I found solace in looking through my father’s slides after he died. They made me gasp – and my childhood turned from monotonous monochrome to glorious Technicolor

When my sister handed me a box of old Kodachrome slides last summer, I almost didn’t bother looking through them. Unusually for pre-smartphone times, my camera-crazy father had extensively documented our lives, filling dozens of photo albums. What could the transparencies possibly reveal that we hadn’t already seen countless times? I dimly remembered him ambushing us to watch slideshows, until we were old enough to rebel.

My father died in 2012. Not long before, I had developed an interest in photography myself and, after he was gone, I found solace in my viewfinder. It was, and still is, a way of feeling connected to him. What prompted me to set up my iPad as a makeshift lightbox to view the slides was technical interest.

At home, the machinery of government creaks badly – abroad, a leaden UK lags far behind dynamic competitors. A radical overhaul is needed

Governments come into office brimming with confidence. They say their election win is a mandate for change, and that work on its manifesto pledges will start immediately. Invariably, there is talk of sleeves being rolled up.

Sooner or later, there is a rude awakening. Ministers push buttons and pull levers expecting things to happen instantly, and are shocked to find that they don’t. The reason for that is simple: the British state is big – and getting bigger – but as an agent of change it is not up to the job.

Larry Elliott is a Guardian columnist

The Venezuelan oil industry is ‘a total bust’ according to Donald Trump, something he has promised to ‘fix’ after attacking Caracas and seizing the country’s leader. But with analysts estimating it could take up to 14 years and billions to fix, what is in it for the US president? Jillian Ambrose, the Guardian’s energy correspondent, explains why Venezuela’s dense, sticky oil is so valuable to Trump

State residents worth more than $1bn could face one-off, 5% tax to help fund education, food assistance and healthcare

A battle is brewing in California over a plan to tax billionaires – with tech titans divided over whether they should pay up, or flee the state.

Under a tax proposal that could be put to voters this November, any California resident worth more than $1bn would have to pay a one-off, 5% tax on their assets to help cover education, food assistance and healthcare programs in the state.

Supporters serenaded Solskjær, Carrick and Fletcher among others at Burnley and staged a brief anti-Ratcliffe protest

“Jim can’t fix this,” the sign said. Bright red letters nestled on a white background, a stark contrast in an away end at Turf Moor full of dark-coated figures in front of which they were held aloft. It was small, a couple of square metres of material, maybe. But the message to Sir Jim Ratcliffe was powerful. Remember your lane, Jim? Yeah, stick in it, pal.

As Darren Fletcher, in Manchester United blazer and red tie, strolled along the touchline, flanked by tracksuited his former teammate and friend Jonny Evans, the flag flew. And then it was gone. The protest was done.

Zara believes only slippers should be worn in the house, but Maya is against ‘barefoot living’. You decide who is putting their foot in it

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Maya covers our floors in dirt, germs and scuff marks. To me, it’s gross

Not every shoe fits neatly on the rack, and sometimes life is a mess and I just forget. That doesn’t make me lazy, or a bad housemate

Exclusive: Dulwich college contemporaries say Reform leader often used antisemitic language and racial epithets

Thirty-four school contemporaries of Nigel Farage have now come forward to claim they saw him behave in a racist or antisemitic manner, raising fresh questions over the Reform leader’s evolving denials.

One of those with new allegations is Jason Meredith, who was three years below Farage at Dulwich college, a private school in south-east London. He claims that Farage called him a “paki” and would use taunts such as “go back home”.

Change likely to be welcomed by pub trade and opposition but will represent yet another government climbdown

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Ministers are preparing to U-turn over changes to business rates for pubs after a wave of disquiet from the hospitality industry, the Guardian has been told.

In yet another government climbdown on a contentious policy, details of revisions to the changes to business rates, which were set to particularly affect the hospitality industry, are to be announced in the next few days.

Up to 30cm of snow expected in Wales and Midlands with winds of up to 100mph across exposed hills and coastal areas

Red and amber weather warnings have been issued across the UK as Storm Goretti evolves into a “weather bomb” expected to bring up to 30cm of snowfall in Wales and the Midlands as well as winds of up to 100mph (160km/h) across exposed hills and coastal areas.

The Met Office on Thursday described Goretti, the first named storm of 2026, as a “multi-hazard event” with heavy rain, strong winds and snow, set to be more powerful than Storm Ciarán in 2023 and the Great Storm of 1987.

Donald Trump repeated his claims that the ICE agent who fatally shot Renee Nicole Macklin Good acted in self-defense; DHS secretary Kristi Noem expected to speak in New York

Since early December, agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations – many of them masked and brandishing rifles – have grabbed people at hardware stores and gyms, or outside homes and schools around the cities.

They have violently tackled undocumented immigrants as well as US citizens, including advocates and protestors.