You don’t need a champagne supernova for your bash to go off with a bang

Bad news for me: I turn 28 this week, and I don’t feel particularly wiser. I do feel older, though. So, as you read this, you can be sure that I am probably quite drunk on sparkling wine. There’s scarcely a better excuse than a birthday, but I think we can agree that what you’re likely to be drinking at any such event will vary greatly, depending on whether or not the birthday in question is your own.

It’s always good to start off with something sparkling, which is why, for the past few years, I’ve treated myself to a bottle of Billecart-Salmon in bed, but I think I might try something a bit different this year. My mind turns to Sip Champagnes, an independent, online retailer that connects consumers with the grower champagnes of the region. It even has a sub-£45 section, which, considering that many of the grandes marques are now pushing or exceeding £50 (eek!), provides a chance to taste something new for the same price or even less than usual.

Particles are small enough to burrow into lungs, says report, with health impacts ‘more substantial than we realize’

Every breath people take in their homes or car probably contains significant amounts of microplastics small enough to burrow deep into lungs, new peer-reviewed research finds, bringing into focus a little understood route of exposure and health threat.

The study, published in the journal Plos One, estimates humans can inhale as much as 68,000 tiny plastic particles daily. Previous studies have identified larger pieces of airborne microplastics, but those are not as much of a health threat because they do not hang in the air as long, or move as deep into the pulmonary system.

The Blade Runner and Alien film-maker on his run-ins with critics, the space suits he keeps in his cellar in France – and his love of swearing

You’ve explored worlds of dystopia, historical epics and perplexing moral aspects of the universe. What idea or question has haunted you the longest? RemyNaylor
Who’s up there. He’d better show himself shortly, because we’re getting into a terrible mess down here. I mean, we are the fucking plague, 7.5 billion people, we can’t handle the planet. As you get older, you do wonder: is it going to be a guy with a long beard and long, flowing white robes, or is it just going to be a void? I don’t dwell on it. It’s weird. I feel like I’m still 21. It’s odd and strange.

Did you score a lifetime’s supply of bread for directing the Hovis adverts back in the 70s? TeeDubyaBee
No. But I ate enough Hovis as a kid in Stockton-on-Tees, with cherry jam and butter, toasted – holy shit. I did five Hovis commercials. They were all classics. The most famous is the boy walking up the hill. The first one I shot up near Halifax, in a mining town. Oddly enough, I might go back up there to do my next movie, which is a war movie [Battle of Britain], so I’m well versed in the area.

Bafta-winning actor did not enter plea to charges relating to one woman that are alleged to have taken place in January 2023

Micheal Ward, the Bafta-winning actor who starred in Top Boy and Blue Story, has appeared in court on charges of rape and sexual assault.

Ward, 27, who is also known for roles in shows and films including Small Axe, The Old Guard and Empire of Light, appeared at Thames magistrates court on Thursday wearing dark glasses and a black jacket. He spoke to confirm his name, address and date of birth during a short hearing.

The decorated Japan international on why the newly promoted side are already targeting a top-four finish in the Women’s Super League

If you’re seeking a metaphor for the London City Lionesses project, just look around their Cobdown Park training facility. It is a place in flux, a mixture of building sites contrasted against perfect pitches and other areas that have benefited from the first waves of investment by the club’s billionaire owner, Michele Kang.

Keeping up with the team’s incomings and outgoings is as hard as tracking the movement of rubble on site: the arrival of Alanna Kennedy and Katie Zelem from Angel City on Wednesday added to the other 12 new players who have already filed through the doors this summer. London City mean business on their arrival in the Women’s Super League.

Overnight raid kills at least 14 as European leaders condemn ‘deliberate’ targeting of civilians and institutions

Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko has now responded to the overnight Russian attacks on Kyiv, criticising Moscow for “horrific and deliberate killing of civilians.”

“The Russians are not choosing to end the war, only constant expansion of atrocities,” she said.

“Overnight in Kyiv, dozens of buildings were hit: residential houses, office centers, civilian enterprises. Among them also the building where the European Union Delegation to Ukraine is located.

Russians now believe that they have paralyzed Ukraine’s allies with feigned plans for ‘negotiations’ and endless delays that only serve as methods to buy time with the true goal only of preventing sanctions.

“My thoughts are with all those affected by the senseless Russian strikes on Kyiv which have damaged the British Council building.

Putin is killing children and civilians, and sabotaging hopes of peace.