Like many young women living in Los Angeles , Meghan Markle was always trying to get her big break and make it as a famous actress

Politics

The region is still in the midst of a cold snap

Society

Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner will go to the Australian Open as defending champions with those who triumph in Melbourne - and those who go close - pocketing huge sums

Economics

If you're looking for a new pair of staple shoes to see you through the months of cold and wet weather, look no further than this sale on some 'exceptionally comfortable' boots

Events

Kraf’s charming and challenging fourth and final novel, now published in the UK, is narrated by a New Yorker who experiences psychotic episodes“I am glad I have the radiance. This time I am wiser,” begins Elaine Kraf’s 1979 novel – now published for the first time in the UK – in irresistibly intriguing style. The narrator is Ellen, an artist living on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, where she regularly experiences periods of what she calls radiance, or what the rest of us would call psychosis, mental illness, or detachment from reality.And what “the rest of us” think is part of the problem for Ellen, because the radiances make her happy and she is no threat to anybody. “Fools! No one likes anyone for what they really are.” So she becomes Esmeralda, self-styled princess of 72nd Street. “I am not one of those rulers who is never seen on the streets mingling with the common people.” Continue reading...

Politics

The week began with a biting cold snap that hammered much of the U.S., the product of a jet stream that slips out of its usual path more often these days

Society

Reverse Health's programme is designed for women over 40 who are looking to lose weight

Economics

Emergency crews were unable to pass through Rushup Edge and Mam Nick, near Edale on Saturday morning due to vehicles obstructing the icy Derbyshire Road.

Events

It comes after shocking images show how a 19-year-old Canadian woman's breasts quadrupled in size in what experts believe is rare reaction to Pfizer 's Covid jab.

Politics

Payments are triggered when temperatures falls below 0C for seven consecutive days

Society

Kristrún Frostadóttir, who entered politics just four years ago, speaks to the Observer about feminism, the far right and reopening talks on joining the EUNearly 45 years ago, Iceland made history by producing the world’s first elected female president of a country, setting it on a path to being the global feminist frontrunner it is today.Since then it has had multiple female presidents and prime ministers, but it wasn’t until three weeks ago, when social democrat Kristrún Frostadóttir took office, that the country’s two top positions were both held by women at the same time. It comes after Halla Tómasdóttir became Iceland’s second female president in August. Continue reading...

Economics

Kinbrace in northern Scotland saw the lowest overnight temperature with minus 13.9C overnight, the Met Office said.

Events

Reverse Health has created a 12-week programme specifically for women over 40 who are struggling to lose weight

Politics

A cold breeze coming in from your windows or doors is a nightmare during winter, but there's a quick and easy fix

Economics

Three-time WWE Women's Champion Melina has been 'unresponsive' amid the worst ever blazing wildfires that have destroyed much of LA and evacuated millions from their homes

Events

Follow all the action from the first round of the men’s and women’s singles tournaments in Melbourne

Politics

The ideal breakfast has been revealed for men and women

Economics

Three-time WWE Women's Champion Melina has been 'unresponsive' amid the worst ever blazing wildfires that have destroyed much of LA and evacuated millions from their homes

Events

Watch the moment a skatepark owner tries his hand at snowboarding down his local street, making the most of the heavy snow.

Politics

Lots of us are using the January sales to keep ourselves warm during the current cold snap.

Economics

The Met Office says it will be a ‘very cold and frosty’ end to the weekend

Events

Peter Wilkinson, 60, took the pictures on a "very cold morning" at Argaty Red Kites, near Doune.

Politics

I don't need the central heating on half as much with this

Economics

Fitzrovia Chapel, LondonIn a former hospital chapel replete with its own stories, works by Paula Rego, Phyllida Barlow and others resonate in their exquisitely contemplative surroundingsThe Fitzrovia Chapel is a miniature cathedral in the heart of London – a tiny vault of marble, stained glass and gold conceived on the most human of scales. Old photographs show congregations of barely more than 50. It is possible to walk from one end to the other in fewer than a dozen steps, but along the way are glimmering mosaics, glowing stars and some of the most moving words I have ever read in a church.This chapel, where King Charles recorded his recent Christmas message, is all that remains of the old Middlesex hospital in the heart of London. A neo-gothic building of dark red brick, it once nestled inside this venerable teaching hospital, founded in 1745. Now it stands alone, and fully visible, dwarfed instead by the high-rise apartments and luxury shops of the Pearson Square complex that re...

Politics

Follow all the action from the first round of the men’s and women’s singles tournaments in Melbourne

Events

Amid deepening debt and an onslaught by the president-elect, Labour must calm the markets, then think big economicallyIt’s certainly not 2008, nor even Truss 2022, but the men and women who move the financial markets are suddenly darkly pessimistic. Some of the private emails and WhatsApp messages circulating last week matched any efforts by Cassandra. The mood has turned against Britain.It is not one single thing, but a toxic mix. There is the prospect of a long period of stagflation, the consequence, as even the markets recognise, of 14 years of epic misgovernment. The problem now is partly that Labour does not have a plausible growth story, partly that the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is painted as having an economic tin ear that douses capitalist animal spirits, and partly because Trump’s arrival has exposed just how dependent an indebted, economically wounded Britain is on the kindness of strangers. It’s not yet a crisis – the stock market has held up – but without some skilful e...

Politics

In this sequel to his bestseller, Critical, the intensive care doctor draws lessons on the joys of a ‘second life’ from the experiences of patients who have flatlined and been revived“We have two lives,” Dr Matt Morgan writes, before clarifying: “The second begins when you realise you have [only] one.” Sometimes, as the case studies in this book detail, this realisation comes more suddenly and profoundly than most of us can imagine. For more than 20 years, Morgan has been a specialist doctor in intensive care, labouring at the extreme margins of life. Just occasionally, in his day-to-day education in human mortality, he has witnessed what might, in other traditions, be thought of as supernatural events: people whose vital signs have flatlined, but who have returned to tell the tale. The stories in this book – a sequel to his bestselling Critical – are his accounts of those impossible second acts, and his reflections on what we can learn from those lucky few who have experienced both...

Events

MSF medical teams provide vital care in the war-torn country where pregnant women, new mothers and newborns are dying needlessly at alarming ratesDonate to our charity appeal hereIn Sudan, where a war that has caused the world’s biggest humanitarian disaster is in its second year, Dr Javid Abdelmoneim has his own daily struggles, trying to save lives in a place where the health system has all but collapsed.Rockets and bullets have an immediate effect on people caught in the crossfire, but the wider consequences of war are wreaking havoc on the population’s health. Continue reading...

Politics

Loose Women's Judi Love has opened up about her health battle of almost two decades, admitting the 'unbearable' pain that comes with it both physically and mentally.

Events

The stars play Jewish American cousins touring Poland in honour of their grandmother in Eisenberg’s sharp, highly personal comedy boasting an Oscar-tipped performance from CulkinIt’s a slip of a thing, clocking in at a tight 90 minutes; a deft, light-footed amalgamation of two potentially formulaic comedy genres: the road movie and the mismatched buddy flick. But the second directorial venture from actor Jesse Eisenberg, which he also wrote and stars in, is considerably more than the seemingly slight sum of its parts. A Real Pain is a whip-sharp comedy driven by the rattling verbal sparring between uptight, neurotic David (Eisenberg) and his outgoing, unpredictable cousin Benji (Kieran Culkin). It’s also a profound character study – a substantial and emotionally nourishing journey that contains, courtesy of Culkin, perhaps the most devastating final shot of any film you will see this year.It’s a notable step up for Eisenberg as a writer-director. His 2022 debut, When You Finish Savi...

Politics

EXCLUSIVE: Loose Women's Judi Love opens up about her 'unbearable' health battle and details how she deals with 'mum guilt' when working away from her two children.

Events

Loose Women star Judi Love has shared how she deals with the dreaded 'mum guilt' while working and parenting her two teenagers, admitting they constantly 'inspire' her.

Politics

First ODI: Australia, 206-6, beat England by four wicketsHealy anchors run chase in multi-format series openerAlyssa Healy’s stated ambition on the eve of this Women’s Ashes was to “throw the first punch”. Mission very much accomplished. England limped away from North Sydney on Sunday evening with a bloody nose, whimpering to 204 all out in 43.1 overs – a total that despite their best efforts proved impossible to defend.England undoubtedly missed the parsimonious bowling of Kate Cross, whose back injury continues to plague her; her fitness for the remainder of the series remains in doubt. But the real blame lay with the England batters, who played in classic “Jonball” fashion (the aggressive style to which coach Jon Lewis lends his name), lacking the patience required to see off Australia’s world-class attack. The hosts’ eventual margin of victory was just four wickets. Imagine what alternative outcome we might now be contemplating had England scored even 30 more runs. Continue read...

Events

EXCLUSIVE: Loose Women star Judi Love has detailed how she deals with tough 'mum guilt' when working away from her teenage kids, who she keeps away from the spotlight.

Politics

A 22-year-old Oregon woman never returned from an ill-fated sales call in 1993. Now, over two decades later, her case has been thrust back into the spotlight as key clues now point to her murder.

Events

“They pay ­lip-service to the idea of women only spaces but, in practice, set the demands of a group of men over the safety, dignity, and privacy of their female staff.”

Politics

Ash Regan MSP hopes 2025 will be the year her prostitution bill gets passed - and says the public’s attitude is shifting thanks to women like Gisèle Pelicot

Events

Follow all the action from the first round of the men’s and women’s singles tournaments in Melbourne

Politics

The UK's Health Security Agency confirmed a country-wide amber cold health warning will last until Tuesday, January 14, amid a warning that deaths could be 'likely'

Events

Cold-weather health warnings were extended until Tuesday as much of the country endured below-zero temperatures, with -18.9C (-2F) recorded in Altnaharra, Scotland on Friday night.

Politics

The English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) banned trans women from female professional competitions last October but allowed them to continue at grassroots level.

Events

Celin Bizet also scored twice in a one-sided win.

Politics

The museum is considered the ‘safest place for art during a fire’

Events

Questions about the viability of a female presidential candidate rise after a crushing presidential defeatDemocrats are harboring strong feelings of stress and gloom as the new year begins. And many are questioning whether their party’s commitment to diverse candidates – especially women – may lead to further political struggles as Donald Trump is sworn in for a second presidency on 20 January.A recent poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that a significant number of Democrats believe that it may be decades before the United States will get its first female president. Continue reading...

Politics

Now, aged 56, British-born actress Naomi Watts has spoken of her experiences of menopause in a new book aimed at challenging the stigma older women face in Hollywood.

Events

In another era, the outgoing president would have made a great cold war leader. Instead, his tenure was dogged by errors, naivety and overcautionIn a week when the US bade a sad farewell to Jimmy Carter, presidential legacies came under particular scrutiny. Yet few presidents are widely remembered beyond their lifetimes, their “historic” achievements even less so. In the 20th century, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D Roosevelt, John F Kennedy and Richard Nixon make the truly memorable list. Most of the rest are mere school-book names and dates.Joe Biden’s standing in this unprepossessing pantheon is now being assessed, as he prepares to depart the White House on 20 January. Like his 44 predecessors, he reportedly frets about his “place in history”. All presidents do this. It smacks of vanity. They give valedictory lectures, endow foundations, build libraries, write memoirs. They confuse fame with continuing relevance. Continue reading...

Politics

Chilly Brits have been taking shelter from the bitterly cold snap by propping up bars up and down the country to warm up. They necked 150 million pints in the first 10 days

Events

The judges posed on the red carpet amid the cold weather.

Politics

Fire is an inextricable part of the region’s identity, as the writers knew. But the way this divided city burns has been transformedTalking about fire and Los Angeles is an exercise in repetition. Southern California does have seasons, Joan Didion once noted in Blue Nights, among them “the season when the fire comes”.Fire in Los Angeles has a singular ability to shock, with its destruction that takes “grimly familiar pathways” down the canyons and into the subdivisions. The phrase comes from Mike Davis’s 1995 essay The Case for Letting Malibu Burn, and it is as true for the fires as for our talk of the fires. Even our reflections take on that grim familiarity: we cite Joan Didion citing Nathanael West. We fall in with the great writers of this great city who are always so ready to judge it. Continue reading...

Events