When people think about censorship, they often imagine an obvious ban: a book prohibited, an exhibition closed, or a speaker silenced.

But the recent revelation that London’s Victoria and Albert Museum changed exhibition catalogues at the request of its Chinese printer points to something subtler. It suggests that Chinese censorship is increasingly capable of shaping cultural production beyond China’s borders through reliance on foreign companies.

The V&A agreed to remove or replace images from at least two exhibition catalogues after objections from its Chinese printer. This included a historical map in a new exhibition, The Music Is Black, and an image of Lenin in a publication linked to the 2021 exhibition Fabergé: Romance to Revolution.

A V&A spokesperson told The Conversation: “We carefully consider, on a case-by-case basis, where we print all of our books. We sometimes print in China but maintain close editorial oversight. We were comfortable making these minor edits, as they did not affect the narrative, and would obviously pull production if we felt any requested change was problematic.”

The museum may see the changes as minor, but their significance lies less in the scale of the edits than in the mechanism through which they occurred.

Nothing in British law required these changes. No UK official ordered them. Yet the content of a British museum publication was altered because parts of its production process took place within a system governed by Chinese state censorship rules. That is why this matters. It reveals a form of externalised censorship that does not need to arrive as a direct prohibition. It can operate instead through contracts, deadlines, cost pressures and infrastructural dependence.

This article is part of our State of the Arts series. These articles tackle the challenges of the arts and heritage industry – and celebrate the wins, too.

This controversy tells a wider story about the heritage sector. Museums, galleries, libraries and publishers are all under pressure to control costs. If Chinese printers can produce catalogues at roughly half the price of British or European firms, the economic logic is obvious. Once an institution becomes reliant on a supply chain situated within an authoritarian censorship system, the practical conditions of cultural expression begin to change, even if the legal environment at home remains formally free.

In countries such as the UK, free speech is often understood in legal terms: are people formally allowed to publish, speak or exhibit? But the V&A case is a reminder that formal freedom is not the same as institutional resilience. A society may remain free on the surface while its institutions become increasingly susceptible to outside pressure.

Why the censorship matters

Museums matter especially because they are not ordinary commercial actors. They are memory institutions. They help shape public understanding of history, culture and identity. Their catalogues are not mere retail products but part of how knowledge is framed, archived and circulated. A “minor” change to an image in this context is therefore not politically neutral.

The deeper issue is that this is not only about suppressing taboo topics such as Tibet, Taiwan or Tiananmen. It is also about controlling the positive narrative.

Chinese information governance has long worked through both prohibition and projection. The 2020 Provisions on the Governance of the Online Information Content Ecosystem, issued by China’s internet regulator, encourage the production and dissemination of material that helps increase “the international influence of Chinese culture” and presents to the world a “true, three-dimensional and comprehensive China”. This forms part of a broader Party-state project, repeatedly articulated by Xi Jinping, of “telling China’s story well”.

That phrase may sound benign. But in practice it is tied to a political and legal project in which China is not merely defended from criticism, but represented abroad under conditions increasingly shaped by party-state priorities. Seen in that light, the V&A controversy is not just a matter of avoiding sensitive content. It sits within a broader effort to structure the terms under which China may be portrayed at all.

Recent developments in the digital sphere show the same broader pattern in a more aggressive form. In February 2026, OpenAI reported that it had disrupted an operation linked to a Chinese law-enforcement official who allegedly used ChatGPT to document efforts aimed at intimidating dissidents abroad. This included fake official communications and forged documents. That is different from the V&A catalogue dispute. But both illustrate a new stage of transnational control in which the Chinese party state and its affiliated actors can use a range of mechanisms at once: political security logic, economic leverage, platform manipulation, bureaucratic pressure and technological tools.

These cases should not be collapsed into one another. A museum changing an image under pressure from a company in China is not the same as a dissident being targeted through deceptive digital operations. But they belong to the same ecology. One is the hard edge of transnational repression. The other is its quieter institutional face. Together, they show that the challenge is no longer confined to dramatic diplomatic incidents or overt bans.

That has implications far beyond museums. Universities, publishers and now cultural organisations in the UK increasingly operate in environments where external authoritarian influence may be felt not through formal legal obligation, but through partnership structures, procurement decisions, market access, technological dependency and reputational caution.

Liberal institutions are often poorly equipped to recognise these pressures because they expect censorship to appear as a clear legal command. Increasingly, it appears instead as a request to make one small change, to avoid delay, to save money, to keep things moving.

The lesson of the V&A controversy, then, is not simply that one museum made a questionable decision. It is that Britain needs a more serious conversation about cultural sovereignty under conditions of asymmetric interdependence.

If institutions rely on companies governed elsewhere by censorship, then freedom of expression at home becomes more fragile. The real question is not whether British museums are free in theory. It is whether they are independent enough in practice to prevent authoritarian preferences from quietly entering the production of public culture.

The sun is finally starting to show its face – and with it comes the slow return of lighter layers, shorter hemlines and those strappy dresses we’ve been patiently waiting to wear again. As spring wardrobes make their long-awaited debut, it also means one thing: a little more skin on show.

If, like many of us, your legs and arms have spent the past few months hidden under jumpers and denim, you might be feeling in need of a quick glow-up before stepping out. Thankfully, fake tans make it easier than ever to cheat that just-back-from-holiday radiance.

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Prince Harry has revealed that he decided as a teenager that he didn’t want the royal life that he says ‘killed’ his mother, Princess Diana.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are currently in Australia on a four-day private tour, concentrating on ‘mental health, community resilience, and support for veterans and their families.’

An official statement said the tour will also incorporate ‘private meetings and special projects,’ including Meghan’s controversial £1,400 girls weekend, dubbed ‘Meg-stock.’

So far, Harry and Meghan have enjoyed a tour around Melbourne, Australia’s unofficial cultural capital, and visited the Australian War Memorial with indigenous veterans.

Harry’s bombshell statement came during his keynote speech at the $1,000-a-head InterEdge Summit in Melbourne Park.

Telling the audience that he felt ‘lost, betrayed, or completely powerless’ in his youth, Harry claimed that he had his ‘head in the sand for years and years’ until he stepped down from royal duties — alongside Meghan — in 2020.

Harry suggested that his decision to leave the royal family was also something his mother would have wanted for him.

‘After my mum died just before my 13th birthday I was like “I don’t want this job. I don’t want this role. Wherever this is headed, I don’t like it”.

‘It killed my mum, and I was very much against it, and I stuck my head in the sand for years and years.

‘Eventually, I realised well, hang on, if there was somebody else in this position, how would they be making the most of this platform and this ability and the resources that come with it to make a difference in the world?

‘And also, what would my mum want me to do? And that really changed my own perspective.’

Princess Diana, who was also mother to Prince William, died in 1997, aged just 36.

She passed away following a car crash in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris, France, which took place shortly after midnight while photographers were pursuing her car.

Diana had a complex, love-hate relationship with the press throughout her life. While she frequently expressed frustration with the paparazzi and the constant scrutiny under the spotlight, she was also able to leverage it to gain public support and highlight humanitarian causes.

Harry and Meghan shocked the world back in 2020 when they announced they would no longer be senior members of the royal family.

Revealing their plans to move across the Atlantic to California, the couple cited a ‘really difficult environment’ as their catalyst for leaving the ‘firm.’

This included a reported lack of institutional support and alleged racism within the royal family.

On January 18 that year, the Duke and Duchess released a joint statement explaining their decision. It read: ‘We intend to step back as “senior” members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen.’

They said they planned to balance their time between the UK and North America while ‘continuing to honour our duty to the Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages.’

It added: ‘This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity.’

Following the announcement, the late Queen Elizabeth responded with her own statement.

In her message, the former monarch said that ‘following many months of conversations and more recent discussions, I am pleased that together we have found a constructive and supportive way forward for my grandson and his family.’

She also said that ‘Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved members of my family.’

At the time, the couple only had one child, Prince Archie, six. Harry and Meghan later went on to welcome Prince Lilibet, four, in the US, who was affectionately named after Queen Elizabeth.

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The most popular PC games are typically free-to-play multiplayer titles, but gamers on all formats are increasingly moving away from them.

It’s already well known that the most popular video games nowadays are long-running older titles, with the likes of Fortnite, Roblox, and Minecraft holding a monopoly on player retention.

Just last year, it was reported that most players are spending almost half their time playing the exact same games. By the end of 2025, the top five most played games in the US were the exact same ones people were playing in 2024.

That’s unlikely to change in 2026 but a new report has unearthed some interesting statistics; namely that on PC, the top 20 games generated less than half of the platform’s revenue for all of 2025. Which is a good thing.

According to a Newzoo report, the 20 most played PC games consist almost entirely of multiplayer exclusive games. There are some exceptions, but those still offer multiplayer functionality and/or receive consistent updates, such as GTA 5 (which persists through the GTA Online multiplayer mode) and Genshin Impact.

However, the amount of money those games have generated has declined since 2022, where they made up 52% of all PC revenue made that year. That percentage went up to 57% in 2023, only to drop to 51% in 2024, and then 44% in 2025.

The same can’t be said for consoles, though. Most of the revenue made on the PlayStation and Xbox consoles has come from their top 20 games, which aren’t identical to the PC list but are very similar.

Furthermore, PC play time in general has only grown since 2022, with games outside of the top 20 seeing an increase of 44%. Basically, most of the platform’s growth isn’t coming from any of the usual suspects.

Instead, it’s being driven by role-playing games and adventure games. Newer examples include Monster Hunter Wilds and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, but Newzoo also lists ‘durable catalogue games’ such as Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, and Red Dead Redemption 2.

‘On PC, the space below the top 20 is becoming more economically meaningful. That doesn’t make the market unconcentrated, but it does make games below the very top more commercially relevant than before,’ says analyst Tianyi Gu.

She adds that outside of the top 20, player engagement comes mostly from premium and back catalogue games, whereas the top 20 is dominated by free-to-play ecosystems: ‘That does not mean new releases do not matter. But it does suggest that once a title is outside the very top tier, longevity and depth often matter more than novelty alone.’

Given how many of those top 20 games are free-to-play, this seems to suggest that even the people who are spending money on those games aren’t outspending those looking for premium experiences.

On one hand, this wouldn’t be that surprising. Just last month, Epic Games admitted Fortnite, despite its popularity, wasn’t turning a profit and is losing player attention, which resulted in over 1,000 layoffs.

In fact, of the top 20 franchises across all platforms, most of them have seen declines in play time. Fortnite in particular, saw its play time drop by 29% by the end of 2025, losing its top spot to Roblox, which saw its play time grow by 52%.

The continued success of Roblox is no doubt why there’s been a vested interest in player-made content. Fortnite’s been pushing this for a while, allowing players to also make money off their content, and GTA 6 is rumoured to follow suit.

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It is understood the assailant was carrying a kettle which had been boiled elsewhere in the courthouse.

A man was attacked at Strabane Magistrates’ Court ahead of a committal hearing in a murder case.

An ambulance attended after the man was scalded on his face, neck and shoulder when he was doused in boiling water at the doors into the courtroom.

It is understood that the assailant was carrying a kettle of water which had been boiled elsewhere in the courthouse.

The case related to the death of Stephen Holmes, who suffered serious injuries during an alleged incident in Strabane on 3 February 2025.

The thirty-one-year-old was treated in the Intensive Care Unit of the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, where he passed away from his injuries five days later.

Following the attack, Dylan McCrossan (32) from Beechmount Village, Strabane, who is the brother of SDLP MLA Daniel McCrossan, appeared in court charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Following Mr Holmes’ death, the PSNI issued a statement advising that a murder investigation had commenced and the charges against McCrossan would be reviewed.

He was then brought back to court and charged with murder.

There has been no bail application at any stage, and the circumstances of the incident have never been fully disclosed.

Today (Thursday), as a committal hearing to transfer the case for trial was due to take place, a commotion occurred at the door of the court, causing District Judge Alana McSorley to immediately halt proceedings.

Seconds later, a court official dashed into the courtroom, grabbed a jug of water from one of the benches, and rushed back out.

This was used to cool the wounded man’s scald injuries while awaiting an ambulance.

He was taken to the hospital for treatment of burns. It is understood he is a relative of McCrossan, but Belfast Live understands the victim is not SDLP MLA Daniel McCrossan.

Around two hours later, the court resumed, but Judge McSorley said, following consultation with the Office of the Lady Chief Justice, in view of what had occurred, the committal in court was adjourned until May 14.

A PSNI spokesperson said: “Police responded to an incident at Strabane Magistrates’ Court, in which a man was left injured and requiring hospital treatment.

“At 10.52am it was reported a man had thrown hot water over another man, causing burn injuries to his face and upper body. NI Ambulance Service also responded and took the victim to hospital for treatment.”

Detective Inspector Ballentine said: “The suspect is reported to have run away from the scene, and police efforts are ongoing to identify and apprehend the suspect. We are liaising with the NI Courts and Tribunal Service in regard to the incident. In the meantime, as enquiries continue to establish exactly what occurred, I am appealing to anyone with information, or footage which may have captured the suspect leaving the scene, to get in touch with police by call 101 quoting reference 409 of 16.04.26.

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The event will take place on Friday, April 17, at the Majestic Theatre in Darlington, with doors open at 6pm and the show beginning at 7pm.

Tributes to Lewis Capaldi and Sam Fender will take centre stage, while comedian Gareth Harrison will serve as the evening’s host.

Marcus Hawthorn, strategic development officer at Darlington Mind, said: “As a local charity, we rely heavily on the support of our community.

“Events like this help us deliver essential mental health services to people who need them most.”

Funds raised from the tribute night will support Darlington Mind’s services across Darlington, Hambleton, Richmondshire and South Durham.

These include counselling, peer support groups and wellbeing programmes designed to help local people manage their mental health and reduce isolation.

Mr Hawthorn said: “Every ticket sold makes a real difference, allowing us to provide safe spaces, practical support and a listening ear for those facing difficult times.”

Darlington Mind supports people of all ages and works to promote better mental health through early intervention, recovery-focused services and community-based support.

Tickets for the tribute night can be purchased via TicketSource by searching for ‘Lewis Capaldi & Sam Fender Tribute Night in Aid of Darlington Mind’.

Further information about the charity and the event is available at darlingtonmind.com, or by calling 01325 283169.

Alex Manninger, the former Arsenal and Liverpool goalkeeper, has died at the age of 48 following a car-train collision in Salzburg, Austria

Alex Manninger has tragically died at the age of 48, the Austrian FA has confirmed. The former Arsenal and Liverpool goalkeeper is believed to have lost his life in a car accident.

Reports suggest the incident occurred when his vehicle collided with a train in Salzburg. The Austrian FA (OFB) released a statement on social media: “The news of Alex Manninger’s death is deeply shocking. With him, football loses a special person.

“In this difficult time, our sincere condolences go to his family, his friends, and all those who were close to him. Much strength for the time ahead.”

Manninger featured 39 times for Arsenal between 1997 and 2002, playing his part in their Premier League title and FA Cup successes. Throughout a 22-year professional career, Liverpool was his final club, although he didn’t make any appearances during his spell in the 2016-17 season.

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A motion paying tribute to late former Labour MP Jo Cox was approved by members on the 10th anniversary of the former Batley and Spen member’s death.

A motion paying tribute to late Labour MP Jo Cox and calling for mutual respect by elected officials has been unanimously approved by Stirling Council.

The motion was put forward by Council Leader Susan McGill.

June 16 is the 10th anniversary of the death of the 41-year-old MP and mother-of-two.

She had spent just 13 months as an MP in Yorkshire and was shot and stabbed multiple times as she was about to take a surgery.

The murderer was a far-right extremist.

Proposing the motion, Cllr McGill said: “Jo Cox, in her maiden speech said we were far more united and have more in common than what divides us.

“It’s a huge honour to hold elected office and a huge privilege to work together to try and improve the lives of others.

“No one expects to be assaulted or harassed and abused, whether it is physical or on social media – we certainly don’t expect to be murdered. Women make up half of society.

“They deserve to have their say in helping to shape it. I don’t think much has changed in 10 years.

“But Police Scotland are challenging men to look at attitudes towards women.

“Men’s violence against women is the leading cause of premature death for women globally,

“On March 12 Labour MP Jess Phillips read out the names of 100 women who had been killed by men in the UK – that amounts to two per week. We need to end misogyny in its many forms. On the 10th anniversary let us remember her life and legacy.”

Backing the motion, Tory Cllr Elaine Watterson said: “Abuse and intimidation have no place in any area of public life.

“I have experienced this most definitely. I would like to add misogyny.

“I would be surprised if there were no elected members or officers who had not been subjected to misogynistic behaviour or comments.

“There has been an increase in violence against women and this has to be addressed through education.

“I am a feminist and will continue to support the work and campaigns of For Women Scotland. I am neither racist nor homophobic and will fight for safe spaces for both women and girls.

“Jo worked across party divides and up on marking the 10th anniversary of her murder, there can be no room in this chamber for self-righteousness. It is very important to listen to each other.

“All the political parties represented here have made mistakes and let us move on without rancour and listen to each other. If we disagree let us do so constructively with sound discussion not sound-bites.

“My thoughts and prayers will be with the Cox family on June 16 2026 – she was a shining light taken too early.”

The motion passed without opposition.

The Coronation Street star, best known for her role as Liz McDonald, is currently taking part in the Ant and Dec-hosted reality show alongside stars including Ashley Roberts and Sir Mo Farah

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Beverley Callard has stated that a famous Irish drinks brand has “knocked Yorkshire Tea off its pedestal” in her view. In recent months, the Coronation Street legend has traded TV studios for the heat of the South African jungle, taking part in the newest instalment of the I’m A Celeb spin-off, I’m a Celebrity… South Africa.

Recognised for her portrayal of Liz McDonald in the enduring ITV soap before securing her latest role as Lily on Irish drama Fair City, Beverley has been joined by the likes of Pussycat Dolls’ Ashley Roberts, boxing champion David Haye, and Olympic athlete Sir Mo Farah in the Ant and Dec-fronted reality programme.

Life in the jungle presents numerous challenges, especially when it involves going without cherished home luxuries – including the food and beverages the celebrities enjoy in their daily lives, and it appears Beverley is no exception.

Beverley, who also participated in I’m A Celeb during the Gwrych Castle series in Abergele, North Wales, seems to have been pining for one thing particularly: a decent cup of Yorkshire Tea.

Back in February, prior to the series being broadcast, she featured on The Hard Shoulder podcast and was asked about her experience in South Africa, but revealed that she wasn’t certain whether she was “allowed” to disclose any information about the programme.

She did address one topic, however: her supposed longing for Yorkshire Tea, after a “little birdy” informed the presenter about it. The host then enquired whether she enjoys Irish staples Barry’s and Lyons, following her move from Norfolk to Ireland for Fair City filming.

Beverley revealed: “Wait for this; I am a teaholic, okay? And I can cope without the vodka, without wine, anything, but Yorkshire tea, I couldn’t cope without. And then someone sent me Barry’s Tea.

“And I have to tell you, it’s knocked Yorkshire Tea off its pedestal. It is really good, and I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it.”

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After joining Corrie in 1989, Beverley’s character became synonymous with mini-skirts, stilettos and a chaotic romantic life. She remained a key figure intermittently until her departure in 2020 following 32 years on the Cobbles.

Earlier this month, when questioned about a potential return following the death of her estranged on-screen spouse Jim McDonald, Beverley offered a tantalising response: “You should never say never”.

Speaking on behalf of WhichBingo, Beverley explained: “I can’t now because I’m filming something else but I think you should never say never.

“I loved my time there, you don’t stay in something for 32 years if you didn’t love it, but I think the workload and the way it’s filmed, certainly when you’re in a big storyline, you’re there all day, every day so I don’t think I’d want that again to that extent.

“I think they have great writers on the show and great actors but I just felt the stories were not there for Liz anymore but I’d never say never.”

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is holding near its record high Thursday as Wall Street waits for more clues about what will happen in the Iran war before making its next big move.

The S&P 500 edged down by 0.1%, a day after topping its prior all-time high set in January for its 10th gain in 11 days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 66 points, or 0.1% after the first half-hour of trading, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% lower.

Stocks have leaped more than 10% since hitting a low in late March, driven by hopes for an end to the war or something that could avert a worst-case scenario for the global economy. Now, the wait is on to see if such hopes were prescient or just wishful thinking.

Pakistan’s army chief is set to meet with Iranian officials in Tehran Thursday in a bid to ease tensions in the Middle East and arrange a second round of negotiations between the United States and Iran after almost seven weeks of war.

Oil prices climbed, showing that caution still remains in financial markets. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 3.1% to $97.83. It’s gone from roughly $70 before the war to as high as $119 at times on uncertainty about how long the war will keep oil stuck in the Persian Gulf area and away from customers.

“The key upside risk for the market is that peace talks between the US and Iran break down,” ING Bank strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote Thursday. “This isn’t an unrealistic scenario, given that US and Iranian demands remain fairly wide apart.”

In the meantime, big U.S. companies are continuing to deliver growth in profits for the start of 2026 that’s even better than analysts expected. Such growth is the lifeblood of the stock market, whose level tends to follow the track of corporate profits over the long term.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services rose 5.7%, and Marsh & McLennan climbed 3.4% after both delivered stronger results than expected.

PepsiCo likewise reported better results than expected and rose 2.1%. Customers bought more snacks during the quarter, after the company said in February it would cut prices on Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos and Tostitos chips to win back people frustrated by high prices.

Technology stocks also broadly got some support after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., an industry heavyweight, reported stronger revenue and profit for the start of 2026 than analysts expected. TSMC’s Chief Financial Officer Wendell Huang said the company expects strong demand to continue into the spring.

On the losing end of Wall Street was Abbott, which fell 4.4% even though it reported slightly better results than analysts expected. The health care company cut its forecast for profit over the full year, mostly because of its purchase of cancer-screening company Exact Sciences.

Allbirds slumped 28.7%, but that gave back only a portion of its 582% surge from the day before. The company formerly known for sneakers is pivoting to the artificial-intelligence industry and hopes to rent out the use of high-powered AI chips as a service.

In stock markets abroad, indexes climbed across much of Europe and Asia. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 2.4%, South Korea’s Kospi rallied 2.2% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.7% for some of the world’s larger moves.

China on Thursday reported 5% economic growth for the January-March quarter, an acceleration from the previous quarter. While economists say China has largely shrugged off the initial impacts of the Iran war, some are warning its massive export engine could be hit more significantly in the coming months on slower global economic growth.

In the bond market Treasury yields eased a bit after a report showed fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged down to 4.28% from 4.29% late Wednesday.

___

AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed to this report.