarterly earnings since going public in March. The company reported overall losses of $575m, citing expenses from its initial public offering for the decline. But strong revenue and user increases boosted confidence in the company after its long-awaited public offering.

Reddit reported a revenue of $243m during the first quarter of 2024 a an increase of 48% from the previous quarter. It also posted record user traffic, with daily active users increasing 37% to 82.7 million from the previous three months. The report comes after its initial public offering saw a positive response, with shares up 48% on the first day of trading.

Joe Biden signed a bill giving ByteDance up to 19 January 2025 to sell TikTok to an approved buyer or risk being banned from the US

TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have sued to block a law signed by Joe Biden just weeks ago that would force the sale of the short video app or ban it from the US.

The companies filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the US government in the court of appeals for the District of Columbia, arguing the law is unconstitutional and violates free speech protections.

University and police denounced as masked group marched on campus and attacked pro-Palestinian demonstrators last week

The University of California, Los Angeles, said that it would create a new office dedicated to campus safety following mounting criticism of authoritiesa slow response to a brutal attack on pro-Palestinian protesters by a mob of ainstigatorsa.

The schoolas chancellor, Gene Block, said on Sunday that urgent changes were needed to abetter protect our community moving forwarda and announced that a new office of campus safety would oversee the university police department and the UCLA office of emergency management, aeffective immediatelya.

Officers in riot gear raid encampment at dawn as university warns demonstrators that failure to leave could lead to arrest

Police have dismantled the student-led Palestinian solidarity encampment at the University of Southern California.

About 4am on Saturday, as many as 100 Los Angeles police officers in riot gear raided the encampment at dawn as anti-war student demonstrators slept in the tents. In a series of tweets during the raid, the university warned demonstrators to leave the area, adding that apeople who donat leave could be arresteda.

Trumpas disgraced former attorney somehow frittered away almost $120,000 in January. As a cash-strapped millennial, Iam delighted to share some money-saving tips

aBankruptcya is a surprisingly amorphous term. For poor people, it means not having any money. For corporations and the super-wealthy it means a nifty legal strategy that can shield their riches from lawsuits. And for Rudy Giuliani, the disgraced former mayor of New York City and personal attorney of Donald Trump, it means being forced to try to subsist on a measly $43,000 (APS34,200) a month.

Half a million dollars in spending money a year might seem a princely sum to the common man, but aSira Rudy (recipient of an honorary knighthood) is anything but. Weare talking about a gentleman with elevated tastes here: a bon vivant who, during a legal battle with his estranged third wife, was accused of spending $7,000 on fountain pens and $12,000 on cigars over a five-month period. In that same timeframe, his ex-wifeas lawyer claimed he spent $286,000 on his alleged lover, $165,000 on personal travel and $447,938 afor his own enjoymenta. Thatas a lot of enjoyment.

When asked what advice an eminent surgeon might give other doctors, I brace myself for another mountain I canat climb

aWhatas a Festschrift?a my youngest asks.

aIn German it means acelebration writinga,a I say, aIam going to an academic conference to honour a doctor.a

Roll up for a buffet of baffling outfits, celebs scared stiff of Anna Wintour and an utter refusal to acknowledge the outside world

Tuesday is officially the morning after the Met Gala of the night before, when we civilians get to press our noses up against the glass of our phone screens and pass unsparing judgment on dresses whose trains alone cost more than HS2.

If you havenat sat in mismatched pyjamas huffing toast while remarking what an unacceptable misstep Lana Del Reyas mosquito net was, and how Chanel seems to be going tits up, then you have simply failed to capitalise on the digital banquet spread out for you. These are dark times, and nothing but a| gratitude, I think? a| should be shown for film director Taika Waititias decision to come dressed as a brown pleather three-piece suite, while his wife, Rita Ora, presented as the ribbon curtain tacked over their back door to keep the flies off it.