41 h. ago Europe marks Armistice Day under shadow of war as Russia attacks Ukraine overnight – live

Belgium, France and Poland among countries commemorating first world war as conflict rumbles onUkraine’s military said about 300 Russian soldiers were inside the embattled town of Pokrovsk, and that Moscow had intensified efforts to get more troops in over the past few days, using dense fog for cover, Reuters reported.“Their goal remains unchanged – to reach the northern borders of Pokrovsk and then attempt to encircle the agglomeration,” Ukraine’s 7th paratrooper corps said on Facebook. Continue reading...

Events

42 h. ago France is at war with Shein. We should copy its tactics to defeat fast fashion | Nicole Lipman

The dirt-cheap clothing company has opened its first permanent store in Paris – and politicians and workers have united against it Paris is the fashion capital of the world – a paradise of couture and craftsmanship stretching back centuries. The city’s very name connotes luxury and glamour. But last Wednesday, 5 November, a sprawling Shein outlet opened on the sixth floor of the BHV Marais, the historic department store directly across from Paris’s city hall. It’s the Singapore-based ultra-fast-fashion store’s first permanent bricks and mortar retail space, and the first of several permanent outposts Shein plans to open in France in the near future. Many Parisians aren’t happy about it.Shein – launched as SheInside in 2011 in Nanjing, China – is the reprehensible paragon of the ultra-fast-fashion industry. The company sells clothing (and home goods, toys, stationery, cookware, blankets, pet supplies and more) at an unfathomable scale: today’s “new in” page alone lists more than 1,30...

Events

8 d. ago ‘Look in the mirror’ – Jake Paul locked in furious war of words with Francis Ngannou and threatens to ‘sleep’ UFC icon

JAKE PAUL has become embroiled in a public war of words with Francis Ngannou following the cancellation of his clash with Gervonta Davis. The YouTube sensation's showdown with the WBA lightweight champion, which was due to air on Netflix next Saturday, was cancelled on Monday night. The fight was axed after Davis was sued by...

Events

8 d. ago Spain grants citizenship to descendants of civil war’s International Brigades

About 32,000 volunteered to fight Franco dictatorship, including 2,500 men and women from Britain and IrelandThe Spanish government has granted citizenship to 170 descendants of volunteers in the International Brigades in recognition of their fight against fascism during the Franco dictatorship that followed the civil war.An estimated 32,000 volunteers from around the world joined the anti-fascist brigades during the civil war, including approximately 2,500 men and women from Britain and Ireland, of whom 530 were killed. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago France has survived revolutions and wars: its crisis now is deep, but not terminal | David A Bell

From the raid on the Louvre to the spectacle of Sarkozy in jail, it is tempting to think France is on a downward spiral. But history tells the tale of its resilienceIn the classic dinner-party scene in the film Notting Hill, Tim McInnerney’s character promises a brownie to “the saddest act here”. In response, the guests (including the glamorous movie star played by Julia Roberts) try to outdo each other with tales of their painful suffering and pathetic failures.In our gloomy autumn of 2025, western democracies could play quite a convincing version of this game. There is the depressed United Kingdom, where Keir Starmer’s approval ratings have fallen to record lows and Reform leads in the polls. There is the deeply broken United States, where a supine opposition seems incapable of preventing Donald Trump from chopping away one guardrail after another of our constitutional order. There is Spain, where this summer a Socialist party scandal threatened to topple the fragile minority gove...

Events

3 w. ago Nicola Roberts: ‘I have friends that didn’t manage to make it to 40 – it’s a privilege getting older’

The Girls Aloud star opens up about loss, social pressure and why she’s done with punishing her skin in the pursuit of youth.

Politics