Wealthy oligarchs have long been both targets and tools of espionage, but recent allegations have focused on some of their ubiquitous assets: multimillion-dollar superyachts.

How are superyachts used for espionage?
Even before Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, there was "credible intelligence" that oligarchs' superyachts were being used "to conduct underwater reconnaissance around Britain", said The Sunday Times.  Many of these luxury vessels have moon pools – openings in the bottom of a ship's hull that can be "used covertly to deploy and retrieve deep-sea reconnaissance and diving equipment". 

In 2018, a "huge superyacht belonging to an oligarch pulled up alongside" the HMS Albion while it was docked in Cyprus. Royal Navy officials suspected the yacht was there "covertly to surveil the Albion", which was forced to "leave port prematurely".

Any other spy yacht claims?
China has been linked to surveillance of superyacht manufacturers themselves. In 2024, as relations "soured" between executives at Ferretti, "one of the world's leading designers of yachts", and its majority shareholder, state-owned Chinese conglomerate Weichai, Ferretti executive director Xu Xinyu "found surveillance devices in the company's Milan offices", said Bloomberg. Similar devices were reportedly also found in the offices of the firm's board secretary and Chinese-Italian translator.

Investigations are still ongoing regarding the "persons unknown" accused of "unauthorised access to a computer system and unlawful interference in private life", and no charges have been filed. Ferretti "denied that there was tension between management and its Chinese shareholder", said Bloomberg.

How is the UK tackling the spying threat?
Alongside Nato and European allies, the UK is "strengthening our response to ensure that Russian ships and aircraft cannot operate in secrecy near the UK or near Nato territory", a Ministry of Defence spokesperson told Newsweek. That includes "enhancing the security of critical offshore infrastructure" and using AI to "detect and minimise threats to undersea infrastructure", including espionage devices.

A punter from Munster has scooped €250 million (£215 million) in the largest EuroMillions jackpot win ever in Ireland. But while many may envy the as-yet-unknown ticket holder, it could "turn out to be a deal with the devil", said Metro. Some winners' lives have taken a "turn for the worse" after claiming their cash.  

'Cursed' wins
Lee Ryan splashed out on luxury cars, a helicopter and mansion after winning £6.5 million on the National Lottery in 1995, but a string of failed investments left him penniless and sleeping rough, said The Mirror. Now working as a painter and decorator, he told the paper that his jackpot win was "cursed". In 2002, rubbish collector Michael Carroll also hit the headlines with his lottery win of £9.7 million but, nine years later, he was declared bankrupt. During that time, he had married and separated and appeared in court more than 30 times.

Some jackpot winners become targets for criminals. Four years after Abraham Shakespeare won $31 million (£27 million) in a Florida lottery in 2006, his bullet-riddled body was found under a concrete patio slab. A woman convicted of his murder was also accused of withdrawing money from his account, said ABC News.

'Increased' life satisfaction
Despite stories of "cursed" lottery windfalls, evidence points to a much happier ending for most. It's been alleged that 70% of lottery winners end up bankrupt within a few years, but the National Endowment for Financial Education in America, the supposed source of this claim, said that statistic was "not backed" by its research.

A 2021 study by the German Institute of Labor Economics suggested that winning the lottery could strengthen close relationships. And a long-term review of Swedish lottery winners, published in The Review of Economic Studies, found that most enjoy "sustained increases in overall life satisfaction".

It may be "psychologically useful" for the less fortunate to imagine they'd be "worse off with more money", said Martha Gill in The Observer. But the "platitude that money doesn't buy happiness" appears to be a "myth".

June is a prime time to visit a pick-your-own farm, with strawberries at their peak and cherries, raspberries, gooseberries and blackcurrants also in season. Here are some great places to take your fruity pick (check before you go, though, as many farms require you to pre-book a time slot).

Rectory Farm, Oxfordshire
In the "pretty countryside" just a few miles northeast of Oxford sits Rectory Farm, said Rebecca Seal in National Geographic. After filling your baskets – artichokes, broad beans and raspberries are currently in season – enjoy a "restorative slice of cake" in the "excellent" cafe.

Scaddows Farm, Derbyshire
This tranquil farm and vineyard is located in Ticknall, in the "lush hills of Derbyshire", said Ria Ghei in DerbyWorld. From June, you can soak up the sunshine and "scenic greenery" while you pick blackcurrants, strawberries, raspberries and plump gooseberries.

Hewitts Farm, Kent
This family-run farm just outside Orpington is a "produce lover's dream", said Katie McCabe in Time Out. Expect plenty of strawberries and raspberries over the summer, along with spinach, chard and beetroot. Or you could "hold out" for autumn, when the trees are laden with apples.

Craigies Farm, South Queensferry
Fourth-generation farmer John Sinclair and his wife took over a struggling cattle farm near Edinburgh and transformed it into this "thriving" produce farm, said Seal in National Geographic. Be sure to visit in July and August for peas, broad beans and redcurrants.

Working people paid for Tory failure – we're putting more money in people's pockets
Rachel Reeves in The Mirror
People "were failed" by a Tory government who "crashed the economy and sent prices soaring", writes Chancellor Rachel Reeves, but Labour has "acted to stabilise the economy" and "it's working". As part of "our promise" to deliver change, we've "boosted the minimum wage" and funded free school breakfast clubs. And now we're "protecting" low-income households and pensioners by extending the Warm Homes Discount, and "investing in Britain's renewal, to make you and your family better off".

This is JD Vance's chance to become president – and he is squandering it
James Ball in The i Paper
Getting the US involved in Israel's strikes on Iran is "exactly the sort of thing" that Donald Trump's supporters "elected him to stop", writes James Ball. Yet Maga faithfuls are "staying oddly silent, most notably among them Vice President JD Vance". Choosing to "shut up and stay in line" may avoid a "confrontation with his boss", but Vance "may come to regret" that decision when Maga goes looking for a new isolationist "avatar" for the 2028 presidential race.

It's no longer the 90s, but Pamela Anderson still makes women feel inadequate
Jemima Lewis in The Telegraph
Back in the 1990s, no one "would have pegged Pamela Anderson to become feminism's last redoubt", writes Jemima Lewis. The "Baywatch" star "made other women feel bad about themselves" just "by comparison". Now, at 57, she's "walking the red carpet" without any make-up, "in order to 'challenge beauty norms'". But "the trouble is, she looks incredible", with "cheekbones like scythes". For the rest of us 50-somethings, it's a "challenge alright; just not the one Anderson thinks".