1 hour ago BBC Homes Under The Hammer star Jacqui Joseph has famous Hollywood brother

Jacqui Joseph is best known as the property expert on TV's Homes Under The Hammer, but the star also has a famous brother

Politics

2 hours ago Covid XEC: The main difference between coronavirus and the new strain sweeping UK

The new strain is tipped to become dominant this winter and experts are monitoring its progress. But what is different about XEC and is it any more of a threat to us than previous strains?

Science

3 hours ago Modern day grave robbers are using emojis and codewords to secretly trade real human bones

The trade is flourishing online, experts say, as bone collectors exploit legal loopholes to buy and sell human remainsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA modern form of “grave robbery” is flourishing online, experts say, as bone collectors exploit legal loopholes to buy and sell human remains.In Australia, where it is illegal to buy or sell human remains (albeit with some exceptions), people sell photographs of the remains then add the bones as a “gift”.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

Events

4 hours ago Why experts say Christian nationalists telling Bible stories may spur violence

Leaders paint Kamala Harris as Jezebel, who is cast out – from a window, trampled by horses, and eaten by dogsAs the sky darkened on the National Mall in DC last Saturday, evangelical pastor Ché Ahn addressed the thousands of worshippers gathered there and issued a decree.Trump, Ahn said, was a figure akin to the biblical King Jehu, and “Kamala Harris is a type of Jezebel, and as you know, Jehu cast out Jezebel”. Continue reading...

Events

4 hours ago Children protected by team in stab vests on walk to school in UK knife crime capital

Volunteers wearing stab-proof vests are helping children to get to school safely in south London's Croydon after a string of knife attacks frightened a community

Events

4 hours ago Ghost of Sir Winston Churchill haunt women’s toilets on historic Queen Mary ship

The spirit of the wartime Prime Minister has been spotted lurking in the ladies lavs of the ship, which is now docked in California, according to ghost expert Brocarde

Politics

7 hours ago Of course teenagers want to be pop idols like Liam Payne. Given the perils, should we let them? | Martha Gill

The singer is the latest casualty of an industry that thrusts fame on children too young to copeSex, drinking, smoking, gambling, joining the army, being put to work – we now take it as obvious that there should be strict laws protecting young people from certain parts of the adult world.Of course there should. Young brains are soft, excitable and easily addled. There are many things they should be sheltered from, and some choices that should not be theirs to make.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk Continue reading...

Politics

7 hours ago Bargain Hunt pair floored over unexpected windfall as £14 item turns into huge profit

One Bargain Hunt couple were left speechless as a £14 item made them a huge profit on the BBC show after their expert Roo Irvine bought the item for them as a bonus buy

Economics

7 hours ago The podcast Kill List doesn’t reflect badly on the internet – it reflects badly on us | John Naughton

A gripping audio series about a killer-for-hire scam on the dark web is a reminder of how technology holds up a mirror to human natureThis column comes to you as a break from listening to a riveting podcast series called Kill List. It’s about a secret website that journalist and author Carl Miller discovered on the dark web, the slimy underbelly of the internet. The site essentially runs what one might call an “assassination market” or a murder-for-hire service. Customers identify and profile someone whom they wish to have killed and pay (in bitcoin, natch) for the service they require. Hence the title of the podcast series.The story starts in 2020 in the early days of the pandemic lockdown when a gifted IT expert and hacker, Chris Monteiro, was browsing the site and found a security vu...

Events