To campaigners’ dismay, the UK’s biggest hubs, Heathrow and Gatwick, are pushing on with plans to increase capacity

Christine Taylor has lived her entire life in the shadow of London’s Heathrow airport, her childhood bedroom affording a view of one of its two runways. She grew up in Sipson, a village that can trace its history back more than 1,000 years, but now sits immediately north of Britain’s busiest airline hub.

Now living a mile to the east in Harlington, Taylor, 62, is experiencing a rare moment of quiet, thanks to the dramatic reduction in air traffic caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The I, Daniel Blake star on her parents’ generosity, working in a call centre and her love of ice-cream

Born in London, Squires, 32, studied at Rose Bruford College in London. She starred in the Ken Loach film, I, Daniel Blake in 2016, earning a Bafta nomination and winning most promising newcomer at the British Independent Film awards. Her West End debut in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof followed in 2017. Her television work includes The Miniaturist and Collateral; in the autumn she will play the lead in the Channel 4 drama, Adult Material.

What is your greatest fear?
Snakes.

Staff of the magazine that kicked off the French New Wave say its new elite owners pose a threat to editorial independence

The mass resignation of the staff of Cahiers du Cinéma, the film journal that launched the French New Wave, has reignited debate in France about the possibility of critical independence in a society whose major stakeholders frequently operate in several spheres.

On Thursday, the 15 staff writers and editors announced their resignation, saying they believed its new owners posed a threat to the magazine’s cherished independence.

Mark Lawson and Dan Milmo discuss the sustainability of the streaming service. Plus: Lara Spirit on why you should register to vote before Tuesday’s deadline

Netflix has risen from obscurity to be one of the most powerful media companies in the world with more than 150 million global subscribers. It has launched critically acclaimed hits such as House of Cards, The Crown and Unbelievable, as well as showcasing the back catalogues of popular television series. But as part of its rapid growth, the company has racked up huge debts.

Joining Anushka Asthana to discuss the long-term sustainability of Netflix are the TV critic Mark Lawson and the Guardian’s deputy business editor Dan Milmo.

Kirk Douglas, Hollywood legend and star of Spartacus, has died aged 103. Douglas was nominated for three Oscars and his extensive filmography includes Paths of Glory, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Lust for Life. The Hollywood legend's death was announced by his son, fellow actor Michael Douglas

• Kirk Douglas, Hollywood legend and star of Spartacus, dies aged 103

This uncanny story of preppy drug dealers has a touch of Heathers and a bit of Bret Easton Ellis, and an intriguing take on what high school is really like

Tayarisha Poe, like her partial namesake, has a gift for the uncanny. She is the photographer and film-maker behind this feature debut, which began as an online multimedia project and was developed as a conventional movie through the Sundance screenwriters and directors labs. What has emerged is an intriguing, opaque, tonally elusive story that seems weirdly unfinished. It is set in a privileged high school – a world of ivy-covered stone buildings and shady quadrangles where rich kids are separated into malign and mutually hostile cliques. It has a touch of Donna Tartt and Bret Easton Ellis, a hint of Heathers and a bit of the elegant, disdainful satire of Dear White People.

Somehow, though, it is odder, more stylised and contrived, always holding out the possibility that it is set in the future, or in an alternative present on some other planet, or inside the head of one of its characters who is having a disturbing dream – the kind that ends just as it is about to give up its meaning. Right until the closing credits, I half-expected the face of each person on screen to flip upwards, revealing a Stepford-like set of dials.

An affectionate and absorbing documentary from film-maker Rachel Mason about her devout parents, who ran a famous adult bookstore in early-80s LA

Here is a documentary with an absorbing and unexpectedly complicated story to tell, whose paradoxes and sadnesses are not entirely resolved by the end. Artist and film-maker Rachel Mason has created an affectionate portrait of her elderly parents, Karen and Barry, who in many ways are like one of the (fictional) old couples in When Harry Met Sally.

Karen is a former journalist, devoutly Jewish, and Barry is a former special visual effects engineer who worked on Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 and invented a modification for kidney dialysis machines. But they found themselves in a tough financial spot in the early 1980s and took over Circus of Books, a gay porn bookstore in Los Angeles that also sold movies called things like Confessions of a Two Dick Slut and Don’t Drop the Soap, and was one of Larry Flynt’s first distribution points. Under their shrewd management, the store boomed, opened another branch and became a well-known meeting place for LGBT people, while all the time, the Masons were a conventional family who kept their three children well away from the business. Karen movingly – and honestly – recounts how upset she was to discover that one of her sons was gay: the business and family life were that separate.

The Hollywood Reporter says numerous attendees returned from the late-January festival with coronavirus symptoms

A new report suggests that January’s Sundance film festival, the annual gathering of cinephiles in Park City, Utah, may have been a key early hub for coronavirus in the US. The article, in the Hollywood Reporter, cites numerous attendees who experienced Covid-19-like symptoms either during or immediately after the festival. None were believed to have been tested for the disease.

Sundance this year attracted about 120,000 people to the small mountain resort, to watch films and party in confined spaces. The snowy conditions that make Park City perfect for skiing mean that socialising indoors is common, as are some flu-like symptoms as a result of the low temperature and high altitude.

In another blistering attack on Donald Trump, the actor says the New York governor is doing what a president should do

Robert De Niro has said he would be keen to play New York state governor Andrew Cuomo in a future movie about the coronavirus epidemic, as the actor made another blistering attack on Donald Trump.

Appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, De Niro expressed his admiration for Cuomo, saying: “He’s doing what a president should do.” He added: “I could see [a President Cuomo]. I am for Biden, and want everything to go well for Biden, but at least we have a person who is very capable, a very capable backup, if you will … he’s doing a great job, he’s doing what any president should do.”

The White House is making "contingency plans" for a second wave of coronavirus after emails reportedly contradict their claims that Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines to safely reopen the economy were set aside because medical experts did not approve of them.

The service, which protects political leaders including the president, said in March there was only one case, but new documents show that the disease is more widespread than believed.

The president appeared outside the Kremlin walls to praise the Soviet effort in what is known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War.

Out of 200 employees tested at a German meat processing plant, 151 tested positive Thursday for coronavirus, triggering an "emergency mechanism" to delay the easing of social distancing restrictions.

Trump administration whistleblower Rick Bright teared up while ripping the Trump's response to the coronavirus: "We could've done something and we didn't."

Comfort, however, can be an issue

Giant elliptical galaxies are not as likely as previously thought to be cradles of complex life, according to a paper published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. In 2015, University of Durham astronomer Pratika Dayal and colleagues concluded that large elliptical galaxies have up to 10,000 times more habitable planets than the [...]

SARS-CoV-2, a novel coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 disease, can infect enterocytes in the intestine and multiply there, according to a study by researchers from the Netherlands. Patients with COVID-19 show a variety of symptoms associated with respiratory organs — such as coughing, sneezing, shortness of breath, and fever — and the disease is transmitted [...]

A protein-coding gene called GB45239 is responsible for thelytokous parthenogenesis — the ability to produce daughters asexually — in the Cape honeybee (Apis mellifera capensis), a subspecies of honeybee found in the two southern provinces of South Africa, according to a new paper published in the journal Current Biology. The female worker caste of the [...]

Twitch is doubling down on esports in this new era of social distancing as a number of traditional sporting events have been cancelled. The company this week introduced a new esports directory on its site that will make it easier for viewers to find live matches, information on players, games with active competition leagues, a […]

During these long, mundane physically-distant days, stretching on into an uncertain future like an ever-lengthening beigeish corridor, it’s impossible not to miss hanging out with friends. Especially the kind of hanging out where you’re not really doing anything in particular, not talking about any one thing—just kind of being. As we continue to stay physically […]

Modern Games is a new studio working to create games that combine physical and digital play. The company was founded by husband-and-wife team Justin and Amanda Kifer — serial entrepreneurs who previously launched companies including Citizen Local (acquired by MyLife in 2011) and Fidgetly, a fidget spinner company that also created a motion controller for […]

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary, the wife of one of President Donald Trump's senior advisers, has tested positive for the coronavirus, raising alarm about the virus' potential spread within the White House's inner most circle.

U.S. coronavirus task force response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx will have a leading role in how the first drug to demonstrate a benefit in treating COVID-19 patients will be distributed to hospitals, the White House said on Friday.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday reported 1,248,040 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 28,974 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 2,180 to 75,477.

The U.S. government reported more catastrophic economic fallout from the coronavirus crisis on Friday as the pandemic pierced the very walls of the White House and California gave the green light for its factories to restart after a seven-week lockdown.

The number of deaths from the coronavirus in Mexico's best-known border city, Tijuana, has soared and the COVID-19 mortality rate is twice the national average, the health ministry says, after medical staff quickly fell ill as the outbreak rampaged through hospital wards.

A U.S. government watchdog agency has recommended the temporary reinstatement of a whistleblower who says he was removed as director of a government research office because he raised concerns about coronavirus preparedness, his lawyers said on Friday.

New Dlehi, May 09: Several Indians, who are stranded in at least seven countries due to coronavirus outbreak, is all set to fly back to their home country on Saturday in special flights under Vande Bharat Mission. According to officials,

Noida Police Commissioner has written to national carrier Air India, requesting the airline to ensure that pilots and crew involved in repatriation flights should stay back in Delhi.

The BJP leaders waged a social media war against the Bengal government by accusing the state of hiding Covid-19 figures and also complaining the Centre that TMC-led government in Bengal has completely failed in handling the coronavirus crisis.

The BJP leaders waged a social media war against the Bengal government by accusing the state of hiding Covid-19 figures and also complaining the Centre that TMC-led government in Bengal has completely failed in handling the coronavirus crisis.

Chennai, May 09: About 359 people arrived in Tamil Nadu early on Saturday from Dubai in two Air India flights as part of the government's Vande Bharat Mission to bring home Indian nationals stranded in various countries. Among the passengers

There has been talk for some time now about easing labour laws, already seen in industry circles as being too rigid and acting as a drag on growth, specifically to facilitate emerging from the lockdown. And it’s not just a question of emerging from it, there’s also the issue of surviving what looks like being a brutal and prolonged global economic downturn. It was reported on Friday that ordinances were being issued in some states.

The basic coaching course will be attended by 32 senior men and 23 senior women core probables on May 11 and 15 respectively.

The Tokyo Olympics was postponed for a year to 2021 in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.

New Delhi, May 09 (ANI): An Air India flight carrying 129 passengers from Dhaka, Bangladesh has landed at Delhi airport. The stranded Indian nationals are being brought back to the country through government’s initiative, ‘Vande Bharat Mission’.

Around 250 Indian students and tourists were seen queuing with their luggage at the airport as they prepared for the journey home.

The UK government has published details of the scientific advice behind its strategies to tackle the covid-19 outbreak, but outside experts say it is missing key points and hasn't been implemented properly

The economic and healthcare policies pursued by the US in recent years have failed to prioritise public health and made it vulnerable to a pandemic. Could things be different?

We don’t have enough evidence yet to know if recovering from covid-19 induces immunity, or whether any immunity would give long-lasting protection against the coronavirus

Neil Ferguson, whose modelling has informed the UK's coronavirus strategy, says that the need for intensive care beds will come close to, but not exceed, national capacity

Efforts to scale up testing for the covid-19 coronavirus have been slow in some countries, and some tests are more accurate than others, which could make it harder to slow the spread

High salt intake seems to impair the immune cells in humans that fight bacteria because of a side effect of the hormones that help get rid of salt

The coronavirus has been found to stick to surfaces for days – but you’re more likely to catch it when close to infected people, or possibly through droplets spread via plumbing and ventilation systems

People with covid-19 appear to be most contagious 15 hours before their symptoms start, and many people may not even go on to develop noticeable symptoms

Does being exposed to more virus particles mean you’ll develop more severe illness? Data suggests the relationship between infection and severity may be complex