86 minutes ago Open borders defy rising nationalism in Europe. We must protect them | Alexander Hurst

Reimposing passport checks in the Schengen area creates new political lines in our minds – and that poses its own dangerWith so many economic and political challenges looming, the EU nevertheless began 2025 with a little bit of its old magic and a reminder that it’s here to do far more than simply react. At the stroke of midnight on 1 January, a dog crossed the border between Romania and Hungary, and like all the people to follow it, nope, it didn’t have to show ID. As of 2025, Romania and Bulgaria are full members of the Schengen area – that counterintuitive dismantling of borders that refuses to be snuffed out in an age of rising nationalism.The quote “we have made Europe, now we must make Europeans” is often apocryphally attributed to Jean Monnet, one of the founding fathers of the European Union. Even if he never actually said it, the “making” of Europeans is tangible in two ways. Both have to do with movement. Erasmus – the scheme that lent its name to a whole generation of stu...

Politics

30 hours ago Ketamine could be upgraded to a Class A drug by the Home Office in response to record levels of use

In the year ending March 2023, an official study showed 299,000 people aged 16 to 59 admitted they had used the substance during the previous 12 months.

Society

14 hours ago Stephen ‘tWtich’ Boss’ widow Allison Holker responds to claims she’s ‘disgracing’ him for a paycheck

Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss’ wife says she discovered his drug addiction days after his death in 2022

Economics

6 hours ago Arsenal transfer briefing: SAMI MOKBEL reveals the latest on Alexander Isak pursuit and the reasons why Gunners did not sign a striker last summer

SAMI MOKBEL: Mikel Arteta has built a superb squad, one that can more than hold its own against the finest in Europe, but it's missing something - a certain magic.

Sport

68 minutes ago Inside the bloody turf war tearing south London apart: Map reveals where gangs control streets and ply schoolchildren with drugs in vicious postcode rivalry that led to machete murder of a 14

EXCLUSIVE: The murder of Kelyan Bokassa on the number 472 bus in broad daylight in front of horrified passengers is the latest in a bloody gang turf war that has torn apart the community of Woolwich.

Events

2 hours ago Elon Musk is a monster bully on the loose, but he can only get his way if we let him | Martin Kettle

The democratic order has faced down tyrants and megalomaniacs before. The name of the game for liberals for 2025 and beyond must be survivalThey can smell the fear. And they are thrilled by what they can smell. Fanned by a mesmerised media at home and abroad, the thrill excites them into fresh provocations. Donald Trump knows the US’s allies’ nerves are jangling as his second presidency approaches – and he wants to keep it that way. Elon Musk is similarly glorying in his power to provoke and misinform without suffering penalty or reprimand – least of all from most of Britain’s politicians and press.Both men are bullies. And this is what bullies do. However, there is no disputing that this is also their moment. The Trump inauguration on 20 January will be an in-your-face celebration of America First power. It will also be a requiem that consigns large parts of the rules-based postwar global settlement to the grave.Martin Kettle is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Politics

24 hours ago Which football teams have won the league without a shirt sponsor? | The Knowledge

Plus: non-football athletes wearing football crests on their kit; and teams who were sponsored by news organisationsMail us any of your questions and answers“Chelsea are firmly in the title race despite what their manager says,” wrote Will Nichols before Christmas. “But who was the last team to win the English top flight without a shirt sponsor? Has it been done more recently in another country?”Chelsea’s conscious uncoupling from the title race doesn’t change the fact that this is a cracking question. Let’s start with the English top flight. Knowledge regular Dirk Maas has trawled the brilliant True Colours website – which, if you are the type of person who reads this column, is likely to be an endless source of serotonin – to find the answer: Aston Villa in 1980-81. Not content with using only 14 players (if you’re under the age of about 40, let that sink in) all season, they didn’t have a shirt sponsor either.Brighton & Hove Albion British CaledonianCoventry TalbotEverton Haf...

Sport

86 minutes ago Uncovering Iraq’s mass graves: the painstaking search for missing loved ones – photo essay

The country has as many as one million missing persons after decades of conflict. Forensic teams face huge challenges to document remains as families wait in hope of closureText by Marta Bellingreri and photographs by Alessio Mamo in Mosul, IraqWhen Dhorgham Abdelmajid first arrived at the 20-metre-deep hole in Tal Afar district, in northern Iraq, in June, he says he saw something he had never witnessed in his 15 years working as an excavator of mass graves.“It was unlike other mass graves where bodies are buried underground. Here the corpses, piled eight metres high, were clearly visible and also well preserved because it’s very dry.”Alo Antar hole, the site of a mass grave in Tal Afar district of northern Iraq Continue reading...

Events

10 hours ago Angel Reese sends message to trolls who commented on her outfits after landing Vogue cover

‘Show up as yourself even if it makes others uncomfortable,’ Reese wrote on X

Politics

9 hours ago David Lammy set to unveil ‘world’s first sanctions regime’ to tackle people smuggling gangs

Sir Keir Starmer is expected to discuss cooperation on the issue with Emmanuel Macron on Thursday

Events

11 hours ago Paris Jackson sheds tears in heartbreaking clip as she reveals heroin addiction and five year sobriety

Jackson, 26, revealed that she once battled a heroin addiction in a social media post celebrating five years of sobriety from drugs and alcohol on Tuesday.

Politics

14 hours ago Liam Payne's bereaved girlfriend Kate Cassidy pays tribute to One Direction star with symbolic gesture as she returns to social media for the first time since his cause of death was revealed

Payne was staying at the Casa Sur hotel in south America when he fell to his death after a drink-drug binge on October 16.

Events

14 hours ago 'We go to Disney World every single day and here's what staff don't tell you'

A couple who wanted to give their lives some adventure decided to move 500 miles away so they could visit Disney World every single day to experience the magic. They've revealed one misconception about the resort

Politics

15 hours ago One of Louisiana’s youngest mayors bonded out after drug, prostitute solicitation arrest

Tyrin Truong, 25 pledged to ‘clean up’ his city when elected as mayor in 2022– now he’s one of several people allegedly at the center of a prolific drug trafficking ring in Louisiana

Events

15 hours ago Cleaning fan's 'amazing' hair dryer trick removes coffee table stains in seconds

A cleaning fan wrote to the Mrs Hinch Cleaning Tips Facebook group asking for advice on how to remove a stain from a wooden coffee table - and people were quick to reply with their best tips

Politics

15 hours ago Cleaning fans love 'magic' free product that removes blood stains from bedding

Blood stains on bedding are a nightmare to clean, but Mrs Hinch fans have shared a simple and free hack that will get your duvet cover looking good as new in no time

Events

16 hours ago Wizard themed holiday let for cafe where J.K Rowling wrote Harry Potter rejected

The building has been uninhabitable due to damage caused by a fire in 2021.

Politics

17 hours ago Michael Jackson’s daughter reveals drug and alcohol addiction after five years of sobriety

Paris Jackson detailed recovery from heroin and alcohol addiction while also celebrating five-year sobriety markParis Jackson, the daughter of the late pop star Michael Jackson, has revealed, upon announcing she has reached five years of sobriety, that she is in recovery from heroin and alcohol addiction.She made a frank post on Instagram with a video and described herself as an alcoholic and a drug addict, while expressing her gratitude at emerging from those dependencies, People magazine reported. Continue reading...

Events

16 hours ago Scots 'Harry Potter cafe' where JK Rowling wrote books rejected for wizard holiday let

The building has been uninhabitable due to damage caused by a fire in 2021.

Politics

18 hours ago Tragic last days of mother, 47, who lay dead in disabled toilet for 72 hours: Heartbroken family reveal how she was a 'woman in pain' trying to 'change her life'

Sabrina Lyttle, from Blackpool, who struggled with drink and drugs, was freed from jail just days before dying at the age of 47 - found at a restaurant in Blackpool.

Events

18 hours ago Elvis Presley autopsy explained as today marks the King's 90th birthday

Elvis Presley died on August 16, 1977, and the investigation into his death found that years of prescription drug abuse and a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet led to his untimely death.

Politics

22 hours ago Zara Tindall cuts a stylish figure as she enjoys a spot of retail therapy on the Gold Coast

She's the daughter of Princess Anne who has been enjoying the horse racing action at the Magic Millions Carnival on the Gold Coast.

Politics

25 hours ago Breakthrough drugs herald ‘new era’ in battle against dementia, experts predict

Medical advances make pills to treat Alzheimer’s disease viable, though challenges remain in sharing gains globallyPills that prevent Alzheimer’s disease or blunt its effects are on the horizon, as the fight against dementia enters a “new era”, experts have said.Scientific advances were on the cusp of producing medicines that could be used even in the most remote and under-resourced parts of the world, thereby “democratising” care, said Jeff Cummings, professor of brain science and health at the University of Nevada. Continue reading...

Events

31 hours ago Brooke Shields and daughter Rowan kick off the New Year with matching tattoos

‘Another matching tattoo with my bug,’ Shields wrote

Politics

25 hours ago A moment that changed me: I went to Kew Gardens – and found a place of safety after homelessness and drug addiction

I’d had a very tough few years after my father died, living on the streets and sleeping with one eye open. But as I looked at a tulip tree that day, my love of gardening came flooding backI spent the early 00s living in my family home in west London, caring for my elderly father. When he died, in February 2015, I lost my home. When you’re on the streets, you have to sleep with one eye open in case people try to steal your things, so you end up being on alert 24 hours a day. The effect of living like that means you often look for distraction and I soon began spending time with other homeless people who were drinking and using drugs. I started smoking crack and heroin, and drinking heavily. My days all began to look the same: trying to stay warm, get into shelters, eat and score the next fix.When Covid hit in early 2020, things became really hard – people were getting ill on the street and it felt sometimes as if we had been abandoned. Eventually, I was relocated to a hotel room in Pu...

Events

26 hours ago Man looks '30 years younger' after barber surprises him with dramatic haircut

A man left people gushing after his latest haircut made him look "30 years younger". He visited Richmond Barber who worked his magic and surprised him with a game-changing snip

Events