96 m. ago The Guardian view on a new deal for travel in Europe: bring back student exchanges | Editorial

The EU is expected to push for special youth visas at next month’s summit. Sir Keir Starmer should say yesStrong hints that a rebranded “youth opportunity scheme” will top the EU’s wishlist at next month’s EU-UK summit are good news for anyone who regrets the diminished travel opportunities that were one result of Brexit. Rising expectations of new European train routes – possibly including direct trains from London to Italy – can only add to the appeal of a potential rule change.There were more consequential impacts of Brexit than restrictions on travel. The disruption of trade, which is predicted by the Office for Budget Responsibility to cause a 4% reduction in long-run productivity, is far more significant economically. Drug shortages continue to create risks to people’s health, and cause problems for doctors and pharmacists. Cancer research and trials have also been badly affected, according to a new report, because of the increased difficulty of attracting scientists and fundi...

Economics

6 h. ago ‘Their pursuits are the cigar and the siesta’: how two centuries of British writers helped forge our view of Spain

Laurie Lee and Robert Graves among ‘English-speaking Quixotes’ in new book celebrating literary love for all things SpanishAlmost 200 years ago, the pioneering British travel writer Richard Ford offered an observation that has been happily ignored by the legions of authors who have traipsed in his dusty footsteps across Spain, toting notebooks, the odd violin or Bible, and, of course, their own particular prejudices.“Nothing causes more pain to Spaniards”, Ford noted in his 1845 Handbook for Travellers in Spain, “than to see volume after volume written by foreigners about their country.” Continue reading...

Politics

6 h. ago 'Frank the Stag Man' says Benidorm boom is down to him and reveals 'genius' way he did it

EXCLUSIVE: Brit Stag and Hen Dos can't stay away from Miller's Beach Bar on the Costa Blanco and the man behind it is Frank the Stag Man - real name Frank Kennedy - who has built up an empire

Politics

11 h. ago The Edwardians: Age of Elegance; Cartier review – excess all areas

King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace; V&A, London British royal history in the era of Fabergé, photography, empire, war and tiny waists is an expertly spangled soap opera. And a blockbuster Cartier show of jewels, maharajas and movie stars rises above the gossipThe future Edward VII looks out from a white marble bust at the start of The Edwardians: Age of Elegance. His eyes have a familiar exophthalmic bulge beneath heavy Saxe-Coburg lids. The sculptor has turned the prince’s head a fraction, to give him a flatteringly distant air of authority, but is otherwise faithful to the facts: Edward’s love of upturned wing collars, of informal jackets and the wide tie knot he popularised, known to this day as the Windsor.Edward (1841-1910) – Bertie, as he was familiarly known – was the eldest son of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria. She is said to have blamed the boy, or at least his chronic philandering, for her husband’s premature death. Prince of Wales until the age of almost 60, waiting...

Events

11 h. ago There’s a deep ugliness and some slippery ethics behind the snail slime beauty boom | Catherine Bennett

If gastropods are lucky, another cheap and unlovable source of age-defying secretions will come along soonApologies. As a reasonably attentive student of generational divides, I’m still late to one of the most dramatic divergences yet: the normalisation of snail slime.At some point, maybe around the time I stopped believing in face cream miracles, smearing on snail mucus, in serums or lotions, was hailed by newcomers to Korean-made skin products as transformative, almost immediately. Its most cherished effect being, as an industry spokeswoman told British Vogue in 2023, “a radiant youthful glow”. Today, thanks more to rhapsodising influencers than age-defying evidence, the slime phenomenon persists, gathers converts and withstands objections from snail supporters, who do not, sadly, seem that numerous. What snails need now, perhaps more than any other animal, is celebrity allies, supposing there are any willing to sacrifice the magical power of slime. Continue reading...

Politics

13 h. ago The Observer view on Equality Act ruling: A dignified compromise that respects the rights of everyone | Editorial

The supreme court judgment gives protections to women at the same level as other groupsThe meaning of “woman” and “female” in the Equality Act has become one of the most contested questions of recent years. Last week the supreme court settled it, in a landmark legal judgment that affirms the rights of women to the same level of legal protection afforded to other groups.The Equality Act protects people against discrimination on the basis of nine protected characteristics, including their sex, race, sexual orientation and gender reassignment. The question at stake was whether “sex” means someone’s biological sex, or their “certificated sex”; in other words, should those who are male but who have a gender recognition certificate (GRC) be treated as a woman under equalities law? Continue reading...

Politics

14 h. ago Zimbabwe's stone carvers seek a revival as an Oxford exhibition confronts a British colonial legacy

A collection of Zimbabwean stone sculptures will be the centerpiece of an exhibition at Oxford University meant to “contextualize” the legacy of British colonialist Cecil John Rhodes

Politics

24 h. ago Britain's Got Talent fans 'thought it was part of the act' after act suffers mishap on stage

Fans are divided regarding whether the "tumble" was staged

Politics

27 h. ago Virgin River fans 'hated' books over series, for one key reason

Netflix's Virgin River has divided book fans over the series on the small screen, with many left hitting out at the 'sexist' narrative from the books penned by American author Robyn Carr.

Culture

30 h. ago Now Play This 2025 review – the end of an era of experimental game design

Somerset House, LondonAfter 10 fun-packed years, it’s a wrap for the UK’s biggest celebration of indie, communal gameplay. But the folk games at the heart of this year’s edition have now filtered into the mainstream, from Taskmaster to The TraitorsWhen she was a child growing up in Adelaide, Australia, Holly Gramazio made up a game with her friend Summer. The two girls would lie back on swings with their eyes closed. When someone made too much noise nearby, they’d sit to attention and yell as loudly as they could: “Don’t wake me up!” The game captured a child’s view of grownups and their irksome inconsistencies – the self-defeating idea, or perhaps threat, that an adult could scream themselves awake amid their stated efforts to remain asleep. It was a co-operative game: the two girls “won” if they shouted in unison. If only one yelled, they lost. “This is the first game I remember playing,” records Gramazio in the printed guide (which also doubles as a delicious compendium of folk g...

Politics

30 h. ago England and Wales' cancer capitals revealed: Interactive map of 36,000 neighbourhoods lays bare how many people are dying of cancer in YOUR area

MailOnline's investigation - presented below in an interactive map - analysed every fatality recorded in 2023. It divides the two nations into 36,000 districts.

Events

30 h. ago Tennis body defends ‘uncomfortable’ shower rule as criticism bubbles over

ITIA responds after reminder about anti-doping rulesMark Petchey says that the statute is ‘unacceptable’The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has come under fire after it issued a reminder about anti-doping rules, saying players chosen to give samples must remain in full view of chaperones if they choose to take a shower first.In a note sent to players via the tours that has found its way on to social media, the ITIA said although it had worked hard to ensure that showers after matches can amount to permissible delays to doping control it was not an “entitlement”. It requested players opting to freshen up first to strictly adhere to the requirement to stay in full view of the chaperone observing them at all times, and that failure to do so would be taken extremely seriously by the ITIA. Continue reading...

Culture

34 h. ago Gerry Francis hopes Auld Enemy rivalry is resurrected on 50th anniversary of England landmark

In the days when Tartan Army hordes colonised Wembley and an age of Scottish goalkeeping misfortune, Francis enjoyed the best year of his career with QPR and England - before his career was blighted by injury

Politics

35 h. ago BBC snooker pundit's view clear on Judd Trump and Ronnie O'Sullivan's decision to quit UK

With top talent like Judd Trump and Ronnie O’Sullivan taking up residence outside the UK, this snooker pundit has chimed in on whether moving will affect their Crucible prospects

Politics

38 h. ago 250 years after America went to war for independence, a divided nation battles over its legacy

Let the arguments begin

Events

45 h. ago Celeb Big Brother fans divided after Chris Hughes and Chesney Hawkes 'serious' clash

Fans tuning in to Celebrity Big Brother on Friday night were sunned to see singer Chesney Hawkes and Love Island star Chris Hughes clash during a night of karaoke

Politics

50 h. ago The Guardian view on Sudan’s third year of conflict: a war against civilians | Editorial

The ambitions of two generals and the interests of other states have led to the massacre of adults and children already forced to flee their homesSudan has begun its third year of civil war in the bleakest manner imaginable: mourning the massacre of hundreds of civilians and relief workers in displacement camps in Darfur. What began as a power struggle between generals has led to the killing of tens of thousands of people and widespread sexual and ethnic violence. The International Rescue Committee says the result is the biggest humanitarian crisis ever recorded: 640,000 people face catastrophic hunger. Basic services and infrastructure, already woefully inadequate, have been destroyed.“One thing that has been consistent since day one,” the Sudanese activist and commentator Dallia Mohamed Abdelmoniem observed this week, “[is that] it’s a war on civilians. Now, I think we’ve become so desensitised to it, that doesn’t make much of a difference any more. There’s no impact.” Continue re...

Events

52 h. ago Man divides opinion by watching football game on his phone while his girlfriend gives birth 'in screaming pain' next to him

Keem Woodlands made the confession in a video posted to his TikTok where he showed his girlfriend in hospital as he watched Arsenal vs. Real Madrid.

Sport

53 h. ago I'm a psychologist, this is how to avoid the manipulative tricks restaurants use to make you spend money

A UK-based marketing psychologist has warned that 'every detail' in a restaurant is there to 'influence' diners and, ultimately, encourage them to spend money.

Economics

56 h. ago I was a female porn addict for nearly 20 years. These are the hidden signs your partner might be in the same situation: ERICA GARZA

The first time I saw porn, I was around 12 years old, having stumbled across it while watching late-night cable TV. Sadly, online pornography now means young people can view it at such a tender age.

Politics