From Rocky Horror to the Muppets, Curry’s extraordinary career made him world-famous. Then, a stroke left him paralysed. The actor talks about his cocaine years, his friendship with David Bowie – and the moment his mother came at him with a knife

‘It’s difficult not to see it as a kind of finale,” says Tim Curry of his memoir, Vagabond. That he’s written it at all is a surprise. Curry has always liked the comfort of privacy – my efforts to persuade him to do an interview with the Guardian began more than five years ago. At 79, he still prefers looking forward, too, which is how he has covered so much ground in his career.

Boundless energy has been the actor’s hallmark. He once exerted so much while filming the murder mystery comedy Clue – in which he plays the frantic, sharp-tongued butler Wadsworth – that a nurse who took his blood pressure on set told him he was at risk of having a heart attack.

I’ve always tried to make my villains amusing. It gives them a bit more edge

From avoiding overtightened bolts to giving it a good clean, here are the easy and affordable habits mechanics swear by

• The best bike locks in the UK for all budgets

Cycling is a cheap, accessible and green way to get around, and in most cities and built-up areas it can often be faster than any alternative. But owning and maintaining a bike isn’t free. Buying one is a significant investment – even if you spread the cost using initiatives such as the cycle to work scheme. New parts and maintenance fees don’t come cheap, either, especially if you run your daily commuter into the ground without regular TLC. “If you don’t want to maintain your bike, [eventually] it’s gonna cost you,” says Lee Carter, head mechanic at Bespoke Cycling.

But you don’t need an A-level in Allen keys to make your bike last longer and keep it in working order. In fact, it’s possible to reduce trips to your local bike shop with a few simple tricks. Here, mechanics and experts share their advice and insight around cleaning, essential maintenance and when it’s best to call in the specialists.

Clubs’ plan to open new ground in 2031 has been met by local opposition but is required for hosts to stay competitive

A protester outside held a sign insisting “San Siro belongs to the citizens” but Milan’s city council was about to change all that, voting to sell one of the world’s most famous football stadiums to tenants who plan to tear it down. Milan have played home games at what is officially the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza since 1926. Inter moved in with them 21 years later. They propose to build a shared home on the same grounds.

It has been a long time coming. The clubs announced joint plans for a new stadium as long ago as June 2019, with an intention to complete work within three years. International architecture firms were consulted and designs made public, but they never progressed out of this first phase.

It’s Keir Starmer’s turn to muddle through a problem that none of his predecessors solved: can his cash-poor nation afford to offend a superpower?

It has all the makings of a gripping spy novel.

Two young men accused of passing secrets to China, who vigorously protest their innocence, are swept up in a swirling political intrigue with a shadowy semi-mythical figure (in the shape of veteran Downing Street national security adviser Jonathan Powell) at its heart. Yet the story dominating domestic headlines as MPs returned from recess this week is not fiction, or at least not entirely.

Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnist

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Premium commuter cans upgraded with longer battery life, USB-C audio and improved sound, but still cost a lot

Bose has updated its top-of-the-line noise-cancelling headphones with longer battery, USB-C audio and premium materials, making the commuter favourites even better.

The second-generation QuietComfort Ultra headphones still have an expensive price tag, from £450 (€450/$450/A$700), which is more than most competitors, including Sony’s WH-1000XM6.

Keir Starmer is considering Aadhaar as model for UK, but detractors warn of ‘digital coercion’ and security breaches

It is often difficult for people in India to remember life before Aadhaar. The digital biometric ID, allegedly available for every Indian citizen, was only introduced 15 years ago but its presence in daily life is ubiquitous.

Indians now need an Aadhaar number to buy a house, get a job, open a bank account, pay their tax, receive benefits, buy a car, get a sim card, book priority train tickets and admit children into school. Babies can be given Aadhaar numbers almost immediately after they are born. While it is not mandatory, not having Aadhaar de facto means the state does not recognise you exist, digital rights activists say.

Israeli defence minister says delay in returning bodies would be a violation of ceasefire as forces open fire on people approaching troops in northern Gaza

• Israelis and Palestinians celebrate as truce brings hope of ‘era of peace’

Despite the ceasefire agreement, a medical source told Palestinian news agency Wafa today that four people were killed when Israeli drones fired at residents inspecting their homes in Gaza’s eastern Shejaiya neighbourhood. We have not yet been able to independently verify this information.

Israel’s military said it opened fire on people who it says approached Israeli forces operating in the northern Gaza Strip.

PM hails Trump’s part in Middle East peace deal but says what matters now is implementation

Europe’s most senior human rights official has called on Shabana Mahmood to review UK protest laws after mass arrests over the ban on Palestine Action, Rajeev Syal reports.

The Commons authorities have confirmed that there will be two statements in the chamber after 12.30pm: first, Keir Starmer on the Middle East peace summit, and then Hilary Benn, the Northern Ireland secretary, on the Northern Ireland Troubles bill being published today.

Exclusive: 13 mainly northern MPs say a new system should better account for higher house prices in south-east

More than a dozen Labour MPs have written to Rachel Reeves calling on her to scrap council tax, as the chancellor faces mounting pressure to overhaul Great Britain’s property taxes in next month’s budget.

Thirteen MPs, mainly from seats in northern England, wrote to Reeves last month asking her to abolish the tax and replace it with another system that better accounts for the steep rise in house prices in London and the south-east over the last 35 years.

Counter-terror laws must not place unnecessary limits on ‘fundamental rights’, Michael O’Flaherty tells Shabana Mahmood

Europe’s most senior human rights official has called on Shabana Mahmood to review UK protest laws after mass arrests over the ban on Palestine Action.

Michael O’Flaherty, the Council of Europe commissioner for human rights, said that the current legal framework allows UK authorities to “impose excessive limits on freedom of assembly and expression, and risk overpolicing” in a letter sent to the home secretary.