The former NBC producer says she was repeatedly assaulted by Matt Lauer, an anchor at the network – then spent years blaming herself in the aftermath. She talks about power, preconceptions and life after #MeToo

When Brooke Nevils’ allegations about the former NBC anchor Matt Lauer, one of the most powerful TV stars in the US, became public in 2019, she found herself reading comments about herself online.

Nevils, formerly a producer at NBC, had alleged in Ronan Farrow’s book Catch and Kill that Lauer had sexually assaulted her in his hotel room, after an evening drinking while covering the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Back in New York, there were other incidents – she went to his apartment, where she says it happened again. In his dressing room at the NBC studios, Nevils claims Lauer pushed her down and forced her to give him oral sex. Lauer has consistently denied Nevils’ allegations, in an open letter describing it as an “extramarital affair”. Lauer maintains that Nevils’ account is “filled with false details” creating the impression that the encounter was abusive. No charges were ever brought.

Nick Thomas-Symonds unravelled under barrage of questions – as PM instead bored some mothers and babies in Belfast

You could smell the fear among senior ministers on Wednesday night. No one wanted to be “that person”. The mug who would be sent out on the Thursday morning media round to answer the inevitable barrage of questions about Peter Mandelson. The equivalent to a two-hour-long walk of shame, and one entirely of the prime minister’s making.

The Cabinet Office minister, Nick Thomas-Symonds, thought he had all bases covered. He had skipped off early down to his south Wales constituency of Torfaen. Surely that should put him out of harm’s way. No such luck. Just after 10pm, Nick got the summons from No 10. “I’m afraid you’re it.” Nick tried to bluster. There was no way he could get to London to do the interviews, and the wifi was really terrible at home. No dice. Downing Street would send over a technician to set him up with a makeshift studio. All systems go.

The Traitors host has repeatedly joked that she’ll be ‘awful’ at presenting her new chatshow. But its launch is the highest profile thing she’s ever done – and it’s about to happen

‘They’ve given me a talkshow,” says Claudia Winkleman in the trailer. “Agreed, an error. It might be excruciating.” Such wry self-deprecation continued in the official announcement. “I’m obviously going to be awful,” she said. “That goes without saying but I’m over the moon the BBC are letting me try.”

On Friday the 13th – lucky for viewers? – the 54-year-old hosts the inaugural edition of her eponymous chatshow. The Claudia Winkleman Show’s title might not be the most exciting, but it’s a quietly revolutionary TV moment. It also makes this arguably the biggest week of the presenters’s career. No pressure.

When movie stars are no longer people we aspire to look like, does it spell the end of Hollywood’s cultural power?

Once upon a time in Hollywood, if you were an actor preparing to walk the red carpet at the Academy Awards, you might have been fasting to fit into your outfit. You definitely had access to the best hair and makeup artists, and designers and jewellers lent you thousands of dollars worth of incredible products. Maybe you even had a subtle bit of plastic surgery. You looked great!

For a long time Hollywood operated a fairly coherent beauty ideal that, however unattainable, was at least legible.

Don’t treat it as a lofty quest, experts say. You can make each day feel more meaningful with humbler methods

What makes your life meaningful?

If you don’t really know, you’re far from alone. “We’re in the middle of a meaning crisis,” says Bill Burnett, executive director of the Life Design Lab at Stanford University.

The most powerful nation in the world is now being led by a rogue president who rejects its longstanding values

As we reach the 13th day of the war in Iran – with death and destruction rippling throughout the Middle East – it’s important to bear in mind where the real failure lies.

So far, nearly 2,000 people have been killed, including 175 Iranian schoolchildren and seven US service members. At least 140 US service members have been wounded, several critically. The final tallies on both sides will almost certainly be far higher.

Pilots reportedly adopting Russian tactics as statement in name of new Iranian supreme leader vows continued attacks on US bases

• Middle East crisis – live updates

Vladimir Putin’s “hidden hand” lies behind Iran’s military methods, the UK defence secretary has said, after a night in which drones struck a base used by western forces in Erbil, northern Iraq.

John Healey was speaking after British officers at the UK’s military headquarters in north-west London told him that drone pilots from Iran and Iranian proxies were increasingly adopting tactics “from the Russians”.

US central command says aircraft lost in ‘friendly airspace’, adding that the crash was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire

• Middle East war creating ‘largest supply disruption in history of oil markets’

• How have you been affected by the latest Middle East events?

Iran started to lay mines on Thursday in the strait of Hormuz, a crucial Gulf passage for 20% of the world’s oil supply, US officials told the New York Times.

While Donald Trump has boasted that the US military has destroyed Iran’s navy, officials said Iran had started using smaller boats to place mines and enforce the closure of the strait it had imposed on its Gulf neighbours, sending oil prices sky high.

US Central Command said it was carrying out rescue efforts after it lost a military refuelling aircraft in “friendly airspace” in Iraq, while saying neither hostile or friendly fire were to blame. A statement said “rescue efforts are ongoing” after an incident involving two planes, the second of which landed safely.

The KC-135 aircraft that crashed had at least five crew members onboard, according to US official, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity. US central command said the crash was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.

Israel launched fresh strikes on Tehran and Beirut.

Vast release of emergency crude reserves fails to quell mounting fears about supply crunch, rattling markets

• Middle East crisis – live updates

Oil markets are facing the “largest supply disruption in history” as the war in Iran continues to block tankers from shipping millions of barrels of crude each day, the world energy watchdog has warned.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) said the supply shock ignited by Iran’s effective blockade of the strait of Hormuz meant the world faced a deeper crisis than after the Yom Kippur war of 1973 and the 2022 outbreak of war in Ukraine.

Tehran will keep strait of Hormuz closed and continue attacks on US assets, speech read out on state TV says

• Middle East crisis – live updates

Iran issued its first message in the name of its new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, on Thursday, saying it would keep the strait of Hormuz closed and continue to attack US bases in the region.

The missive was read out on state TV rather than delivered live or on video, however, and will do little to satisfy those seeking proof that the son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is actually alive.