3 h. ago Body found in 'secret' lake after specialist search teams spent hours looking

The Secret Lake, between Reddish and Levenshulme, in Greater Manchester was cordoned off while a rescue operation took place with underwater search officers in attendance

Politics

4 h. ago Tragedy as body found after police close off Greater Manchester lake

Officers spent hours at the scene

Events

4 d. ago ‘Who wept for these people?’ Francis’s papacy was defined by compassion for refugees

From personally promising to relocate vulnerable asylum seekers to speaking out against ‘cruel’ policies, the late pope was a voice for the marginalisedOn a glorious spring day almost a decade ago, an Airbus A320 took off from Mytilene airport on the Greek island of Lesbos. For what seemed like an age, a small group of bystanders, including officials and the media, watched in disbelief until the plane veered left over the sun-speckled Aegean Sea and its Alitalia livery could no longer be discerned. On board was Pope Francis, who had spent barely five hours on Lesbos, then at the centre of the refugee crisis on Europe’s eastern fringes.The whirlwind tour had been replete with symbolism but it was the pontiff’s fellow travellers who had caused such surprise. Moments after the head of the Roman Catholic Church had entered the aircraft, 12 refugees had also appeared, cheerfully making their way across the runway with expressions of stunned relief, their first taste of freedom after inca...

Events

4 d. ago A high school singing audition inspired by Flashdance haunted me for years – until I found my voice again | Nova Weetman

My singing voice is rarely tested, except for the occasional Happy Birthday. But a music festival choir singalong changed everythingWhen I was 16 I eagerly auditioned for our high school musical, singing a verse and the chorus from the Irene Cara song Flashdance What a Feeling. Instead of taking the music teacher’s advice and picking something suitable for my voice, I chose this song because I secretly wanted to be just a dancer with a welding mask – just like the star of the film.Preparations were intense. I spent hours rehearsing at home, nailing down the lyrics and watching the same scene over and over on my treasured VHS copy of Flashdance. I would have attempted some of the dance moves too but it was clear to everyone that was never going to be to my advantage. Continue reading...

Culture

6 d. ago The Guardian view on Pope Francis: an outsider who was a force for good in the world | Editorial

The Argentine pontiff was a vital progressive influence on issues such as migration, and fought for a more merciful, less rigid Catholic churchDefying doctors’ orders to rest following his battle with double pneumonia, a weak Pope Francis last week visited Rome’s Regina Coeli prison, where he blew kisses towards inmates and spent half an hour in discussion with some of those incarcerated. Sadly, this Maundy Thursday encounter turned out to be one of the last acts of a supremely hardworking papacy. In retrospect, its location was entirely appropriate.Throughout his 12 years in Saint Peter’s chair, Francis sought admirably to refocus the Catholic church’s energies on the marginalised, while challenging the power of entrenched interests. Coming, as he put it, “from the ends of the earth”, the first non-European pontiff of modern times was an outsider pope and a radical one. Within the church, the Argentine was a sometimes spikily direct reformer; outside it, he was a signific...

Politics

6 d. ago Death row brothers who spent 23 hours a day in a box over murders are given new sentence

Thinkwell Moyo and Fred Dube brutally murdered a taxi driver by cutting his throat and stabbing him repeatedly before leaving him in a shallow grave with his head 'hanging loosely'

Events

7 d. ago Some British MPs spending equivalent of a day a week doing second jobs

Guardian analysis finds seven MPs have worked at least 300 hours since July in outside employmentA total of seven MPs have spent on average one working day a week on second jobs since the start of the 2024 parliament, with additional gigs as TV presenters, lawyers and consultants.A Guardian analysis of self-declared working hours found the seven had worked at least 300 hours since July – the equivalent of eight hours a week, in outside employment averaged across the parliament – totalling more than 3,000 hours between them. A further seven MPs had worked at least five hours a week on a second job. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago 'He called for help — no one came' Family seeks change after grandfather bled to death alone

Much-loved Peter Parker's last hours were likely spent in pain as he bled to death waiting for help from 999 that never came

Events

7 d. ago Looking for the last human place on the internet? Try Google Maps

The navigation app might be built for function – but dig deeper and you’ll find a trove of inside jokes, neighbourhood quirks and charming errors• Read more in the Internet wormhole seriesThere is a certain kind of guy who looks at Google Maps for fun. I am that guy. As a kid I went through a cartography phase, drawing elaborate maps of fictional islands and poring over the family street directory in an effort to reconcile the lines and dots on the overcrowded pages with the streets, shops and friends’ houses in my mind’s eye. You could say that phase never really ended.In much the same way as some people will pull up a movie’s IMDb entry the second they start watching, any time I come across an interesting town, country or geographical oddity (which is often in the news business), I’m firing up Maps to see what topographical morsels I can uncover. I’m no GeoGuessr savant, but I’ve spent many pleasant hours puzzling over interesting enclaves and panhandles, or pootling around far-fl...

Technology

1 week ago I spent 4 hours with the Nintendo Switch 2 and this is what I learnt

I got to spend 4 hours with the Nintendo Switch 2 - and these are my early impressions 🎮

Politics

2 w. ago Images show charred remains of electric car and charger following fire

Crews spent more than 14 hours at the scene

Events

2 w. ago Rescuers battled round the clock to help campers at risk from Galloway Forest Park wildfire

Galloway Mountain Rescue Team members spent more than 24 hours removing campers and local residents from parts of the forest, including the Little Spear, Bruce’s Stone, Loch Doon and Clatteringshaws areas.

Events

3 w. ago Dramatic video shows flames soaring from ground near Greater Manchester country park

Crews spent hours at the scene

Sport

4 w. ago Shane Warne death 'cover up': The shocking item that was quietly removed from hotel room where Aussie cricket legend spent final hours in marathon orgy with three Thai prostitutes

EXCLUSIVE: A super strong sex drug was found at the luxury villa where cricket legend Shane Warne died - but then quietly disposed of by police officers.

Events

last month Maybe I’m Amazed by John Harris review – a father and his autistic son bond through music

An honest and intensely moving book about the struggle of parenthood and the power of connectionOne of my favourite books growing up was my dad’s copy of The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics. I spent hours flicking through images of an eyeless, trombone-mouthed golden man swallowing naked bodies, and a full-page, black-and-white comic strip by legendary psychedelic artist Rick Griffin. It didn’t matter that I hadn’t yet listened to most of the songs – the surreal visual riffs felt like dispatches from an undiscovered country. Later, the Beatles became my favourite band. I chain-listened to the albums, read endless books, watched the movies and recited Beatles’ lore to anyone within earshot. “Oh dear,” said my mum one morning, as I reeled off an account of how a 40-piece orchestra improvised the rising crescendo in A Day in the Life, “you’ve become a Beatles bore.”Maybe I’m Amazed opens with John Harris’s 15-year-old son, James, ecstatically absorbed in a...

Politics