21 h. ago Children's mentor convicted of sexual assault of five teenage girls at London school

Emem Udaw, 50, convicted over offences over 20 years ago as brave victims come forward years after abuse

Events

28 h. ago Women who say they were tricked into servitude for Opus Dei to meet in Argentina

Pope urged organisers to hold conference after 43 women alleged they were exploited as minors by Catholic groupBuenos Aires will on Tuesday host the first-ever international gathering of former Opus Dei members who say they were tricked and trafficked into domestic servitude as minors – allegations that have drawn scrutiny of the powerful, secretive Catholic group. Pope Leo XIV privately urged organisers to convene the conference, the Guardian has learned.Forty-three women in Argentina say they were lured to Opus Dei schools as children and teenagers under promises of receiving an education. Instead, they say they were forced into working up to 12-hour days, cooking and cleaning for the elite male members, without pay. Continue reading...

Politics

58 h. ago Peter Andre 'fully supports' social media ban as he issues chilling warning

Peter Andre has backed Australia's social media ban for teenagers and warned that the 'dangers are so real' online for children as he hopes that other countries will follow suit

Events

3 d. ago ‘This extraordinary story never goes out of fashion’: 30 authors on the books they give to everyone

Colm Tóibín, Robert Macfarlane, Elif Shafak, Michael Rosen and more share the novels, poetry and memoirs that make the perfect giftI love giving books as presents. I rarely give anything else. I strongly approve of the Icelandic tradition of the Jólabókaflóðið (Yule book flood), whereby books are given (and, crucially, read) on Christmas Eve. Nan Shepherd’s The Living Mountain is the one I’ve given more often than any other; so much so that I keep a stack of four or five to hand, ready to give at Christmas or any other time of the year. It’s a slender masterpiece – a meditation on Shepherd’s lifelong relationship with the Cairngorm mountains, which was written in the 1940s but not published until 1977. It’s “about the Cairngorms” in the sense that Mrs Dalloway is “about London”; which is to say, it is both intensely engaged with its specific setting, and gyring outwards to vaster questions of knowledge, existence and – a word Shepherd uses sparingly but tellingly – love. Contin...

Culture

4 d. ago Best Joanna Trollope Books: Here are the 10 best novels by the Queen of the Aga Saga according to readers

The author sold more than five million books worldwide.

Politics

4 d. ago Children baring brunt of 'super flu' crisis as Wes Streeting warns raging outbreak could TRIPLE in size and fears grow that looming doctors' strike could collapse overwhelmed NHS

Children and teenagers are driving the surge in 'mutant flu' cases, new figures have revealed.

Events

4 d. ago Joanna Trollope, bestselling chronicler of ordinary life, dies aged 82

Her novels, including A Village Affair and Other People’s Children, drew on what Fay Weldon called a ‘gift for putting her finger on the problem of the times’British novelist Joanna Trollope, whose portrayals of British domestic life made her one of the nation’s most widely read authors, has died at the age of 82.Trollope published more than 30 novels during a writing career that began in 1980. Her early works, written under the pseudonym Caroline Harvey, were historical romances, but from the mid-1980s onward, she turned to contemporary fiction, a shift that would define her reputation. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago NHS pinpoints the age group most likely to be affected by new mutant flu strain

Children and teenagers are driving the surge in 'mutant flu' cases, new figures have revealed.

Politics

5 d. ago One in five young people now use mental health services by age 18

New research shows a fourfold increase in the numbers of young people using specialist mental health care in the last two decades

Politics

6 d. ago Confessions of a Shopaholic novelist Sophie Kinsella dies aged 55

The ‘queen of romantic comedy’ has died 18 months after announcing her brain cancer diagnosisMadeleine Wickham, known for writing the bestselling novel Confessions of a Shopaholic under her pen name Sophie Kinsella, has died aged 55.Wickham, dubbed “the queen of romantic comedy” by novelist Jojo Moyes, wrote more than 30 books for adults, children and teenagers, which have sold more than 45m copies. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago All My Precious Madness by Mark Bowles review – a deliciously sweary, prize

The actor Paul Hilton brilliantly inhabits the character of a ranting working-class academic in this debut novelSome books feel so suited to the audio format that they could have been written with the voice in mind. All My Precious Madness is one of those. Mark Bowles’s debut novel, which won the audiobook fiction category at the inaugural British Audio awards (where, full disclosure, I was a judge), is a deliciously sweary monologue from a middle-aged malcontent.A sideways reflection on working-class identity and masculinity, the novel gives voice to Henry Nash, a man of little patience. Sitting in a London coffee shop and trying to write a monograph of his father, he rains judgment on the other patrons whose obnoxious phone calls he can’t help but overhear. An Oxford graduate turned writer and academic, Nash lives in a Soho flat where he has been known to furtively drop eggs on passersby who disturb him with their drunken racket. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Two in five teenagers in England and Wales ‘abused’ in intimate relationships

Survey of 11,000 13- to 17-year-olds says emotional and physical abuse includes control, pressure or violenceTwo in five teenagers in intimate relationships say they have experienced emotional or physical abuse, including control, pressure or violence, according to a survey in England and Wales.“Teenage years are often when children first begin to explore romantic relationships,” the report says. “At their best, these can bring joy and companionship and teach important lessons about trust. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago 10 notable books of 2025: A posthumous memoir about Epstein, 'Hunger Games' and reliving 2024

The publishing world's notable releases this year included a new “Hunger Games” novel and a book by Thomas Pynchon

Politics

2 w. ago I spend £100,000 a year on education for my three kids, says best

Clare is a crime writer best known for her million-selling debut novel, I Let You Go, a Richard And Judy Book Club pick that was also Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year in 2016.

Economics

2 w. ago Nashville neighbors can see what's REALLY going on with Nicole Kidman. It's so sad... and even more embarrassing: KENNEDY

Nicole Kidman spent this Thanksgiving without her youngest children. The actress agreed that teen daughters Sunday Rose and Faith Margaret would spend Turkey Day with their dear old dad.

Politics

2 w. ago Self Esteem: ‘How often do I have sex? Oh, often. That is one thing I don’t compromise on’

The singer on going solo, bringing back George Michael, and why a dog made her rethink motherhoodBorn in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, Rebecca Lucy Taylor, 39, was in the duo Slow Club. After 10 years, she went solo as Self Esteem and received Mercury prize, NME and Brit nominations for her second album, 2021’s Prioritise Pleasure. This year, she won the Ivor Novello Visionary award and released a book and album, both called A Complicated Woman. In March, she stars in David Hare’s Teeth ’n’ Smiles at the Duke of York’s theatre, London. She lives in London with her partner.When were you happiest? Five to 10, when I was just playing out and I didn’t realise I was a girl. Before my boobs came in, basically. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Irish novelist Sally Rooney says her books may no longer be sold in Britain due to her support for Palestine Action

Normal People author Sally Rooney's books may have to be withdrawn from sale and none of her new works published in the UK due to 'uncertainty' caused by the ban on Palestine Action

Culture

2 w. ago Comedian Peter Kay announces more shows with profits going to charity

He will make donations to groups including Children With Cancer UK and Teenage Cancer Trust

Culture

2 w. ago Lucy Steed’s debut novel named as Waterstones Book of the Year

A romantic-mystery debut novel, The Artist by Lucy Steeds, set against the sun-drenched backdrop of southern France, has been crowned the 2025 Waterstones Book of the Year.

Culture

2 w. ago Blurred Faces, by Allan Radcliffe review: 'an impressive Edinburgh

In exploring what can turn a casual encounter into a loving relationship, Allan Radcliffe’s second novel has the subtlety not to provide easy answers, writes David Robinson

Politics