82 m. ago Netflix viewers rave about 'quirky' drama series and watch all seasons in 2 days

Netflix subscribers have been 'smashing' through episodes of a period drama that has been described as 'quirky' and 'interesting' - and people wish they'd have watched it sooner

Events

86 m. ago China and Britain shared a mission to fight aggression and fascism. And we can work together today | Zheng Zeguang

As we remember VJ Day, let us also recall a spirit that can help us combat regional instability and climate changeZheng Zeguang is Chinese ambassador to the UKThis year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese people’s war of resistance against Japanese aggression and the world anti-fascist war. On Friday, there will be a two-minute silence at noon in the UK to honour the 80th anniversary of VJ Day. This is a moment not only for solemn remembrance, but also for reflection on the enduring bonds forged in the crucible of history – bonds that continue to resonate in our world today.At the darkest hour of the second world war, China and the UK fought on different fronts but shared a common mission: to defend humanity against fascism and aggression. Millions of lives were lost, cities razed, and families torn apart. Yet in that darkness, courage and solidarity illuminated the way forward. The Chinese and British peoples stood shoulder to shoulder, united by sacrifice and ...

Events

98 m. ago Rescuers search for missing flash flood victims in remote Kashmir village

Authorities are searching for missing people in a remote village in India-controlled Kashmir after flash floods caused by torrential rains

Events

1 hour ago People on PIP never need to tell DWP about these changes in circumstances

Not every change in circumstances will affect your entitlement to PIP or see payments paused.

Politics

1 hour ago Flash floods triggered by heavy rains kill at least 49 people in northwestern Pakistan

Officials in Pakistan say flash floods triggered by heavy rains have killed at least 49 people in the northwest and elsewhere in the country over the past 24 hours

Events

2 h. ago Airport chaos hits Britain yet again as planes 'clip wings' at Manchester Airport and stop ALL flights

The incident took place at Manchester Airport at just after 6.30am this morning with people heading on their summer holidays warned to expect delays.

Events

2 h. ago Several Palestinian people reported injured in overnight attack by Israeli settlers in West Bank – Middle East crisis live

Settlers attacked Palestinian people in village of Susya, south of Hebron, while separately settlers reportedly attacked village of Atara and set fire to vehiclesHere is some more detail on the controversial plan to significantly expand a settlement near occupied East Jerusalem.The decision from the Supreme Planning Council, which meets next week, is expected to support the plan after rejecting objections by Israeli NGOs.The expected decision in favour will come after Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich – who backs both the plan and the imposition of Israeli sovereignty through the occupied West Bank – gloated that he believed construction on E1 would “bury the idea of a Palestinian state”. Continue reading...

Events

2 h. ago Edinburgh tattoo artist who started working in studio on a whim found social media fame

“As an artist, my gallery walks around, gets up and leaves – my work is somewhere in the world, living a life and interacting with other people.”

Politics

2 h. ago Fit for TV: The Reality of The Biggest Loser review – how did television ever sink so low?

Cruelty. Contestants who have abuse screamed in their face. Cash prizes. This documentary about a horrific 00s weight-loss reality TV series in the US makes for deeply troubling watchingThe mid-2000s were a peculiar time in television. After the dubious 90s innovations of Jerry Springer in the US were followed by the UK launch of Big Brother, it was clear that using the travails of so-called ordinary people as fuel for small-screen entertainment was an idea with legs. There was a mini goldrush of sorts as programme makers realised that conflict, extremity and dysfunction would always sell – and that any human-interest subject could be shoehorned into some version of reality TV.In Britain, ITV’s The Jeremy Kyle Show began casting its malign spell in 2005. In the US, something similarly queasy (and enduring) had arrived a year earlier in the shape of NBC’s weight loss bootcamp-meets-bearpit, The Biggest Loser, which took contestants living with obesity then belittled them with humilia...

Culture

2 h. ago Chilling final photos of people seconds before being eaten alive by animals

Pensioner Wasim, 80, was bathing in a river near his home in Indonesia when a 10ft reptile pounced and below we look at other animal attacks that were caught on camera

Culture

3 h. ago Haunting last photos of people seconds before animals mauled them to death

Some deaths are worse than others and being mauled by an animal on camera certainly ranks as an unpleasant one and this was the case in recent weeks when a grandad encountered a crocodile

Events

4 h. ago 'I can’t believe they are this bothered': The new Greater Manchester pub that's got people talking before it's even opened

After success in Altrincham, the popular Irish bar is preparing to open its second site in Didsbury

Politics

4 h. ago Climate crisis harming world heritage painted houses in Burkina Faso, say residents

Tiébélé’s wavy-walled houses covered in geometric lines showing signs of disintegration amid erratic weatherA world heritage site that was once a famous tourist destination is suffering from signs of disintegration, as climate change affects weather patterns.The wavy-walled houses covered with singular geometric lines of the Royal Court of Tiébélé in Burkina Faso, established in the 16th century, are recognisable all over the world. The paintings represent the thoughts, culture, and religion of the Kassena people, literally written on the walls. Continue reading...

Society

4 h. ago Wolverhampton Council responds after fury at 'fat tax' to bury obese in XL graves

Wolverhampton is one of the fattest cities in the UK but many of the residents are strongly opposed to the idea of charging families more for bigger grave plots

Politics

5 h. ago At least 56 feared dead after flash flood devastates remote Himalayan village

Race against time to save 80 people still missing after flood sweeps away dozens of cars and motorbikes

Events

5 h. ago Puerto Rico cashes in on Bad Bunny as thousands flock to the island for his concerts

Thousands of tourists are descending on Puerto Rico this summer for one of Bad Bunny’s concerts as part of the rapper's residency that has boosted the U.S. territory’s fragile economy

Politics

5 h. ago ‘What about our lives?’: emotions run high in frontline Ukrainian city over ceding land to Russia

Trump’s talk of ‘land swaps’ as a simple transaction belies grim reality of what it would mean for people in Zaporizhzhia The city of Zaporizhzhia, an industrial hub in south-east Ukraine, is as good a place as any to grasp the stakes of freezing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine along its current frontlines, or of implementing a “land swap for peace” deal as envisioned by Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.Since Russian troops began rolling into Ukraine in February 2022, Zaporizhzhia, with its broad avenues and Stalin-era apartment blocks, has been a 30-minute drive from the frontline. It has been under near-constant attack from missiles and drones. On Sunday, a Russian guided air bomb hit a bus station, wounding 24 people – just another day of suffering in a city that has known many of them. Continue reading...

Politics

5 h. ago Loneliness is rife among young men. It’s time to get offline and talk to each other | Alexander Hurst

It’s tempting to scoff, but don’t dismiss the data. Modern man’s failure to forge real, meaningful friendships is bad for everyoneAt first I was startled when the psychologist Angelica Ferrara told me that most of the time it’s women, not men, who want to write about her research into male loneliness. But this is the crux of the issue, isn’t it? That we men need to talk, and we don’t: not nearly enough, anyway.Since 1990, there has been a sharp decline in how many people men say they are close to, says Ferrara, who is a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford and a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics. In the US, two-thirds of men aged between 18 and 23 think that nobody really knows them; one third haven’t seen anyone outside their household in the past week; only a fifth say they have friends they can really count on; and a staggering 69% of young men think “no one cares if men are OK”.Alexander Hurst is a Guardian Europe columnist Continue reading...

Politics

5 h. ago Common sweet can help blast body fat and cholesterol if eaten every day

A specific sweet treat has been shown to help reduce body fat and aid weight loss, according to multiple studies and health experts

Politics

5 h. ago Attendance Allowance rules older people should know or DWP payments could stop

Nearly 1.7 million State Pensioners receive either £73.90 or £110.40 each week on the non-means tested benefit from the DWP.

Politics