One of the world’s biggest and most prestigious art events is facing a storm of controversy, resignations and boycotts over the ongoing wars in Europe and the Middle East. The 61st edition of the Venice Biennale, held every two years, began on Tuesday “under grey clouds and rain showers”, reflecting an atmosphere dominated by “political tension, parties and protest”, said Lanre Bakare in The Guardian.

Who’s angry and why?
Last week, the entire five-person Biennale jury resigned over the decision to allow Russia to participate. Russia did not take part in the past two editions because of the outcry over its war in Ukraine, but was allowed to reopen its pavilion this year in what The New York Times called a “soft-power opportunity” for the Kremlin.

Defending the decision, the Biennale described itself as an “open institution” that “rejects any form of exclusion or censorship of art”. But Italy’s Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli boycotted the opening in protest, and the European Commission has threatened to terminate or suspend its €2 million (£1.73 million) grant for the exhibition.

In letters seen by the Financial Times, the commission warned that Russia’s participation would violate a ban on “providing services” to the Kremlin, as the pavilion is owned by Vladimir Putin’s government. Faced with the threat of further protests and boycotts ahead of the public opening this Saturday, organisers bowed to pressure and agreed to close the Russian pavilion to the public.

What about Israel?
After shuttering its Biennale pavilion in 2024 amid growing condemnation of its Gaza occupation, Israel is back this year. But the jury’s decision not to award artists from countries whose leaders are facing charges of crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court includes Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as Putin.

“Their decision discriminated against me on a racial basis,” said the Romanian-born Israeli sculptor Belu-Simion Fainaru, who is representing Israel. “I’m an artist and have equal rights, and I can’t be judged by belonging to a country or a race. I should just be judged on the quality and message of my art.”

NHS patients are enduring “rounds of phone calls and anxiety” to secure their prescriptions amid a worsening shortage of key pharmaceuticals, said the BBC. Access to prescription medication in England is “at its most fragile point in years”, with people with heart conditions, increased stroke risk, eye infections, bipolar disorder and ADHD among those struggling to obtain medications on which they depend.

‘Significant pressure’
Medicines UK, which represents drugmakers responsible for 85% of all NHS prescriptions, warned last month that shortages of certain active pharmaceutical ingredients could place “significant pressure” on the health service this summer.

Affected drugs include those containing aspirin and paracetamol, as they are manufactured using by-products from the petrochemical industry, which has been hit by the Strait of Hormuz blockades. Some pharmaceutical logistics routes also rely on sea and air transport hubs in the Gulf. These routes are particularly fragile because many medicines require special handling, such as continuous cold storage.

UK pharmacies are already reportedly charging 20% to 30% more for over-the-counter medicines.

‘Heavily dependent’
The NHS reimburses pharmacies a fixed amount for each medicine they dispense, and pharmacies are expected to procure the drugs at or below that price. If costs rise, a medicine can be added to the government’s price concessions list, and pharmacies are then reimbursed at the updated rate. However, when market prices rise rapidly, pharmacies may be forced to supply medicines at a loss, making it more difficult to maintain stock levels and increasing the risk of delays or unexpected shortages for patients.

The war in the Middle East has “aggravated the situation”, said Pharmacy Business, but it is “not the sole reason for the shortage”. Around 60% of shortages are caused by manufacturing bottlenecks, alongside insufficient reserves of medicines and their raw materials. The UK is currently “heavily dependent” on foreign manufacturing.

The government says it is working to boost Britain’s domestic medicine manufacturing industry. A spokesperson told The Telegraph that this includes “offering financial incentives for the manufacturing of more medicines”.

Samaritan priests raise Torah scrolls as worshippers join in a dawn Passover ceremony on top of Israel’s Mount Gerizim. Fewer than 1,000 people follow Samaritanism, a Jewish-adjacent sect with roots in the biblical region of Samaria, located in the modern-day West Bank.

John Wessels / AFP / Getty Images

You don’t need to leave the city in order to immerse yourself in the great outdoors. Whether you’re looking for animals, nature-orientated activities, or just a bit of peace and quiet, these urban farms offer it all.

Ouseburn Farm, Newcastle
Ouseburn Farm is an “explosion of natural colour” in the “monochrome of the city’s tarmac and concrete”, said Patrick Barkham in The Guardian. A fully working farm, it supplies vegetables to the “hip” restaurant next door, and also provides work experience for adults with learning difficulties.

Hackney City Farm, London
Hackney City Farm has become a “fashionable stop-off”, thanks in part to its wholesome on-site Italian café, said Rhian Daly in Time Out. The farm is not only “thriving with happy animals”, but also acts as a “vital community hub”, offering a vegetable box collection scheme and educational courses.

Poole Farm, Plymouth
Despite its proximity to busy main roads, this “unique” farm is “almost like stepping back in time”, said Katie Oborn on Plymouth Live. “Crystal clear” streams run through the farm, against the “peaceful” backdrop of lowing cows. Be sure to visit the Beaver Lookout, an “aptly named spot with a view of the river and its resident beavers”.

Meanwood Valley Urban Farm, Leeds
Meanwood began life in 1980 operating from “two old caravans and today manages a site of 26 acres”, said Sarah McPherson on Discover Wildlife. The wooded areas provide the ideal “minibeast-friendly” habitats for children to explore and are regularly visited by school groups.

Carry on vaping, Angela Rayner: voters might just like you for it
Zoe Williams in The Guardian
Angela Rayner wants to be PM and has quit vaping, and “these two facts” are “almost certainly connected”, writes Zoe Williams. But it might be a good thing for an “ambitious politician to enter the fray wearing a minor human failing very visibly on her sleeve”. To do so would “modernise respectability” in politics, and “signal a new kind of promise: a prime minister who earned the power to represent us not by their exceptionalism, but by their ordinariness”.

The brunch craze has gone too far
Stephen Bayley in The Telegraph
Breakfast’s “evolution into brunch and even the perverse ‘all-day breakfast’” is a “cadet version of performance art”, writes Stephen Bayley. Smashed avocado is now “a period piece as dated as kippers and a mug of tea”, but “buttermilk waffles and nduja yogurt rush in to fill the vacuum”. The breakfast spectacles of today are reminiscent of the Edwardian era of “luxury and excess”, when a “whole table would be devoted to porridge and its utensils”.

Prince Harry’s looking desperate – and William’s not about to feel sorry for him
Chris Riches in the Daily Express
Prince Harry and Meghan are expected to “jet back to the UK” this summer, writes Chris Riches, but if they “think they can just rock up” at William and Catherine’s Windsor residence, “they can dream again”. William is reportedly “still furious” about how he and his wife were treated by his brother in his “snorefest” memoir. Harry “humiliated Catherine for money and like any protective husband, William cannot forgive and forget”.