Oleksandr Ivantsov, left, with his company commander, called ‘Onyx’, in the ruins of Azovstal steelworks, Mariupol, April 2022.Exclusive: The odyssey of Oleksandr Ivantsov who fought with the Azov brigade and eluded Russian troops in a blockade Putin called so tight “a fly can’t get through” by Luke Harding in KyivIt was May 2022 and Oleksandr Ivantsov was trapped. The Russians had seized the city of Mariupol. A small island of territory, the Azovstal steelworks, remained under Ukrainian control.

Chelsea This article is more than 6 months oldTransfer roundup: Chelsea complete £32m signing of Nicolas JacksonThis article is more than 6 months oldZiyech’s £8m move to Al-Nassr collapses after knee issueCaptain Azpilicueta set to join Atlético Madrid on a freeChelsea have bolstered their attacking options by buying Nicolas Jackson from Villarreal. The striker has joined for around £32m and signed an eight-year deal. Jackson’s contract contained a £30m release clause but Chelsea secured favourable payment terms by agreeing to a slightly higher price.

America's dirty divideNew YorkThere’s a century of toxic sludge hiding in the Gowanus Canal, but it may not be enough to stop a mega-developer from building on it In November, gigantic yellow excavators began scooping up the poisonous sludge colloquially known as “black mayonnaise” from the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, New York – a momentous step in a prolonged cleanup effort, 10 years after the waterway’s designation as a Superfund site.

Harry KaneThe Tottenham striker had a successful spell at Millwall as an 18-year-old which is recalled fondly as he prepares to face the south London club in the FA CupJoe Gallen was the Millwall assistant manager at the time and he remembers it as an “us or them” situation. Millwall were hovering above the Championship’s relegation places and Portsmouth were embedded in them, having been docked 10 points for their descent into administration.

TheatreReviewSouthwark Playhouse, London It can feel exasperating at times but this well-performed 1951 drama offers a smart balance of discomfort and laughs Eugène Ionesco’s single-act play, about a lesson that unravels into baroque violence inflicted by a professor on his pupil, is built on deliberate, head-scratching confusions. It is only in the final moments that it clarifies all the comic absurdity that has come before, with an ending that lands like a sinister punchline.