3 h. ago Digested week: Magic Circle and life in the Vatican return to our psyche

Disappearances of a school and handbag of head of Homeland Security past the Secret Service remain unexplainedI did what a lot of people did on hearing news of the death of Pope Francis on Monday: I watched Conclave. The Oscar nominated movie, adapted from the Robert Harris novel, unpacks the process of electing a new pope and between Sunday and Monday, it enjoyed a 283% surge in streaming figures. I’d like to say it deepened my understanding of life in the Vatican, but the truth is it just made me wish we could have Ralph Fiennes for pope, while reminding me – I’m not alone in this – that we’ve seen quite enough of Stanley Tucci for the time being. Continue reading...

Politics

30 h. ago Woman kicked out of Magic Circle for ‘amusing’ male disguise trick gets back in

Sophie Lloyd is being honoured by the organisation at a ceremony on Thursday night, after being thrown out 30 years ago.

Politics

34 h. ago Magic Circle readmits magician who disguised herself as a man, 30 years later

Sophie Lloyd, who was expelled in 1991 when her deception was exposed, accepts belated apology from the society Deception has always been an integral part of magic. So when Sophie Lloyd set about attempting to gain access to the formerly male-only ranks of the Magic Circle, she concocted an elaborate disguise.To become the magician Raymond Lloyd, she wore a male bodysuit, wig, gloves to disguise her feminine hands – making sleight of hand even more difficult – and wore “plumpers” in her mouth to give herself a square jaw. Continue reading...

Politics

39 h. ago Unmasked: The woman who tricked her way into the Magic Circle by disguising herself as a man...then was thrown out for being female and vanished for 34 years

A woman who vanished after masquerading as a schoolboy to gain entry to the Magic Circle has miraculously reappeared after 34 years and tells the Mail how delighted she is to be back

Politics

3 d. ago Weeping mourners come together at vigils across the globe for Pope Francis in the wake of his death aged 88

Thousands of mourners have tonight gathered for a Rosary prayer vigil in front of St Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, to commemorate the life of Pope Francis, who died at the age of 88. 

Events

3 d. ago Pope Francis's 'final 90 minutes': Pontiff 'was woken at 6am by alarm clock, fell ill at 7 and died at 7.35'

Pope Francis died on Easter Monday aged 88 after dedicating his 'entire life' to serving God and the Church, the Vatican announced today.

Events

4 d. ago Pope Francis 'cause of death' is revealed: How pontiff, 88, passed away peacefully after astonishing final act of Easter devotion saw him tour massive crowds for almost an hour

Pope Francis died on Easter Monday aged 88 after dedicating his 'entire life' to serving God and the Church, the Vatican announced today.

Events

4 d. ago AP PHOTOS: Global tributes pour in to honor Pope Francis after his death

Tributes to Pope Francis poured in from around the world, from presidents to people of all walks of life, after the Vatican announced the pontiff’s death at age 88 on Monday.

Culture

1 week ago A 'sink estate', daily horrors and the truth behind Adolescence

Welcome to this week's 'Unmissable', our digest of the stories we think you might have missed

Events

2 w. ago Digested week: It’s 35 years since the ‘tax man’ conceded married women were independent beings

Let’s celebrate the feminist wins and thank goodness dire wolves are back, since DNA is simpler to understand than tariffsIdeally, for diary purposes, it would be today, but we cannot allow simple chronological misfortune to allow yesterday to go unmarked. For 6 April 1990 was the day that married women became recognised by HMRC as beings – get this! – independent from their husbands, and started having their incomes taxed separately from their spouses’. Of course, many said the rot would set in and it’s true that just a few short years later rape in marriage became a crime, as people started to think that maybe wives’ bodies as well as their earnings were their own and things briefly started looking up all round. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Life and death decisions, a gobs**** and our very own Berlin Wall

Welcome to this week's 'Unmissable', our digest of the stories we think you might have missed

Events

3 w. ago Doctor cites the pope's 'surprising improvement' after surviving life

The pope's doctor says Francis has shown ‘’a truly surprising improvement’’ since returning to the Vatican to convalesce after surviving a life-threatening bout with double-pneumonia

Events

3 w. ago How my dream job turned me into an alcoholic: DOROTHY HERSON

It was 2.30am when I realised I was indisputably not cut out to be a corporate lawyer. My hands hovered, trembling, over the keyboard.

Politics

4 w. ago How my dream job turned me into an alcoholic addict: DOROTHY HERSON

It was 2.30am when I realised I was indisputably not cut out to be a corporate lawyer. My hands hovered, trembling, over the keyboard.

Politics