15 m. ago Man, 22, with 'great future ahead of him' dies after 'freak accident'

Friends and family have paid tribute to Curtis Arckless, who was described as having a 'heart of gold'

Events

28 m. ago Drag Race UK's La Voix makes Strictly Come Dancing history as seventh contestant

The seventh celebrity from the 2025 Strictly Come Dancing line-up has been announced, joining the likes of Love Island star Dani Dyer and Doctor Who star Alex Kingston

Culture

40 m. ago ‘Challenger level is about survival’: brutal reality of life below elite tennis

Shared motel rooms, sleeping on floors and making a net loss are among hurdles facing the globetrotters chasing ranking pointsLess than a year after exiting the 2022 Wimbledon quarter-final on the All England Club’s pristine No 1 Court, Cristian Garín found himself 10,000 miles away on a hard court on the Pacific island of Nouméa, New Caledonia.The Chilean, who had a career-high ranking of world No 17, had signed up for an ATP Challenger event, tennis’s second-tier tour, mostly attracting players outside the top 100, after a wrist injury forced him to miss two ATP Masters 1000 events. By January 2023, Garín sat at a precarious No 82. Continue reading...

Events

40 m. ago Iraq’s marshes were considered an Eden. Now the oil industry is sucking them dry

Hawizeh’s wetlands once had abundant fishing and wildlife. In a land threatened by drought and desertification, oil drilling is draining the last of the waterAt dawn, a veil of mist clings to the canals of Hawizeh, where sky and water seem to blur into a mirror. In the stern of a narrow wooden boat, 23-year-old Mustafa Hashim scans the marshes’ shallows, cutting the motor and switching to a traditional pole to avoid snagging on invasive roots or thickening mud.It takes him about half an hour to push through the shrinking marshes to reach Um al-Nea’aj, once a vibrant lake teeming with boats and birdsong. Now, the water is about half a metre deep. Continue reading...

Politics

42 m. ago New guidance for UK police on releasing suspects’ ethnicity and migration status

Disclosure of migration status, and ethnicity, could help keep peace ‘where there are high levels of disinformation’Police forces should consider disclosing the ethnicity and migration status of suspects when they are charged in high-profile and sensitive investigations, according to new official guidance.After a row over claims that police “covered up” the backgrounds of two men charged in connection with the alleged rape of a child, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing have backed plans to release details of nationality when there is a “policing purpose” for doing so. Continue reading...

Events

56 m. ago Inheritance tax changes under consideration amid spending gap concerns

According to The Guardian, officials are examining whether tightening rules around the gifting of assets and money could help address the UK's multi-billion-pound fiscal shortfall.

Economics

90 m. ago The meticulous precision and planning behind Queen Elizabeth's public engagements

Known for her vibrant and carefully considered wardrobe, Queen Elizabeth II understood the powerful impact of fashion.

Politics

91 m. ago Newcastle to complete £74m transfers as Alexander Isak waits on dream Liverpool move

Newcastle could land a second signing in a week if they do succeed with their plan to land Jacob Ramsey from Aston Villa having already signed Malick Thiaw from AC Milan

Economics

1 hour ago Love Island star sparks fix row as she says winner Toni Laites was ITV plant

Toni Laites emerged victorious from the latest series of Love Island but it's now been alleged that she was actually spotted by a top ITV producer when he was on holiday

Politics

1 hour ago Oslo Stories Trilogy: Love review – gracefully grownup and breezy relationships drama

Doctor Marianne wonders if her gay colleague Tor’s approach to dating would work for her, in the second film of Dag Johan Haugerud’s absorbing trilogyHere is the second of Norwegian film-maker and novelist Dag Johan Haugerud’s seductive trilogy about affairs of the heart and mind, set in Oslo. (It comes between Sex and Dreams.) It is a thoroughly grownup and absorbing drama, acted with such sympathy and warmth, a ruminative and exploratory movie of ideas, and one that pays its audience the compliment of treating them as intelligent beings. Love is about a familiar question: can straight people learn from or even absorb the open and polygamous approach to sex that appears to come easier to gay people (and perhaps younger people of all sexualities), perhaps specifically gay men? Or is that idea stereotypical and naive?Andrea Braein Hovig plays Marianne, a urology consultant whose job it is to give bad news to a succession of men about their prostate cancer. She is single (though her p...

Events

1 hour ago ‘A tour de force!’: LensCulture Critics’ Choice awards – in pictures

From hazardous trips through the Kurdish mountains to a queer journey into the heart of Americana, these images all wowed the esteemed prize’s judges Continue reading...

Events

1 hour ago A moment that changed me: I resolved to reduce my screen time – and it was a big mistake

I was looking for liberation from the apps, but quitting them only made my life harder and turned me into a man obsessedI unlocked my iPhone screen at the precise moment that my weekly screen time notification appeared – accidentally dismissing it before I could take a screenshot – and promptly erupted into a rage. I had spent an excruciating week resolutely not looking at my phone, part of a month-long effort to whittle my daily screen time down from more than four hours a day to less than an hour, with the hope of improving my mental wellbeing (and possibly carving out a career as an inspirational speaker). But my efforts felt futile without being able to post evidence online about how offline I had become. I frantically Googled how to retrieve notifications (you cannot) and – briefly – considered re-creating my screen time report in Photoshop.Over the past decade or two, my efforts at self-improvement have taken various forms: the year where I read 105 books; the period during wh...

Politics

1 hour ago Common traffic jam habit could land drivers £200 fine and 6 points

If taken to court you could actually be fined as much as £1,000

Economics

2 h. ago Church of Scotland sale row intensifies with communities only given weeks to bid

In the last three years, the Church has sold 31 church and hall properties to local groups, but communities across Scotland say they continue to feel betrayed by the sale process.

Politics

2 h. ago 'Considerable interest' in sale of island castle and land at heart of clan controversy

The closing date for the castle sale is drawing near

Politics

3 h. ago Judge to hear arguments on halting 'Alligator Alcatraz' construction over environmental concerns

A federal judge will hear closing arguments in a hearing over whether to stop construction indefinitely at an immigrant detention center in the Florida Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” as she considers whether it violates environmental laws

Events

3 h. ago Seals, puffins and sunshine: snorkelling trip to remote British island gives young carers a taste of the sea

Charity gives children a well-earned break from caring responsibilities, hoping that a day’s snorkelling amid the island’s wildlife will help them connect with nature“A seal just swam right by me,” squeals Odin Rawlinson, 14, as he awkwardly clambers back on to the dive boat in his flippers. He had hoped to see a megalodon or a kraken (a mythical sea creature) on his first ever snorkelling trip. But to his surprise, he finds the marine life that actually frequents the waters off Lundy in the Bristol Channel just as enchanting.Odin Rawlinson on the trip to Lundy – the 14-year-old looks after his mother who has kidney failure and has to have regular dialysis sessions in hospital. Continue reading...

Politics

3 h. ago The Swiss lived in splendid isolation for years. Trump’s tariffs have shattered that complacency | Joseph de Weck

The shockwaves sent by the US president could finally push Switzerland closer to the EUGrowing up in Zurich often felt like being removed from the world. It shouldn’t be that way: after all, Switzerland is at the heart of Europe. Riding on the cosy Zurich trams, one hears all the world’s languages; and the airport offers more direct intercontinental flights than Berlin. And yet, coming of age in Switzerland is like sitting in an aquarium looking at the world through a thick bulletproof window.That glass was shattered last week when Donald Trump announced 39% tariffs on Swiss exports. The US is the most important destination for Swiss products: 18.6% of all its exports go there. If Trump maintains the tariffs, sales to the US “will be effectively annihilated”, said Switzerland’s industry lobbying group. The rightwing Swiss business minister, Guy Parmelin, announced a furlough programme to shield the economy from “mass layoffs”. The tabloid newspaper Blick captured the mood with a sta...

Politics

3 h. ago The sad secret life of Ashley Biden: Her diary about 'showers with dad', her sex addiction and marriage confessions... as she files for divorce

At times tragic, at others tawdry, the turbulent history of the Biden clan was one that the mainstream US media was long happy to ignore.

Politics

4 h. ago Inheritance tax changes under consideration amid spending gap concerns – reports

Government U-turns over winter fuel payments and welfare reform have left Chancellor Rachel Reeves with a multibillion-pound fiscal shortfall.

Economics