88 minutes ago ‘She should have a bit of me’: the Dutch mothers fighting for their children to carry their surname

Women are challenging the law that prevents them giving their kids both family names without father’s consentWhen 43-year-old Rebecca Lee took her birth mother’s Korean surname, it was a revelation. “I was adopted and got a Dutch name but I never felt completely Dutch,” she says. “When, a few years ago, I first went to Korea, things fell into place. You don’t just go ‘one, two, three’ and change your name, but now I feel more whole.”The entrepreneur from Groningen split from her husband and wants to give her five-year-old daughter “Lee” as part of a double-barrelled surname – but she cannot, under a Dutch law that some women, a leftwing MP and legal experts believe is unfair. Continue reading...

Politics

88 minutes ago The Christmas that went wrong: The day was saved by the new friend I’d made on a drunken night out

I was alone in New York during the pandemic, in the aftermath of a breakup and unable to go home. A Korean family taught me to believe in the kindness of strangersLike many Jewish families, the Wolfsons take Christmas extremely seriously. Latkes and smoked salmon are served before homemade cranberry sauce and brussels sprouts. My dad’s hand-painted menorah, which he made during the ceramics cafe boom of the early 2000s, sits proudly underneath the Christmas tree.As such, I had never missed a Christmas with the family – although there had been some near misses. In 2019, we spent Christmas by my dad’s hospital bed after his stroke – us sipping on hospital canteen gingerbread lattes, him having Christmas dinner in the guise of vanilla-scented protein, fed through a tube. In 2020, I saw my family only from six feet away, double-masked and on the doorstep. I delivered presents, but they were not opened for a few days, to let any stray virus dissipate. Continue reading...

Politics

4 hours ago FLOURISHING AFTER 50: Help! My husband's family always expects us to put on a lavish Christmas lunch without paying for anything

This week, leading money educator Vanessa Stoykov helps out an exhausted wife who is sick and tired of catering for her in-laws every Christmas.

Politics

5 hours ago How stars including Kim Kardashian and Michelle Keegan sparked huge demand for smaller trees

Kim Kardashian and Michelle Keegan are driving a new trend for replacing a large Christmas tree in their homes with smaller ones placed in different rooms.

Politics

5 hours ago Chloe Madeley breaks her silence on claims she was 'propositioned' by a rugby legend in front of her then

Chloe Madeley has now spoken out about the moment she was groped by a rugby legend in front of her then-husband James Haskell. 

Politics

5 hours ago This new Jungle King is a roaring success: MATTHEW BOND reviews Mufasa: The Lion King

It seems entirely fitting that Mufasa: The Lion King is not only dedicated the memory of James Earl Jones but begins with those deep resonant tones ringing out over the African savannah one final time.

Politics

6 hours ago Kate Middleton's touching gesture to grieving Lady Gabriella Windsor at Christmas Eve carol concert

Kate, 42, made her appeal over the summer to Lady Gabriella, 43, whose husband Thomas Kingston killed himself in February.

Politics

6 hours ago Settling down to watch a romantic film with your partner proves it's love, actually!

Settling down to watch a romantic movie with your partner this Christmas could work wonders for your relationship, according to new research.

Politics

6 hours ago Ethan Slater's ex seen after breaking silence on Ariana Grande romance

Lilly Jay was seen for the first time since breaking silence on her ex-husband Ethan Slater's romance with his Wicked co-star Ariana Grande.

Politics

7 hours ago New York's governor orders firing of prison staffers involved in inmate's fatal beating

New York’s governor has ordered more than a dozen state prison staffers fired over the fatal beating of an inmate earlier this month

Events