The acclaimed British director said Glazer had ‘understood the possible consequences, which made him braver still’

Veteran British director Ken Loach has added his support to Jonathan Glazer over the latter’s controversial Oscar acceptance speech for The Zone of Interest.

In an interview with Variety , Loach said he had “great respect” for Glazer and that his speech was “very brave”. He added: “And I’m sure he understood the possible consequences, which makes him braver still, so I’ve got great respect for him and his work.”

Drop is sign that effects of its price cuts are waning while electric automaker’s shares have fallen nearly 30% so far this year

Tesla posted a fall in deliveries for the first time in nearly four years and missed Wall Street estimates, a sign that the effects of its price cuts are waning as the automaker battles rising competition and softer demand.

Tesla’s shares have fallen nearly 30% in value so far this year, sliding 5.7% in early trading on Tuesday.

Countries sign memorandum to develop advanced AI model testing amid growing safety concerns

The United States and Britain on Monday announced a new partnership on the science of artificial intelligence safety, amid growing concerns about upcoming next-generation versions.

The US commerce secretary, Gina Raimondo, and British technology secretary, Michelle Donelan, signed a memorandum of understanding in Washington to work jointly to develop advanced AI model testing, following commitments announced at an AI safety summit in Bletchley Park in November.

Venue was closed for renovations when fire broke out with victims believed to have been working in the building

A daytime fire at a central Istanbul nightclub that was closed for renovations has killed at least 29 people, as five people, including managers, were detained for questioning.

Firefighters and other first responders surrounded the charred and smoking entrance to the Masquerade nightclub, which occupies two floors underneath a 16-storey residential building in the Gayrettepe area of the Beşiktaş district on the European side of the Turkish city.

From Puerta del Sol plaza in Madrid to Place du Trocadéro in Paris, guides reshape stories continent tells about itself

Dodging between throngs of tourists and workers on their lunch breaks in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol plaza, we stop in front of the nearly 3-tonne statue depicting King Carlos III on a horse. Playfully nicknamed Madrid’s best mayor, Carlos III is credited with modernising the city’s lighting, sewage systems and rubbish removal.

Kwame Ondo, the tour guide behind AfroIbérica Tours, offers up another, albeit lesser-known tidbit about the monarch. “He was one of the biggest slave owners of his time,” says Ondo, citing the 1,500 enslaved people he kept on the Iberian peninsula and the 18,500 others held in Spain’s colonies in the Americas. As aristocratic families sought to keep up with the monarch, the proportion of enslaved people in Madrid swelled to an estimated 4% of the population in the 1780s.

Maimouna Jawo launches online campaign from UK after Gambian move to rescind female circumcision ban

A woman who stood up against her community and refused to be a female genital mutilation “cutter” is launching a campaign to protect tens of thousands of girls who are at renewed risk of female circumcision in her home country, the Gambia.

Maimouna Jawo, 50, who was herself subjected to FGM, has recently been granted leave to remain in the UK by the Home Office after more than a decade of waiting.

A new study suggests coffee could prevent bowel cancer reoccurring – but claims for its healing properties have abounded since the 15th century

Last week a study was published showing that people with bowel cancer who drink coffee – quite a lot of coffee, two to four cups a day – were less likely to suffer a return of the disease. Experts have said that if the results hold in further studies, coffee could be prescribed to cancer patients on the NHS. That coffee does have an effect on human function is beyond dispute – but whether that impact is beneficial or detrimental has been the subject of contention since Sufi mystics began consuming the beverage some time in the mid-15th century.

The Indigenous peoples of the forests of Kaffa in south-west Ethiopia foraged berries from wild coffee plants that were shipped across the Red Sea to prepare the decoction known as qahwa, which Yemeni Sufis incorporated into their night-time religious ceremonies to reduce their desire for sleep. Once mainstream Islamic courts ruled coffee was not intoxicating, consumption became widespread among the Muslim populations in the Middle East and the Ottoman empire.

Holmes Chapel to hold day of auditions for tour guides after thousands of fans make pilgrimage to Cheshire village

A Cheshire village that has been swamped by young visitors has appealed for tour guides with a very specific skill set: an expert knowledge of Harry Styles.

More than 5,000 fans – known as Harries – have descended on the quaint community of Holmes Chapel in the last year in a pop pilgrimage to the singer’s home town.