The late producer’s gift for bringing in elements from dance music’s cutting edge drew all manner of music royalty – and he often made them sound better than ever before

• William Orbit, pop producer for Madonna, All Saints and more, dies aged 69

William Orbit’s first band were a curious business. Torch Song had one foot in the pop mainstream – their biggest success came about when one of their tracks was featured on the soundtrack of the Tom Hanks-starring sex comedy Bachelor Party – and one in the left field: they recorded at London’s anarchist hub Centro Iberico, famed for staging gigs by Crass and Throbbing Gristle; they covered the Velvet Underground’s Venus in Furs. Mothdoom Ecstasy is very much of its time – stuttering samples, booming drums – but in its hazy synth textures and ethereal female vocals, you can definitely hear intimations of Orbit’s future approach.

Worried about microplastics? Whether it’s titanium pans or loose-leaf tea, here are the changes you can make right now

• The best sustainable subscriptions for greener, easier living

It all started with a black plastic spatula. When an article went viral in 2024 for suggesting we may be unwittingly infusing our food with harmful chemicals by using one, I, along with many I know, lobbed ours into the bin (without a backup in place, to the annoyance of my partner).

It later transpired that the study the article was based on had miscalculated the dosage by a factor of 10. UK regulations also limit certain hazardous substances in plastics, meaning that risks should be lower in this country. But alas, it was too late for our poor spatula.

Hiring a convicted antisemite as an adviser; rabble rousing at a time of violent unrest. She is still in a race to the bottom and making too many mistakes

The Keminaissance will be delayed. For nearly a year, Conservative optimists and a clutch of supportive pundits have been forecasting an upturn in the fortunes of Kemi Badenoch, confident that her party will emerge from the crater it fell into in 2024, overtake Reform UK to become once again the main party of the right and, who knows, maybe, with a following wind, even push Labour aside and return to government. Every sign of strength from the Tory leader – a robust conference speech here, a viral clip on social media there – has been hailed as evidence of the coming Keminaissance. On the evidence of the past week or so, we will have to wait a little longer.

It’s quite true that Badenoch’s personal ratings are better than those of her party. True, too, that she ended a long losing streak when the Tories won a Westminster seat at the Aberdeen South byelection in June. But there is a more recent election result that should temper the boosters’ enthusiasm, along with a series of decisions that confirm that, when it comes to both strategy and judgment, Badenoch is badly lacking.

Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist

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Finding treasures is part of the fun of travel. Here, experts share their top tips on what to buy where

Speciality tea

Big cheques, standing ovations, irate adults – there are surprising sides to composing a children’s TV theme tune. From Bluey to Byker Grove, the creators of the best reveal the secrets

How do you write TV theme music for children? Does it make you mega-rich? And does the tune itself eventually drive you (and parents everywhere) nuts?

We tracked down the creators of half-a-dozen of TV’s greatest children’s show themes in order to find out. As Bluey’s Joff Bush told us: “The key lesson is that if you’re going to write a theme tune, make sure you really like it because you’re going to hear it a helluva lot!”

With more than 7m pairs reportedly sold in 2025, Meta’s Ray-Ban smartglasses are fast becoming the world’s most popular new gadget.

But while supporters say they are transforming photography and accessibility, others have labelled them ‘pervert glasses’, with some UK pubs and restaurants, including Wetherspoons, banning the technology from their premises.

Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian’s deputy Opinion editor Kirsty Major

Exclusive: Seven in 10 survey respondents expect services to be reduced or shut, while more than half anticipate job losses

Millions of adults and children in England face being forced to wait longer for mental health care, with more than two-thirds of NHS providers planning to cut services and half expected to axe jobs, the Guardian can reveal.

With mental health services already under extraordinary pressure amid soaring demand for support, experts warned the proposed cuts – drawn up by trusts to plug holes in their finances – would also have “significant” consequences for the wider NHS, the economy and public services.

Group calls for ‘thorough and transparent investigation’ of hiring of professor who resigned after his claims came under scrutiny

The University of Cambridge has announced a review into the way it vets and hires senior academic staff in an effort to fend off external and internal criticism of its appointment of Jason Arday as a professor.

But a group of Cambridge academics quickly rejected the university’s response, saying: “We strongly believe that a thorough and transparent investigation into the wider circumstances of this damaging episode is essential.”

Watchdog examines alleged failure to pursue a line of inquiry ‘which may have been relevant’

Counter-terrorism police investigating the death of Ann Widdecombe say they have reopened an old investigation into an attempted burglary last year.

The incident at an address in Greater London was reported in April 2025.

Delays to sexual assault charges and failures to report past convictions in court hearings gave Simon Levy chance to attack more women

• Violence against women: has anything changed in policing since Sarah Everard’s killing?

Catastrophic errors left a persistent and proven sex offender free before he murdered two women in London, it can be revealed.

On Friday, an Old Bailey jury found Simon Levy, 40, guilty of murdering Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo in March 2025 and Sheryl Wilkins five months later.