Five big stories<\/p>\n
UK politics | Keir Starmer\u2019s premiership has been pushed to the brink of collapse after the shock resignation<\/a> <\/a>of John Healey<\/a> as defence secretary undermined his security credentials and risked shredding his remaining political authority.<\/p>\n Belfast | A monitoring group repeatedly warned the<\/a> Police Service of Northern Ireland over the past eight months that anti-immigration activists were circulating the addresses of properties that were targeted in this week\u2019s Belfast riots.<\/p>\n Middle East | Donald Trump claimed that <\/a>Washington and Tehran were on the verge of signing a peace agreement, but Iran\u2019s foreign ministry said a final decision on an agreement had not been reached.<\/p>\n UK news | A 14-year-old girl has been charged<\/a> in connection with three stabbings at a school in North Manchester, police said.<\/p>\n US news | Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX is set to launch<\/a> the biggest stock market float in history amid warnings that it may be overvalued.<\/p>\n In depth: \u2018A very intimate-seeming relationship with her fans even on the biggest scale pop music has ever seen\u2019 Illustration: Guardian Design; Matt Sayles\/AP; Beth Garrabrant; Xavi Torrent\/TAS24\/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management<\/p>\n Laura Snapes has followed Swift\u2019s evolution from the clean corkscrew curls and cowboy boots of her country roots to the sleek and bejewelled pop showgirl of the Eras tour, and the indie-inflected detours in between. And she recognises Swift as both a creative powerhouse and an acute business person who maintains meticulous control over her public image.<\/p>\n \u201cHer career is talked about alongside Madonna, Michael Jackson, the Beatles,\u201d says Laura. \u201cThat success is not just about sales or awards, of which she has very many, but the cultural impact, which is immeasurable.\u201d Few A-list pop stars, she adds, have sustained their success for as long as she has.<\/p>\n As befits a megastar of her stature, Swift rarely does traditional interviews these days. But what I want to know first is what it\u2019s like to be in the same room as her. Laura, who has met Swift several times in formal interviews and more casual settings, describes her style as \u201cvery easy and normal to talk to\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cOne time she was leaning against the kitchen counter, swigging white wine and we were talking about Sally Rooney.\u201d<\/p>\n I KNOW!!!<\/p>\n I have to take a moment to gather myself after this vignette but Laura, who would hold a masters in Swiftology should one exist (please don\u2019t write in) is more blase about all this stuff, and skips on to offer her assessment: \u201cThat\u2019s like a microcosm of how she\u2019s able to have a very intimate seeming relationship with her fans even on the biggest scale pop music has ever seen.\u201d<\/p>\n The industry<\/p>\n Composite: Guardian Design; Ethan Miller\/Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s made people think about musicians\u2019 rights for the first time ever,\u201d Laura tells me. As well as holding Spotify and Apple Music to account over royalties for streamed music, Swift famously took on industry executive Scooter Braun, who she claimed bullied her and other clients, after her former label sold him the master recording rights to her first six albums.<\/p>\n In a renegade display of self-belief, she rerecorded those albums note for note, releasing them anew with the suffix \u201cTaylor\u2019s version\u201d. They achieved blockbuster success, hollowing out Braun\u2019s investment and ultimately inspiring Eras, the highest grossing concert tour in history. And then she bought the recording rights back<\/a>.<\/p>\n Swift\u2019s business literacy is deliberate \u2013 she recalls that when her friends were watching the Disney Channel she was taking notes on VH1\u2019s Behind the Music. \u201cShe was learning what happened when careers went off the rails,\u201d Laura says. \u201cShe has changed the way that young women get to grow up in public. Previously that obsolescence was built in: you hit 27, you\u2019re seen as old hat.\u201d<\/p>\n But Swift has also set the template for younger female pop artists like Olivia Rodrigo, says Laura, who have owned their master recordings since day one because Swift showed them that negotiation was possible.<\/p>\n Nor is she a woman to make the change then leave others trailing in her sequined wake, actively boosting younger artists like Charli xcx and Sabrina Carpenter, both of whom took coveted support spots on her tours.<\/p>\n The fans<\/p>\n Illustration: Guardian Design\/Getty<\/p>\n Swift\u2019s fanbase hits different demographics, from folk like me \u2013 old enough to have made up dance moves to Papa Don\u2019t Preach, young enough to have one Taylor Swift song I can\u2019t listen to without thinking of an ex \u2013 to the enchanted primary school kids I interviewed when the Eras tour hit Edinburgh in 2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the early days, says Laura, Swift built her business on being available to fans, on email, social media, and in person after performances. She remembers one evening near London in 2019 when Swift stayed back meeting fans until 1am.<\/p>\n The detail-oriented songwriter has always enjoyed leaving secret messages for devoted fans in sleeve notes and lyrics, and these Easter eggs have become a way to maintain intimacy with fans as her enormity of her fame and the security considerations it brings make casual meet-and-greets impossible.<\/p>\n Dedicated fans still approach her work like the Rosetta Stone, Laura jokes, even though these hidden messages are now thoroughly mainstreamed.<\/p>\n What\u2019s really interesting, says Laura, \u201cis how the fans create the culture around Swift.\u201d Not just the weaving of friendship bracelets and ardently curated outfits, but, as the Eras tour progressed, a new lexicon of audience interaction built up around responses to particular sung lines and shared memes.<\/p>\n Of course, not all of Swift\u2019s message is hidden: fans love that she has the last word through their headphones. Famous diss tracks include Bad Blood (about Katy Perry, she stole her back up dancers!) and All Too Well (ex-boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal, he was emotionally distant AND WOULDN\u2019T GIVE BACK HER FAVOURITE SCARF). She also takes on media double standards about her dating back catalogue in Blank Space.<\/p>\n Vocal in her feminism, Swift condemned the supreme court\u2019s overturning of Roe v Wade in 2022 and endorsed Kamala Harris for president in 2024, signing off that particular Instagram post \u201cchildless cat lady\u2019, a pointed reference to JD Vance\u2019s delicate depiction of leading Democrats. And perhaps as necessary as her political education, Laura suggest she has \u201cgiven women younger than her a sense of how you should expect to be treated in a relationship\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a point where Swift\u2019s breakup songs evolve from \u2018you hurt me and that was bad\u2019 to \u2018you treated me poorly on a structural level, and that is even worse\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n The future<\/p>\n Composite: Guardian Design; Ezra Shaw\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Swift announced her engagement to NFL star Travis Kelce to 38m Instagram likes and prompted some rumination as to whether marital peace might dull the creative wits of pop\u2019s ultimate sceptical romantic. But Laura points out that Swift has been in a long-term relationship before \u2013 she spent six years with British actor Joe Alwyn \u2013 \u201cand she wrote great songs about the intricacy of long-term love during that time\u201d.<\/p>\n This won\u2019t be her end game, Laura insists, even though the one record that has touched on her relationship with the man she is set to marry this summer, The Life of a Showgirl, has disappointed critics and fans.<\/p>\n She has just released a song for the soundtrack of Toy Story 5, which Laura raves about as \u201cone of her best songs in years\u201d<\/a>. \u201cMaybe she wants an Oscar,\u201d Laura muses. That would leave her just needing a Tony to join the extremely short list of EGOT winners. She\u2019s got three years left to beat Jennifer Hudson and become the youngest to achieve that feat. This being Taylor Swift, if it\u2019s in the plan it may well happen.<\/p>\n Following the monumental Eras tour, Laura hopes Swift will return to live performance in a more intimate setting, like the all-day festivals she had planned after the release of the album Lover in 2019 but were paused by the pandemic.<\/p>\n \u201cThe scale of her career is such that I honestly think it would take three or four terrible albums in a row to dent her stardom,\u201d says Laura.<\/p>\n \u201cShe is the default pop star.\u201d<\/p>\n PS \u2013 don\u2019t blame me but there are 13 Taylor Swift song titles hidden in the newsletter above. Happy hunting! Reply to this email or get in touch on first.edition@theguardian.com<\/a> to let us know which ones you spotted.<\/p>\n What else we\u2019ve been readingPhotographs of David Batty as a baby. Photograph: Lydia Goldblatt\/courtesy David Batty Lydia Goldblatt lydiagoldblatt.com<\/p>\n You may have read David Batty\u2019s beautifully written piece<\/a> about meeting the woman who was forced to give him up for adoption as a baby. Now we\u2019re asking UK adult adoptees to share their own experiences<\/a> of how they navigated reunion with their birth parents. Libby<\/p>\n I loved this photoessay by Raquel Cunha<\/a> of amateur football pitches in Mexico. A spectacular view of the beautiful game. Patrick<\/p>\n This is a searing read from Joan Smith<\/a> on how David Sullivan\u2019s Sunday Sport paved the way for the 21st-century porn industry. Libby<\/p>\n World Cup 2026Ra\u00fal Jim\u00e9nez celebrates scoring his team\u2019s second goal during Mexico\u2019s lead against South Africa. Photograph: Carl Recine\/Getty Images<\/p>\n On the pitch<\/p>\n Mexico 2-0 South Africa | The co-hosts got the tournament under way with a 2-0 win <\/a>over South Africa in the opening<\/a> match. Pablo Iglesias Maurer was there to document the drama<\/a>, while protesters clashed with police on the other side of the fence. <\/p>\n South Korea 2-1 Czechia | Son Heung-min\u2019s South Korea came back from a goal down to snatch a thrilling 2-1 win over Czechia<\/a> in their World Cup Group A opener, substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu grabbing the winner in the 80th minute.<\/p>\n Off the pitch<\/p>\n Border trouble | C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire fans became the latest group to be barred from the US for the tournament on Thursday. Morgan Ofori<\/a> has recorded a video explainer about the visa problems around the competition. <\/p>\n Australia | The Socceroos have addressed growing anti-immigration sentiment in a powerful video message <\/a>ahead of the World Cup, speaking of their pride in their heritage and playing for the national team.<\/p>\n Canada | Alongside Mexico, Canada have been overshadowed as co-hosts for the tournament. Today, they kick off their campaign against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto. Do not miss our preview<\/a> of their chances, which have been hampered by the fitness of Alphonso Davies and Mo\u00efse Bombito.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s fixtures<\/p>\n Canada v Bosnia and Herzegovina, 8pm (BST), Toronto Stadium, BBC Something for the weekend<\/p>\n Our critics\u2019 roundup of the best things to watch, read, play and listen to right now<\/p>\n Paul Mercurio and Tara Morice in Strictly Ballroom. Photograph: Landmark Media\/Alamy<\/p>\n Film Music TV The front pages Photograph: The Guardian<\/p>\n \u201cHealey\u2019s shock resignation leaves Starmer on the brink\u201d, is the Guardian\u2019s front page today. The Telegraph writes \u201cHealey torpedoes Starmer\u201d, the FT says \u201cHealey quits over defence budget hole in heavy blow to Starmer\u2019s authority\u201d while the Mail exclaims \u201cGod help us!\u201d.<\/p>\n On the same story, the Times has \u201cCash row costs PM his defence ministers\u201d, the Express says \u201cPM\u2019s defence plans \u2018could make us less safe\u2019\u201d, and the i Paper leads with \u201cPrime Minister failing to defend nation, claims UK defence secretary\u201d. The Sun says \u201cThanks but no tanks\u201d and Metro headlines \u201cOur defence is in crisis!\u201d<\/p>\n Today in Focus: The Latest Defence secretary walks out with \u2018blistering\u2019 swipe at Starmer<\/p>\n John Healey has resigned as defence secretary over the government\u2019s military spending plans, in another significant blow for Keir Starmer.<\/p>\n In a scathing letter to the prime minister, Healey said the long-awaited defence investment plan \u201cfalls well short of what is required for defence\u201d and that he would have had to take decisions that \u201ccould make Britain less safe\u201d.<\/p>\n Nosheen Iqbal speaks to the Guardian\u2019s policy editor, Kiran Stacey \u2013 watch the episode on YouTube here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cartoon of the day | Ben Jennings Illustration: Ben Jennings\/The GuardianThe Upside<\/p>\n A bit of good news to remind you that the world\u2019s not all bad<\/p>\n Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, Kristen Wiig and Leslie Jones. Photograph: Hopper Stone\/Sony Pictures\/Allstar<\/p>\n
USA v Paraguay, 2am (BST) Saturday, Los Angeles Stadium, BBC<\/p>\n
Strictly Ballroom | \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606
Generations who don\u2019t know why TV\u2019s Strictly Come Dancing is called that need to catch up with Baz Luhrmann\u2019s debut directing feature from 1992, which has been rereleased in cinemas from today. It is goofy, lovable and as sweetly romantic as you like. Strictly Ballroom laid down the narrative template for Strictly Come Dancing; the film\u2019s pairing of the brilliant dancer and the gutsy ingenue became the professional\/celeb partnership on TV. It was the feelgood crowd pleaser from Australia that made Luhrmann a star, and that \u201cstrictly\u201d sounded a defiant note. Maybe every subsequent Luhrmann picture has its origin in ballroom dancing, it\u2019s a dizzy swirl of fun. Peter Bradshaw<\/p>\n
Kelsey Lu: So Help Me God | \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606
Seven years separate the release of cello-playing singer-songwriter Kelsey Lu\u2019s debut album from its follow-up. Lu has suggested the long gap was an act of artistic rebellion against a music industry obsessed with providing a constant stream of new product. So Help Me God suggests that their time away from album-making has sharpened their sense of purpose. The album\u2019s guest list is as eclectic as Lu\u2019s activities over the last seven years, but rather than jarring or showy, the appearances are beautifully sublimated. It\u2019s an album that wears its weirdness lightly, that keeps moving in unexpected directions with an impressively graceful smoothness. It\u2019s very clearly the work of someone who has their own vision and their own way of doing things. Alexis Petridis<\/p>\n
The Evil Lawyer | \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606\u2606
If the title of this Thai crime-thriller-cum-courtroom-drama feels a little splashy, wait until you meet the scoundrel in question. Her name is Jittri and she is, at least at the show\u2019s outset, a pantomime villain in a power suit, her hair even bigger than her ego. But don\u2019t be fooled; one boo-hiss baddie does not a pantomime make. Directed by Nottapon Boonprakob, whose 2025 drama Mad Unicorn won a clutch of awards, this eight-episode series may be tonally erratic and at times faintly ridiculous, but it also has confronting questions about power, corruption and systemic injustice plus a gripping, twisty plot. Lucinda Everett<\/p>\n![\"Kiran](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/110626_Kiran_Stacey.gif\")
Photograph: The Guardian<\/p>\n