The actor said he wanted to fight on – but the size of a settlement offer from News Group made it financially risky to proceed further

Why did Hugh Grant settle his legal case against the Sun – even though he wanted to fight on?
The actor has accepted an “enormous” settlement from the Sun in return for dropping his claim that he was illegally targeted by the newspaper’s journalists.

Grant said he had wanted to fight the case and go to trial, where the Sun’s top executives could be called to give evidence. But he has instead concluded he cannot afford to turn down the payout from the Murdoch-owned newspaper – which he will be donating to press regulation charities.

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Actor brought legal action against News Group Newspapers over allegations of unlawful information gathering

Hugh Grant has settled a high court claim against the publisher of the Sun newspaper over allegations of unlawful information gathering, a judge has been told.

The actor brought legal action against News Group Newspapers (NGN) in relation to the Sun, alleging he was targeted by journalists and private investigators, having previously settled a claim with the publisher in 2012 relating to the News of the World. He is among a number of individuals, including the Duke of Sussex, bringing claims against NGN.

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According to an automated missive, I have the perfect set of skills to help write the first draft of AI history. It’s not a job for life, though

Say what you like about the Germans, you can always count on them to find just the right word for anything. Take “ weltschmerz ”, for example, which roughly translates to “world pain”. It signifies despair at the suffering in the world – and a deep anguish that stems from knowing that a better world is possible. Is there a more apt encapsulation of the current moment?

For the past six months I, like many others, have been suffering from an acute case of weltschmerz. As someone of Palestinian heritage I have been weighed down by survivor’s guilt as I’ve watched the unfolding genocide in Gaza. For a while, I didn’t have the emotional energy to write. The only way I could get out of bed and make it through the day was by avoiding the news completely. Which … isn’t an ideal scenario when you largely write about the news for a living. So, at one point, I decided on a career pivot and applied for various non-writing jobs, including one at a dog food manufacturer. Reader, I was rejected. In fact, I didn’t even make it to the first round of interviews; I was humbled by a dog’s dinner.

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British arm of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp empire reports near-£54m deficit due to TalkTV costs

The Sun lost £66m last year and its online audience dropped by 4 million readers as the newspaper continued to grapple with the fallout from the phone-hacking scandal.

Total losses at the Murdoch-owned tabloid have now reached £515m over the past five years, amid declining print sales and the high cost of paying damages to victims of illegal information gathering.

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Formidable foreign correspondent for the Guardian who covered major global events from the 1960s to the 90s, and commanded great respect from world leaders

As one of the first female diplomatic correspondents in the British media, Hella Pick, who has died aged 96, was at the centre of the Guardian’s coverage of superpower summitry in the final decades of the cold war. Tall and elegant, she was a commanding presence at press conferences with world leaders, and also had a rare ability – based on her careful and intelligent reporting – to win the confidence of powerful politicians and get privileged access for interviews and background briefings.

Willy Brandt , as chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany in the early 1970s, became her friend, as did Mieczyslaw Rakowski , the last prime minister of Poland in the communist era. She was also trusted by Eduard Shevardnadze , who served as Soviet foreign minister at the height of Mikhail Gorbachev ’s nuclear arms reductions and detente with the west.

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Former colleagues pay tribute to Pick, who broke into male-dominated world of foreign affairs journalism in 1950s

Hella Pick, the Guardian’s esteemed and pioneering former foreign correspondent and diplomatic editor, has died at the age of 96.

Her career spanned more than seven decades, during which she covered geopolitical upheavals and tectonic shifts in global power, and met numerous world leaders. Her last article , on the war in Gaza, was published in January.

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Attempts at mischief-making fall flat as the PM adopts his man of the people act to be questioned by Harry Cole

The Sun newspaper’s politics show, Never Mind the Ballots, leans heavily on the great soft-comedy moments of golden British TV men-talking, its name pilfered from the Buzzcocks, its graphics from Have I Got News for You.

This was a smart idea, because it looks fun, but it was also a dumb idea, because it was not fun. Even Rishi Sunak’s eyebrows flagged surprise, yet it was not surprising. Harry Cole kept promising that they were running out of time, yet time did not run out.

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Exclusive: Russian bot attempt to stir up Islamophobia also part of course on misinformation and disinformation

Fabricated stories in the Sun blaming Liverpool fans for the Hillsborough stadium disaster are among examples that will be used in a parliamentary initiative to teach MPs to recognise misinformation and disinformation.

Other examples include a Russian bot campaign on Twitter, now X, that tried to use a photograph taken in the aftermath of the Westminster Bridge attack to stir up Islamophobic hatred.

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Despite the polls, the leader wants them on side for an endorsement. Yet why bother if it would make little difference to voter numbers?

• Archie Bland is the editor of the Guardian’s First Edition newsletter

Last week, I called a senior Labour figure loyal to Keir Starmer and asked him about his leader’s efforts to court the Sun and the Times. He spoke for 15 minutes about the risks of letting a possible endorsement from the Murdoch press influence Labour, and how far the media landscape has shifted since the Sun could claim to be wot won it . As I thanked him for his time, he interrupted me. “Can I just check,” he said, a little sheepishly. “Have you heard anything?”

My source admitted the contradiction: arguing for a new settlement in his party’s relationship with the press, but unable to shake off the habits of the old one. He is not alone. “Every other conversation with a shadow cabinet minister at conference last year came back to whether the Times would back Starmer,” a Guardian colleague says. “They are obsessed.” A reporter for News UK, the title’s owner, says junior Labour staffers regularly ask for updates on their newspaper’s stance. A rival lobby journalist grumbles that Labour gives News UK outlets “special treatment”. A thinktank staffer mentions a special adviser with a Google alert for “the Sun says” and “Starmer”.

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