It's the grandest and glitziest event in the fashion calendar, but this year’s Met Gala has sparked backlash thanks to its new honorary chairs, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos. The billionaire Amazon founder’s involvement has led to boycotts and criticism of the event. Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian’s fashion and lifestyle editor, Morwenna Ferrier

More than a quarter of 20- to 34-year-olds still live with their parents. No wonder they are escaping into virtual properties that they can decorate and furnish as they like

Name: Cosy gaming.

Age: Has its origins in social simulation games such as Harvest Moon (1996) and The Sims (2000).

What’s home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf playing at with his new policy? Is it about pushing Labour further to the right, or just an attempt to ramp up rage and resentment?

All parties struggle to invest local elections with meaning, because no party can alter the consequences of what is coming up to two decades of austerity. They can promise they’ll work hard for local people, and many of them will, but they can’t change the maths of inadequate funding and soaring social care costs. All they can do is hope to exist in an affluent enough area.

Instead, the results are taken as a popularity contest, which – if things go your way – will hopefully supply enough buoyancy to last into a general election, and, if things don’t, will hopefully evaporate.

Inspired in part by Zohran Mamdani’s NY mayorship, Rostam Batmanglij’s gorgeous new album fuses Americana with sounds of the Middle East. So why isn’t his mum happy?

The first song Rostam Batmanglij ever learned to play on guitar was Chuck Berry’s Johnny B Goode, the quintessentially American rock’n’roll hit about being an American rock’n’roll star. “It doesn’t get more American than that,” he says, with a smile.

The 42-year-old superproducer (Frank Ocean, Charli xcx, Carly Rae Jepsen) and former Vampire Weekend member is sitting across from me in a coworking cafe in London, trying to explain the fixation he’s always had with US culture. “My brother was born in France, my parents were born in Iran,” he says. “But I was in my mum’s womb when I first came to America. My position is different. So what is my relationship to the American flag? What is my relationship to American citizenship?”

For years we have been told the best way to get fitter and stronger is to lift something heavy, whether that’s a barbell or our own bodyweight. What if how we put it down was just as important?

We all love a power move, such as running, jumping, throwing balls, swinging kettlebells or scaling walls. In comparison, deliberate, controlled movement can seem a bit boring. But this slower side of exercise is frequently safer and less physically demanding than its more showy rival. And according to the latest research, one form of it is more effective than it has traditionally been given credit for.

“Eccentric exercise training provides numerous benefits for physical fitness and overall health, making it suitable for a wide range of individuals,” Prof Kazunori Nosaka writes in a new paper published in the Journal of Sport and Health Science. It “offers unique advantages over concentric or isometric exercise, particularly in promoting neuromuscular adaptations”.

Whether it’s a new season scent or a springy running shoe, your April favourites show you’re ready for a fresh start

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It’s easy to feel hopeful in spring, with blossom all around and sunny days bringing the promise of summer ahead. It feels like a fresh start, and it’s clear from your favourite things in April that you’re looking for rejuvenation.

Maybe that’s a new scent, or a cabin bag for a holiday. Perhaps it’s a health reset, with a pair of running shoes to kickstart better habits, or a celebrity-endorsed supplement. You’ve also loved sub-£20 skincare basics and high-street looks inspired by Matthieu Blazy’s Chanel. Here are your favourite things from April.

US president’s comment echoes threat that ‘whole civilisation will die’ as tension over strait of Hormuz ramps up again

• Donald Trump sends warships to break Iran’s strait of Hormuz blockade

We have a bit more of the statement from Maj Gen Ali Abdollahi, the commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters, who said earlier that the US or any other foreign armed forces would be attacked if they entered the strait of Hormuz (see post at 07.39 for more details). Abdollahi also said:

We will maintain and vigorously manage the security of the strait of Hormuz with all our might, and we inform all commercial ships and tankers to refrain from any attempt to transit without the coordination of the armed forces stationed in the strait of Hormuz, so as not to jeopardise their security.

Labour leadership challenge in wake of disastrous local poll results could unleash chaos in party, MPs told

Cabinet ministers have told mutinous Labour MPs that any attempt to oust Keir Starmer after a potentially disastrous set of election results this week would unleash chaos for the party that would not be easily overcome.

Several, however, told the Guardian that even with the prime minister’s determination to stay in Downing Street after Thursday’s vote, the mood on the backbenches was febrile and events could yet spiral out of control.

Counter-terror police investigate latest incident after series of attacks on Jewish-linked premises

Two people have been arrested as part of a counter-terrorism investigation into a suspected arson attack at a memorial wall in Golders Green.

A 46-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman were arrested at an address in Romford, east London, where officers were also carrying out searches, the Metropolitan police said.

Prime minister uses European Political Community summit to begin negotiations for UK participation in scheme

Keir Starmer has said the benefit of joining the European Union’s £78bn loan scheme for Ukraine “outweighs the cost” as he argued the continent must move at pace to bolster its own defence.

The prime minister, who said the UK’s involvement in the recovery loan plan would also help create jobs at home, acknowledged that tensions were high between Donald Trump and Europe, particularly over military issues.