Labour has pledged to nationalise Britain's train lines within five years if elected, in what the party called the "biggest overhaul to our railways in a generation".

What is Labour proposing?
The party plans to put all passenger rail under national ownership once private contracts expire, in a bid to "cut waste and claw back shareholder dividends", said The Guardian. Freight rail for cargo would remain privately owned, however, as would the rolling stock itself.

A new public body called Great British Railways (GBR) would take over operation of the nationalised network. GBR would be run by rail experts and given an "overarching remit" to "improve passenger services", said The Times. The system would be overseen by a new watchdog, the Passenger Standards Authority.

Labour has already outlined plans to simplify ticketing, and passengers would also be offered "best-price ticket guarantees" and automatic compensation for delays. "But there has been no promise to cap or reduce fare levels," said the paper.

Would rail services really improve?
Public support for nationalisation has increased in recent years, with a recent poll by Focaldata for campaign group 38 degrees finding 66% of voters in favour.

Some are calling for Labour to go further. The We Own It campaign group said that total nationalisation, including rolling stock and freight, would enable Labour to "make the investments in our railway that are needed to make it work for passengers".

But some industry insiders fear that attempting to renationalise rail could have "unintended consequences" that lead to "poorer service for passengers and major costs to the taxpayer", said the i news site.

The plans have also been met with scepticism within Westminster. "Radical change is needed," said Labour's Lord Berkeley and Conservative MP Martin Vickers in The Telegraph, but nationalising rail when public services are already under strain is "folly".

Instead, Britain should seek to have the "best of both worlds", increasing public oversight while "harnessing the private sector's track record of investment and innovation".

"The production is slick, the pundits are sharp and the players are gods," said Sky News, but these sporting professionals have keyboards and headphones – and their UK tournaments are getting bigger and bigger.

Around 15,000 fans from across the world gathered on Sunday to watch gamers play "Dota 2" for a $300,000 (£240,000) first prize at ESL One Birmingham, a "major event in the esports calendar", said the BBC. The UK "has a thriving grass-roots scene" and this will be "a bumper year for big spectator tournaments".

'Training regimens'
Esports (or electronic sports) differs from standard video gaming in that it "usually has an engaging spectator element to it, like traditional sports", said British Esports.

Players have boot camps and "schedules that include training regimens" and "psychological visits", Alvaro Sanchez Velasco, product manager at ESL One Birmingham, told Sky News. And the top-flight gamers are paid like pros: they can make $10,000 (£8,000) a month, plus tournament winnings and sponsorship deals.

As for the fans, "there isn't the same territorial spirit that comes with supporting a particular football team", as "mostly this is about respect for the individual players".

'Kickstart major moves'
In recent years, the UK esports scene has "felt neglected", said Esports.net, with tournaments "too few and far between". Now, they are "running wild". Investment from organisations and government has bolstered the gaming infrastructure, and this year the country is hosting "some of the most impactful events in the business".

These include the Blast Premier Spring Final at Wembley Arena in June and the huge League of Legends Worlds finals at the O2 arena in London in November. This number of major title events "would be unheard of just a year or two ago", said Esports Insider. If handled well, they could "kickstart major moves in the UK esports industry".

As educational institutions embrace gaming too, "it seems like UK esports is growing in popularity at a rapid pace".

The line-up for the world's largest classical music festival has been released, with this year's BBC Proms performers ranging from Yo-Yo Ma to Florence Welch – and even Daleks.

Stretching over eight weeks from 19 July to 14 September, the Proms programme balances "innovation with tradition" over its 90 concerts, said The Guardian.

Opening night will feature Hong Kong-born conductor Elim Chan leading the BBC Symphony Orchestra in Beethoven's "Symphony No 5" and Handel's "Music for the Royal Fireworks".

If your musical taste is for "great choral-and-orchestral big beasts", said The Telegraph, look out for Handel's "Messiah"; Bach's "St John Passion"; Mahler's "5th Symphony"; and, "most blazingly dramatic of all", Verdi's "Requiem".

A "rare visit" by legendary conductor Daniel Barenboim is sure to be a hot ticket, The Guardian said. He will lead the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra that he and the Palestinian-American academic Edward Said founded 25 years ago. The performance will be the first by the 81-year-old in the UK since 2019.

And "beyond the core classical content", the programme includes music from "Doctor Who" performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, a celebration of 1970s disco, and appearances by Florence Welch and Sam Smith, who will perform their breakthrough albums in orchestral settings.

The Proms "strives to appeal to younger listeners without talking down to them", said The Telegraph. "Very young kiddies will thrill" to the CBeebies Prom: Wildlife Jamboree, and can also enjoy "proper grown-up music by Telemann, Ravel, Britten, etc" in the CBeebies Prom: Ocean Adventure.

The SNP's contradictory coalition is fracturing
David Gauke in The New Statesman
Scotland's recent political history is "very different to that of most western democracies", writes former Conservative MP David Gauke, but if the SNP continues to define itself "as a party principally for progressive activists", it will soon test "the limits of Scottish exceptionalism". The party has "built a broad but contradictory coalition" united over an issue of "diminished relevance" – Scottish independence. The SNP's next leader may find that holding that coalition together is "beyond them".

Bank spying powers are Orwellian: the government must rethink
Andy Silvester in City A.M.
"Slippery slopes are so named for a reason," says Andy Silvester. The metaphor "could not be more appropriate" for the "snooping powers" that the government would have if the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill makes it to the statute book. The bill would require banks to report suspicious activity in the bank accounts of benefits claimants, which some would argue is "sensible" fraud prevention. "But even if you do think that's acceptable, where do we stop?"

How disinformation works – and how to counter it
The Economist's editorial board
"The dangers of disinformation need to be taken seriously and studied closely," says The Economist. But they are "still uncertain". As yet, there is "little evidence that disinformation alone" can sway election outcomes. "For centuries there have been people who have peddled false information", yet "societies have usually found ways to cope". Disinformation may be taking on a "more sophisticated shape today", but "it has not yet revealed itself as an unprecedented and unassailable threat".