Some analysts claim investment bank set supplier on course for collapse before selling it in 2017

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The investment bank that sold Thames Water in 2017 after loading the company with debt has said that it is “very proud” of its record, even as the water utility teeters on the verge of collapse.

Australia-headquartered Macquarie led a consortium that owned Thames Water from 2006 until 2017. Macquarie has been criticised by some politicians and analysts for its control of the business, accusing the bank of setting it on course for financial collapse.

People queued calmly for torches and shared radios, but our vulnerability in an internet-reliant world was badly exposed

At the entrance to a healthcare centre on Trafalgar Street, in my densely populated, central Madrid neighbourhood, somebody had stuck a sign: “We ask for patience and common sense.” The door was half open as doctors and nurses calmly tended to emergencies inside.

Patience and common sense is a very good way to describe what I witnessed in Madrid throughout the big blackout . We had no light, no power, no phone signal, not even water in some apartment buildings.

If your evening meals are getting a bit samey, our roster of cooks has a bounty of saucy ideas that might just help transform your dinners for good

What sauces and dressings can I make to rejuvenate weekday meals?
Sauces and dressings give dinner life, making even the simplest meals taste better. The formula, says Gurdeep Loyal, author of Flavour Heroes (published in June), goes something like this: “You need two things: a really good fat and a really good sour.” Sure, that fat could be oil, but it doesn’t have to be. “It could be an egg yolk, it could be avocado, but if it’s oil, go for a flavoured one,” Loyal says, and in place of the usual acid suspects (vinegar or citrus), try the likes of gherkins, capers or preserved lemons instead. “My go-tos are preserved lemon whizzed up with a bit of their brine, some garlic-infused olive oil and maple syrup. Or avocado blitzed with gherkins, gherkin brine, a bit of sugar, if you want, and perhaps herbs such as chives or tarragon. Or chilli-infused olive oil blitzed with a teaspoon of tamarind.” These powerhouses are a dream on pretty much anything, he says, from a roast kale salad with chickpeas to baked butter beans or even as a dip for pizza crusts.

For William Gleave, chef-patron of Sargasso in Margate, meanwhile, “Something with anchovies is always nice, because it goes with so many things”. For him, a “classic stolen/borrowed from the River Cafe” comes out tops: “It’s essentially a dressing with lots of chopped anchovy, grated garlic, red-wine vinegar, lemon juice, oil, black pepper and chilli flakes,” which is to say it’s bright, umami-rich and versatile. “Spoon that over everything from grilled fish to lamb or pork to crunchy veg, and it will feel as if you’ve put in a load of effort, even though it’s super-simple.”

Got a culinary dilemma? Email feast@theguardian.com

The acclaimed writer of His Dark Materials says the third volume in The Book of Dust series will portray a ‘dangerous, breathtaking quest’

Philip Pullman has revealed he will tell the final part of Lyra Silvertongue’s story in The Rose Field, which will come out this autumn.

It has been six years since a book about Lyra has been published – and 30 since readers first encountered her in Northern Lights, the first in Pullman’s His Dark Materials children’s fantasy trilogy. The bestselling novels, which have since been adapted into a TV series by the BBC, take place across a multiverse and feature “dæmons” – physical manifestations of a person’s soul that take the form of animals.

From gourmet home-cooked meals to vegan and insect alternatives, the options are endless. Here’s everything you need to know about how to keep your dog well fed – without breaking the bank

Dog food products labelled “complete” are legally defined as providing all the nutrients your pets need, in the right proportions. Whereas a product labelled “complementary” should not be a dog’s only source of nutrition, says Lauren Bennett, RSPCA scientific and policy officer, as these “do not contain all of the required nutrients, may lead to poor nutrition and can cause dietary deficiencies and associated disease, such as metabolic bone disease”.

The country’s future depends on law firms, universities and media companies – as well as everyday Americans – breaking their silence

When a woman asked me a couple of weeks ago why leaders were not standing up to Donald Trump , my thoughts went immediately to political leaders. When I started to answer, she corrected me and said: “No, no, I’m talking about college presidents and law firms. Where the heck are they?”

Where indeed? From all observations, most have been asleep as the US president dismantles democracy piece by jeweled piece. They are either cutting sweet little deals on their knees, or just remaining silent as the fruits of 250 years of national labor and life are strangled by Trump’s tentacles. From the cowering of major media companies to the shameful capitulation of some law firms, and oppressive silence from virtually all of them, the nation is sleepwalking into a slow but ever encroaching totalitarian state.

UK and rest of Europe risk losing out to US and China unless they ramp up spending on new medicines, says CEO Pascal Soriot

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AstraZeneca said it was shifting the production of some medicines sold in the US from Europe to the US, to counter the impact of Donald Trump’s trade tariffs .

Speaking as the company reported higher sales and profits for the first quarter, the FTSE 100 pharma company reiterated that the UK, and the rest of Europe, risked losing out to the US and China unless they ramped up spending on new medicines. Pascal Soriot, AstraZeneca’s chief executive, warned that well-paid advanced manufacturing and research jobs could move to the US in the long run.

The American actor told Bill Maher’s podcast that he had asked Quincy Jones about the singer’s sexuality and felt he couldn’t ‘play that character 100%’

The actor Terrence Howard has said that he declined the role of Marvin Gaye in a film, because he didn’t want to kiss another man.

Speaking to Bill Maher on his Club Random podcast, the actor said the “biggest mistake” of his career was turning down the leading role in a separate biopic of the singer Smokey Robinson – which Robinson had personally asked him to play.

Owen Lawrence, 38, is believed to have shot two women with crossbow on Saturday afternoon before turning weapon on himself

A man suspected of attacking two women in the Headingley area of Leeds on Saturday afternoon during an attempted misogynistic “massacre” has died overnight, counter-terrorism police have confirmed.

Owen Lawrence, 38, is believed to shot the women, aged 19 and 31, with a crossbow before turning the weapon on himself at the scene on Otley Road, a popular pub crawl route.