59 h. ago 'I travelled half way around the world for my favourite scent

I've spent a lot of money on perfumes because of the brand and the celebrity endorsing it rather than the scent itself - but that stopped when I went to Dubai and found my go-to scent.

Politics

5 d. ago ‘A lot of money to be made’: Paris hit with spate of €1m handbag heists

Police say ease of re-selling, twinned with growing demand, has encouraged gangs to target luxury leather goodsA series of million-euro robberies of luxury handbags from boutiques and brand headquarters in Paris has shown that high-value leather goods are now a bigger target for organised criminals than jewels or cash, as French police pursue sophisticated gangs targeting designer bags.Paris has been the scene of several high-profile robberies of handbags over the past year, fuelled by the growing global demand for designer leather goods, which are increasingly being displayed by influencers on social media. As designer handbags sell for record prices at auction – with the late singer Jane Birkin’s Hermès bag fetching €8.6m (£7.4m) this summer – prices are rising in boutiques and secondhand bags are gaining value as collectors’ items. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago ‘Restoring humanity’: Paris exhibition showcases 5,000 years of history in Gaza

Saved Treasures of Gaza aims to preserve territory’s historical identity against backdrop of war and famineAn exhibition tracing more than 5,000 years of cultural and archaeological history in Gaza has become a summer hit in Paris, as visitors flock to discover the heritage of this strip of land along the Mediterranean, whose multilayered past has been eclipsed by modern tragedy.While Gaza faces a humanitarian catastrophe of starvation and war, the exhibition, Saved Treasures of Gaza, at Paris’s Institut du Monde Arabe brings what curators called a sense of “urgency” to explain the rich history of a place that has been a crossroads of cultures since Neolithic times. Continue reading...

Culture

1 week ago How to make perfect fresh tomato pasta – recipe | Felicity Cloake's How to make the perfect

With such a simple dish, and so many ways to make it, can one really distil the ultimate version of pasta al pomodoro crudo? Our resident perfectionist finds out “How many versions of fresh tomato sauce can there be?” Catherine, the generous winner of a charity auction to help me with the research for this column, asks when I tell her what recipe we’ll be making. On the contrary, I tell her, I’ve had my work cut out to narrow the selection here down to a mere seven, not least because the simpler the dish, the more argument there is over how it should be prepared, especially in a place as passionate about its food as Italy.Happily, I’ll have a lot of assistance, because Catherine has raised yet more money for Hospitality Rides (a fundraising initiative for two very worthy industry charities, Only a Pavement Away and the Licensed Trade Charity), by selling tickets to get other people to do my job for me, effectively. In an attempt to sweeten the deal, I tell my assembled minions (all ...

Politics

4 w. ago A parish priest and several injured as airstrikes hit a Gaza church

Catholic Church officials say airstrikes hit the Holy Family Church in northern Gaza on Thursday morning, injuring several people including the parish priest, officials

Events

last month Brits flying to Europe urged to get free card that could save them hundreds

The card provides free or reduced-cost medical treatment while travelling overseas and could save you a lot of money

Transport

last month Move over Zac Efron! Netflix fans go wild over new hunk starring in a rom

A new hunk is gracing the screen in the upcoming Netflix rom-com The Wrong Paris - which is set to hit the streaming site later this year on September 12.

Sport