90 minutes ago Europe’s far right will look at Austria and say: this is how we do it | Cas Mudde and Gabriela Greilinger

The success of Herbert Kickl’s FPÖ is no surprise – it had been normalised by the centre right for years. Let that be a warningWhile Europe may be “sleepwalking into a far-right trap”, Austria is consciously walking straight into it. After all, polls had predicted the most recent electoral success of the Austrian Freedom party (FPÖ) for almost two years. While the far-right party’s leader, Herbert Kickl, heralded its victory as the beginning of “a new era”, it is better understood as a seemingly unavoidable progression. If anything, the country’s recent election results confirmed a broader pattern of far-right normalisation in Europe in general and in Austria in particular.Although 29% was indeed its best result ever in a nationwide election, the FPÖ has consistently achieved results in...

Politics

90 minutes ago Northumberland is back on track: a new railway line is opening up this lesser

The Northumberland line will soon return passenger services linking Newcastle to coastal towns such as Blyth, giving a much-needed boost to the regionSome of Northumberland’s attractive coastal towns, wild countryside and interior villages are about to become more accessible thanks to a new railway line from Newcastle to Ashington set to open in December. Coupled with the Tyne and Wear Metro receiving its first new fleet of trains in more than 40 years,visitors without a car will find travelling around the county so much easier.Arriving into Newcastle by train from the south provides a spectacular aerial tour of the Tyne Gorge, which is crossed by seven bridges in short succession and densely packed with buildings spilling down the banks. Continue reading...

Politics

91 minutes ago Antiques Roadshow guest ‘overwhelmed’ by true value of late dad’s ‘beauty’ of a guitar

An Antiques Roadshow guest had to clear his throat after discovering just how much his dad’s guitar was worth

Politics

2 hours ago Battered but bizarrely upbeat: why even utter defeat hasn’t shaken the Tory party’s confidence | Andy Beckett

The Conservatives believe that they uniquely represent British values – so what need is there to admit the UK is changing? Why exactly are the Conservatives so upbeat, barely three months after their worst-ever election defeat? At their party conference, in their leadership contest and in the Tory press, the mood has been unexpectedly positive, even unrepentant, with relatively few recriminations and little deep reflection. During the conference, I lost count of how often people told me the party would be back in power within a few years.There are some straightforward explanations: Labour’s troubles trying to run the country; Tory relief that they have been given a break from that difficult task; the displacement activity of the leadership contest; and the fact that the grind of opposit...

Politics

2 hours ago Cristiano Ronaldo offers Celtic star a key Champions League example amid 'mentality' love in

Paulo Bernardo is looking to his fellow countryman for how to handle demands at an elite level

Sport

3 hours ago The brain collector: the scientist unravelling the mysteries of grey matter

Using cutting-edge methods, Alexandra Morton-Hayward is cracking the secrets of ancient brains – even as hers betrays herAlexandra Morton-Hayward, a 35-year-old mortician turned molecular palaeontologist, had been behind the wheel of her rented Vauxhall for five hours, motoring across three countries, when a torrential storm broke loose on the plains of Belgium. Her wipers pulsed at full speed as the green fields of Flanders turned a blurry grey. Behind her sat a small, black picnic cooler. Within 24 hours, it would be full of human brains – not modern specimens, but brains that had contemplated this landscape as far back as the middle ages and had, miraculously, remained intact.For centuries, archaeologists have been perplexed by discoveries of ancient skeletons devoid of all soft tiss...

Politics

3 hours ago MasterChef's Marcus Wareing on devastation after dad's death – and star who stepped in with support

MasterChef star Marcus Wareing has spoken about entering his 10th year on the BBC show - and how filming proved to be 'really tough' after the death of his father

Events

3 hours ago Eleanor Brown: Vengeful daughter put naked photos of dad's mistress on escort website

Eleanor Brown was "utterly, utterly unapologetic" about plastering nude images of the woman on an escort site called "Beaver Street" - and a judge ignored pleas to suspend her jail term

Politics

4 hours ago Crazed Scots driver sped down public path, hitting dog leaving mum and kids terrified

Diana De Rosa's dog was badly hurt in the collision.

Events