79 m. ago The North Road by Rob Cowen review – the poetry and pain of Britain’s backbone

A beautifully written study of our longest numbered route, the A1, is full of rich asides and haunting explorations, conjuring the visual pleasure of a road movieMost people know the North Road of this book’s title as the London-to-Edinburgh A1. But, as Rob Cowen writes, A1 is a cipher for a 400-mile multiplicity of roads – a historically diverse bundle that includes ancient trackways, a Roman road, the “Old North Road” and the “Great North Road” (the name generally applied to what became the A1 in the road-numbering scheme of the 1920s). This collective forms, as Cowen has it, our primary road – the “backbone” of Britain.As a frequent shuttler between north and south, I prefer the North Road to its rival, the bland, homogenous M1. It has verges and laybys, eccentric pit-stops where the coffee is not necessarily Costa, and a scruffy, improvised air, suggesting something organically arisen from the landscape. But whereas I have merely driven along the road, Cowen has communed with it...

Politics

3 h. ago Exposing ‘the illegals’: how KGB’s fake westerners infiltrated the Prague Spring

Kremlin’s most prized spies were sent in to Czechoslovakia to whip up the 1960s reform protests in a move then replicated across the eastern blocDuring the spring of 1968, as revolutionary sentiment began to grow in communist Czechoslovakia, a group of friendly foreigners began arriving in Prague, on flights from Helsinki and East Berlin, or by car from West Germany.Among them were 11 western European men, a Swiss woman named Maria Weber and a Lebanese carpet dealer called Oganes Sarajian. They were all supporters of what would become known as the Prague Spring, an ultimately doomed attempt to build a more liberal and free ­version of socialism and escape from Moscow’s suffocating embrace. Many of the visitors sought to get close to the movement’s leading lights, offering support in the battle to reform communist rule. Continue reading...

Events

3 h. ago Top 5 Netflix thrillers you need to watch if you love the film Get Out

If you're a fan of thrillers, then these hidden gems on Netflix just might be the perfect films for you. Here's the top five you've probably never seen - but you should.

Politics

6 h. ago Magical UK seaside village brimming with charm and without crowds of tourists

If you want to experience a magical blast from the past, then look no further than this true hidden gem which has been named one of Britain's least crowded and loveliest villages

Politics

10 h. ago Body of missing Paria Veisi found as police issue update and man charged with murder

A 41-year-old man has been charged with the murder of Paria Veisi after the missing woman's body was discovered at a residential property in Penylan, Cardiff, police say

Events

11 h. ago Two people have been charged after the body of a missing woman was found in Cardiff

Police investigating the murder of a 37-year-old woman who was last seen leaving work a week ago have discovered her body.

Events

11 h. ago Police investigating murder of woman in South Wales find her body

A 41-year-old man and a 48-year-old woman have appeared at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court over Paria Veisi’s death

Events

11 h. ago Paria Veisi missing: Body found in desperate hunt for woman, 37, who vanished leaving work

Police investigating the disappearance of a woman in Wales said a body has been found following the disappearance of businesswoman Paria Veisi in Cardiff on April 12

Events

12 h. ago Police find body of missing Cardiff woman Paria Veisi as man charged with murder

A woman has also been charged in connection with the investigation

Events

15 h. ago The 14 best things to do in Cardiff when it’s raining and you’ve run out of cafes to visit

The weather's not always great in Wales but the capital has you covered for things to do

Politics

15 h. ago Aaron Ramsey now favourite to become permanent Cardiff City manager as survival odds improve

Ramsey has been put in charge for the final three matches of the season as the Bluebirds look to survive in the Championship

Events

16 h. ago Even if you’re not a person of faith, there are reasons to see Antoni Gaudí as a saint | Rowan Moore

The Catholic church has taken the first steps to canonise the architect of Barcelona’s extraordinary Sagrada FamíliaI don’t understand the processes by which people become saints, but the case for the canonisation of the great Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, now progressing with the blessing of the pope, seems strong. He was devout – he tried to go without food for 40 days in emulation of Jesus Christ, until a bishop friend talked him out of likely death. The unprecedented phantasmagoria that he designed in stone, iron and ceramic could be called miracles. He even suffered a form of martyrdom, being hit by a tram while apparently deep in thought about his most famous work, the church of Sagrada Família. It’s not quite the same as a burning at the stake or a fusillade of arrows or the other grisly ends of ancient saints, but has its own significance. Gaudí’s mission was to find spiritual meaning in a world transformed by industry and machines, of which the fatal tram might be conside...

Politics

17 h. ago Dragons v Scarlets Live: Judgement Day score updates and team news

All the latest from the Welsh Judgement Day derby match in Cardiff.

Events

17 h. ago Woman looks behind closet in rented flat and discovers secret hidden for 20 years

A woman has shared the bizarre hidden secret she discovered in her apartment which she believes hasn't been found for at least two decades – and it has left people very creeped out

Society

17 h. ago Ospreys v Cardiff referee Ben Connor is just 21 and has a famous Welsh rugby dad

The young official has been tipped for a bright future

Politics

17 h. ago Aaron Ramsey curse: What is it and which celebs died after Cardiff manager scored a goal?

Aaron Ramsey's goals have been linked by some fans to the deaths of a host of famous faces and his 'curse' may return if the new Cardiff City player manager finds the net again

Events

18 h. ago Parents only just spotting hidden 'Easter egg' that appears in every Bluey episode

Bluey is popular with kids and adults alike, but despite its legion of dedicated fans, some are only just noticing a detail that appears in every single one of the show's 154 episodes

Politics

18 h. ago Animal lover who went viral for punching a man who was beating a donkey says she is now getting DEATH THREATS but insists: 'I would do it again

Dutch expat Joke Van der Post was filmed attacking the animal's handler after she saw him repeatedly lashing it while it stood tethered to a wall on the outskirts of Cairo.

Events

18 h. ago Bluey fans are only just spotting hidden detail that appears in every episode

Despite 154 Bluey episodes having already been released, some viewers are only just spotting the hidden 'Easter egg' which appears in the background of some scenes

Politics

19 h. ago Championship club sack manager and make Arsenal legend Aaron Ramsey boss for relegation fight

Cardiff City have sacked manager Omer Riza with the club currently second-bottom and one point from safety in the Championship and named an Arsenal legend to take charge

Sport