5 h. ago Cars and steps do not mix: why The Italian Job has a lot to answer for

A driver who got stuck on the Spanish Steps in Rome is the latest in a series of similar vehicular misadventuresThe 1969 caper The Italian Job spawned a Hollywood remake, helped drive the cool-factor of the Mini and launched decades of dad jokes about bloody doors being blown off. It may also have inspired one driver who got stuck trying to travel down the Spanish Steps in Rome this week.The film ended with Michael Caine teetering on the edge of a cliff in a coach, claiming to have a “great idea”. In Rome, the 80-year-old’s navigational error on his way to work ended with emergency services having to bring in a crane to winch his vehicle off the Italian capital’s landmark. Continue reading...

Politics

11 h. ago Israel, we’re begging you: please let aid organisations do our jobs in Gaza | James Elder

Four hundred distribution points have dwindled to four under this private and militarised ‘aid’ system. This is not how to avert a famineJames Elder is Unicef’s global spokespersonAbed Al Rahman, just a boy, carried the weight of his family’s hunger as he stepped into the streets of Gaza in search of bread. He had his father’s money, but when he saw the tide of people pushing towards a food distribution site in Rafah, hunger pulled him into their flow.Almost immediately, the site descended into chaos. Gunfire. Drones. Then in a flash, shrapnel from a tank shell ripped through his little body. When I met him at a hospital in Khan Younis – where painkillers, like food, are scarce – the 13-year-old was in agony. “I have shrapnel inside my body that they couldn’t remove,” he told me. “I am in real pain; since 6am I have been asking for a painkiller.” As he recounted the chaos, his father’s composure shattered, and tears rolled down his face. Was he going to lose his son simply because A...

Politics

11 h. ago Israel, please let aid organisations do our jobs in Gaza | James Elder

Four hundred distribution points have dwindled to four under this private and militarised ‘aid’ system. This is not how to avert a famineJames Elder is Unicef’s global spokespersonAbed Al Rahman, just a boy, carried the weight of his family’s hunger as he stepped into the streets of Gaza in search of bread. He had his father’s money, but when he saw the tide of people pushing towards a food distribution site in Rafah, hunger pulled him into their flow.Almost immediately, the site descended into chaos. Gunfire. Drones. Then in a flash, shrapnel from a tank shell ripped through his little body. When I met him at a hospital in Khan Younis – where painkillers, like food, are scarce – the 13-year-old was in agony. “I have shrapnel inside my body that they couldn’t remove,” he told me. “I am in real pain; since 6am I have been asking for a painkiller.” As he recounted the chaos, his father’s composure shattered, and tears rolled down his face. Was he going to lose his son simply because A...

Politics

18 h. ago Airline staff being trained to bar people without visas from flights to UK

Exclusive: Foreign secretary says training for 9,000 workers at European carriers is step towards more secure bordersThousands of European airline staff are being trained to stop people boarding flights to Britain without valid visas, in a move billed by the foreign secretary as a digital upgrade to border controls.David Lammy said the measures marked a step towards “more secure, more digital and more effective” borders, but the move could raise questions about human rights safeguards. Continue reading...

Politics

26 h. ago Elderly man drives down Rome’s historic Spanish steps after mistaking monument for a road

This is the moment an elderly man drove his car down Rome’s historic Spanish Steps, later telling police he thought he was on his way to work.

Transport

3 d. ago Confused driver gets car stuck on famous Italian tourist attraction

Police in Rome say an 80-year-old man drove a compact luxury Mercedes A Class sedan part way down the city's landmark Spanish Steps before getting stuck

Transport

3 d. ago Man, 80, gets stuck trying to drive down the Spanish Steps in Rome

Police say the man tested negative for alcohol but did not divulge whether or not he had been using a satnavAn 80-year-old man drove a car down the Spanish Steps in Rome early on Tuesday before getting stuck part way, municipal police said in a statement.The man tested negative for alcohol, police said. They did not identify the driver or say if the car, a Mercedes-Benz, was his. Nor did they say whether or not he had been using a satnav. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Could US attack Iran’s Fordow nuclear site? Military movements offer a clue

Refuelling aircraft were tracked heading east, potentially to support B-2 jets carrying bunker-buster bombsMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe US has stepped up its military presence in the Middle East since the weekend but has left certain details vague to preserve operational ambiguity for Donald Trump as he considers whether the US will intervene in the Israel-Iran war.Critically, there has been no new information about the deployment of B-2 bombers that would be used to attack Iran’s deep-lying nuclear enrichment site at Fordow with 13.6-tonne (30,000lb) bunker-buster bombs, designed to penetrate 60 metres of rock. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Man, 80, gets struck trying drive down the Spanish Steps in Rome

Police say the man tested negative for alcohol but did not divulge whether or not he had been using a satnavAn 80-year-old man drove a car down the Spanish Steps in Rome early on Tuesday before getting stuck part way down, municipal police said in a statement.The man tested negative for alcohol, police said. They did not identify the driver or say if the car, a Mercedes-Benz, was his. Nor did they say whether or not he had been using a satnav. Continue reading...

Transport

6 d. ago Playboy vet with an illustrious screen career steps out for rare outing in LA... can you guess who?

A former Playboy magazine star stepped out for a rare outing in Los Angeles over the past weekend - can you guess who it is?

Politics

7 d. ago Royal beams with pride at her daughter's christening as she's joined by King and Queen

Sweden's Royal Family have stepped out to celebrate the christening of Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia's daughter today at a lavish ceremony in Stockholm.

Politics

7 d. ago Forgotten classics take centre stage in this week's Retros: THE STEPDAUGHTER by Caroline Blackwood, FROM SCENES LIKE THESE by Gordon M. Williams, THE WOMAN IN THE HALL by G. B. Stern

Forgotten classics take centre stage in this week's Retros

Politics

9 d. ago Sunita Poddar, CEO of Oakminster Healthcare: Information sharing is the most pressing update in the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill

I welcome the Scottish Parliament’s approval of the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill as a necessary and timely step toward strengthening the future of social care in Scotland.

Economics

1 week ago Two men jailed for life for supplying car bomb that killed Daphne Caruana Galizia

Robert Agius and Jamie Vella were convicted last week of their role in the anti-corruption journalist’s murder in 2017Two men have been sentenced to life in prison for supplying the car bomb that killed the anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta eight years ago.The sentencing on Tuesday of Robert Agius and Jamie Vella, reported to be members of the island’s criminal underworld, marked a significant step in the long campaign to bring those charged with Caruana Galizia’s murder to justice. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Carlos Alcaraz one step closer to Andy Murray on tennis rich list as French Open win boosts net worth

Carlos Alcaraz won the French Open on Sunday with a victory over Jannik Sinner, and the Spaniard has closed in on Andy Murray's earnings ever so slightly

Politics

1 week ago Noel Gallagher reveals how forgotten Oasis star really feels about missing tour

In August 1994, Oasis released their debut album Definitely Maybe, which catapulted them to superstardom. But for the original lineup, this was short-lived, with drummer Tony Carroll quitting in 1995, before Bonehead and Paul ‘Guigsy’ McGuigan stepping away in 1999

Events

1 week ago Romeo Beckham, 22, steps out with stunning German model Caroline Daur, 30, as they leave Paris hotel party in the early hours

Romeo Beckham has been spotted out with German model Caroline Daur, just weeks after his split from girlfriend Kim Turnbull.

Society

1 week ago Five dead and girl, 2, injured as gunmen open fire on group watching football match

A crowd had gathered at the Nueva Buena Fe cooperative in Buena Fe in Ecuador to watch the national football team play when armed attackers stepped out of a car and began shooting

Events

1 week ago The Costa Del Sol gang bloodbath: A shocking new underworld theory is uncovered by FRED KELLY

One week ago, at 11:30pm on Saturday 31 May, a man stepped out of a car in Fuengirola arrived at an Irish beachfront bar packed with tourists and shot two men dead at point blank range.

Events

1 week ago The Costa Del Sol bloodbath: A shocking new underworld theory is uncovered by FRED KELLY

One week ago, at 11:30pm on Saturday 31 May, a man stepped out of a car in Fuengirola arrived at an Irish beachfront bar packed with tourists and shot two men dead at point blank range.

Events