36 m. ago What we know about the secretive government agency planning to dim the sun

It sounds like a mission worthy of a sci-fi movie, but a secretive government agency really is planning to dim the sun.

Politics

46 m. ago Can robots make the perfect Aperol spritz? – Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 review

From 3D-printing with bacteria to cocktail-mixing humanoids, from the future of space suits to reassurances about climate change, this mind-boggling rollercoaster of a show could do with a more focused curatorial visionA teetering wall of gungy green bricks greets visitors to this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale, forming an imposing blockade near the start of the show. The blocks are made of bio-cement, incorporating fishing nets and algae dredged from the depths of the Venetian lagoon. The wall’s steeply sloping gradient follows the curve of global population growth over the last millennium, terminating abruptly near the ceiling to represent the coming peak of humanity. “What awaits us on the other side of the hill?” asks Carlo Ratti, director of this year’s biennale, as he stands in front of the momentous cliff. The answer is a great heap of gunge. A festering mountain of mould-like gunk is piled up against the back of the wall, apparently an allegory for microbial intelligenc...

Events

47 m. ago Paramotors ‘came down very quickly’ after crash, inquiry told

Cameraman Dan Burton, 54, died after his paramotor crashed with one flown by climate activist Sacha Dench in the Highlands in September 2021.

Events

1 hour ago BGT icon predicts winner but says act will only take crown if one thing happens

EXCLUSIVE: A Britain's Got Talent winner has revealed who he thinks will take the crown this year as he analyses the ITV show - and guesses who will be the next champ

Politics

2 h. ago Sadiq Khan 'sends in the bulldozers' for London's Green Belt: Anger as Mayor says homes could be built on 'low quality' land to hit Labour's targets

In a shift of position, Sadiq Khan is using a speech to argue that brownfield site alone cannot meet the capital's needs.

Events

2 h. ago Emma Jane Unsworth: ‘I blush when I think of Miranda July’s All Fours. I became a changed woman’

The author of Slags on Patricia Highsmith, Judy Blume and her lifelong reaction to YeatsMy earliest reading memory Probably a Garfield book when I was five or six. I loved Garfield. Mostly because he was funny, but also because he was an iconic ginger. He introduced me to lasagne, which I pronounced “la-sign”. It was the 1980s. I got told off all the time for reading at the dinner table.My favourite book growing up After my nanna’s Mills & Boons, stolen from her bedside table, I’d have to say Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables. Another iconic ginge. Also Anne and Gilbert were the greatest “will they/won’t they?” until Mulder and Scully in The X Files. Continue reading...

Politics

4 h. ago Jobs saved by "historic" US trade deal, Rightmove set for growth and British Airways orders new Boeing fleet

From a last-minute US trade deal and a £699m property merger to new aircraft orders, rising resale listings, and plans to build on London’s green belt, here are today’s top stories in UK business in under two minutes.

Society

4 h. ago Couple expecting their first baby win £4.5million Omaze London home which has incredible views of The Shard and was once Britain's most expensive council house

This 4.5m property used to be the country's most expensive council house but now will house hospitality worker Roger Cana, 37, his pregnant wife Shalini, 33.

Economics

5 h. ago Biggest ever UK landline switch off confirmed and your home could be on this list

Britain is moving away from ageing copper cables with one of the biggest ever shutdowns now confirmed.

Politics

5 h. ago Manx Liberty’s wildcards deliver in style to regain British team chess crown

The Isle of Man team enlisted two young English stars to help regain the 4NCL title that they won in 2022 and 2023The Four Nations Chess League (4NCL) is a bedrock of British chess. Staged over 11 rounds and five weekends from October to May at ­Midlands hotels, with teams of eight in the top division and six in divisions two to four, it attracts players from club level to grandmaster, many of whom do not compete in any other national event. Its organisation, by the ­English Chess Federation chief executive, Mike Truran, and a ­hardworking team of arbiters, is consistently excellent.As expected, the 2024-25 season ended last Monday with a close 11th round match between the favourites and defending champions, Wood Green, and the winners for the two previous years, Manx Liberty. The outcome was a ­rarity. All eight games were drawn for a 4-4 scoreline, although most were hard fought and Manx missed a winning endgame chance. Continue reading...

Politics

6 h. ago Keir Starmer can’t build a stronger European partnership by stealth. He has to declare it aloud | Rafael Behr

Britain has ‘reset’ relations with the EU, but with Farage ascendant again, our politics must be cured of the Brexit virusNot much about Britain’s post-Brexit relationship with the European Union is settled, but Keir Starmer can justifiably claim it has been “reset”. That word was artfully chosen before last year’s election to dress low aspiration as high diplomacy. There are 10 days of negotiation before the summit in London, where a new UK-EU partnership is due to be unveiled. It will be more outline than substance. But there is progress in the very fact that Britain’s ruling party sees Brussels as a partner, not a parasite.Old-guard Eurosceptics will, of course, denounce any deal as a betrayal of Brexit. If there are plans for a time-limited, youth exchange visa, it will be decried as a return to free movement by the back door. If there is agreement to align regulations so that goods can more efficiently cross borders and the European court of justice is involved in adjudicating ...

Events

6 h. ago London mayor aims to build on green belt to fix housing crisis

London mayor aims to build on green belt to fix housing crisis  BBC

Events

7 h. ago Sadiq Khan to announce plans to build houses on London green belt

Sadiq Khan to announce plans to build houses on London green belt  The Guardian

Politics

11 h. ago Wreaths at the Abbey... and later a plea from the King to bequeath a better world: ROBERT HARDMAN reflects on the conclusion to Britain's VE Day 80 celebrations

Addressing last night's national concert on Horse Guards Parade, the monarch reminded the world of the VE Day words of his grandfather, King George VI, about the quest for 'lasting peace'.

Politics

12 h. ago Sadiq Khan and Angela Rayner planning to 'concrete over London's green belt' in act of 'environmental vandalism'

Sadiq Khan and Angela Rayner planning to 'concrete over London's green belt' in act of 'environmental vandalism'  GB News

Politics

12 h. ago Sadiq Khan: 'We must build on green belt to ease London's housing crisis'

Mayor’s critics warn his plan marks ‘a devastating blow to the environment and our green spaces’

Events

12 h. ago Sadiq Khan unveils plan to rip up green belt to build flats for Londoners

The controversial move is likely to face opposition from environmental campaigners

Politics

12 h. ago Sadiq Khan announces London's Green Belt to be built on to tackle homes crisis

London Mayor Sadiq Khan will announce plans to build on London's Green Belt - saying this is the only way enough affordable homes can be delivered in the next decade

Events

12 h. ago Khan Plans to Build on Green Belt to End London Housing Crisis

Khan Plans to Build on Green Belt to End London Housing Crisis  Bloomberg.com

Events

15 h. ago What Donald Trump's 'major trade deal' with UK will mean as Tories say we've been shafted

Sir Keir Starmer met with the orange manbaby and hailed the trade deal as 'historic' in what it will bring to Britain - but thee opposition party had another word for it

Politics