14 h. ago Snake plants will be healthy and happy in autumn if gardeners avoid 2 mistakes

Snake plants are a popular choice of houseplant in the UK, and with good reason. They are easy to care for, don't require much watering, and can thrive in low light conditions.

Science

44 h. ago Can this new 'laser in a bottle' cream replace £1,000 clinic facials? Here's our verdict

Our head of beauty tries SkinCeutical's new Advanced RGN-6 Rejuvenation Cream for 10 days to test the hype

Economics

55 h. ago Big belly, wavy fur and a nose for trouble: we exclusively reveal the new

It’s been the biggest secret in theatre: what will the marmalade-loving, hyper-polite Peruvian look like in Paddington the Musical? As the curtain rises, we speak to the new bear’s creator, a veteran of Star Wars and PG Tips adsPaddington stands within touching distance. His fur flutters as he turns, his neat button nose sniffs the air, and his eyes soften with a smile. For years, design details of the bear for Paddington the Musical, directed by Luke Sheppard, have been kept top secret. Now here he is, in his blue duffel coat and red hat. A quiet theatrical marvel. “What we’re doing,” says producer Sonia Friedman, “has never been done before.”Standing around 1.2 metres (just under 4ft) tall, the bear is beautifully round, all belly and sloping shoulders. He is not an exact replica of the Paddingtons we’ve seen in illustrations or movies, but something new. His shaggy, caramel fur has a gentle wave, and his white snout is dotted with a brown nose, ideal for sniffing out trouble. Aro...

Events

64 h. ago Lofty '7ft' star stuns in Halloween costumes as she asks 'which is your favourite'

Marie Temara, the adult star who claims to be a rather large 7ft tall, has taken to Instagram with her Halloween get ups – sending the internet into meltdown once again

Politics

3 d. ago Mississippi’s escaped monkeys sparks wave of conspiracy theories and question

The crash left wooden crates marked ‘live monkeys’ in the tall grass on the side of the road

Events

4 d. ago Old London NHS clinic to be bulldozed to make way for new pocket park and library

Old London NHS clinic to be bulldozed to make way for new pocket park and library  MyLondon

Politics

5 d. ago Fury as 'cheated' residents buying homes next to 'monstrous' 60ft tall warehouses 'were told you won't see them' by developers

Residents in Tyldesley, Wigan, have branded the colossal steel frames 'monstrous', revealing how it felt as though the 350,000 sq ft industrial site arrived on their doorstep 'overnight'.

Society

6 d. ago Two men in court after car found on fire outside Scots prison

Emergency services were called to the car park of HMP Grampian in Peterhead after reports of a Citroen C3 Cactus on fire.

Events

6 d. ago Hundreds of Scots waiting five years for initial gender identity appointment

Figures published by Public Health Scotland have highlighted a five-year wait for an initial first appointment with a gender identity clinic

Politics

6 d. ago Houseplant clinic: what’s wrong with the leaves on my rubber plant?

Dropped leaves and speckled dots indicate a thrips infestation. Luckily, there is plenty you can do about itWhat’s the problem? The leaves of my 40-year-old rubber plant are speckled with tiny black dots, turning yellow, and many are dropping off. New shoots are still growing, but the older leaves continue to fall.Diagnosis The black dots you’re seeing are most likely thrips droppings. These tiny insects puncture the leaf surface to drain sap, resulting in silvery streaks, mottled patches, curling and eventual leaf drop. They thrive in warm, dry conditions and are easily introduced when plants are moved outdoors. Once inside, they spread rapidly, particularly on mature, leafy specimens. Their damage is often mistaken for nutrient deficiencies or sun scorch, but the telltale sign is the combination of silvery streaks with tiny black specks. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago In Waves and War review – Navy Seals battle PTSD with psychedelic therapy

Sombre documentary sees US soldiers give brave testimony while undergoing ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT treatment to confront their traumasA gaggle of former US Navy Seals open up about their post-traumatic stress in this absorbing if somewhat formulaic documentary by Jon Shenk and Bonni Cohen. Ultimately, it is something of an advertisement for a new therapeutic protocol that involves the veterans taking the hallucinogens ibogaine (derived from an African shrub) and 5-MeO-DMT (derived, like something out of a William S Burroughs novel, from a river toad); a treatment that, to hear the subjects here describe it, can work miracles on the battle-scarred, suicidal minds of its users. Currently, the treatment is only available at a Mexican clinic because the drugs have not been cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration, but a bunch of boffins connected to Stanford University’s Brain Stimulation Lab are studying its clinical effects and the film works hard to make everything look as legit ...

Events

6 d. ago ‘DeepSeek is humane. Doctors are more like machines’: my mother’s worrying reliance on AI for health advice

Tired of a two-day commute to see her overworked doctor, my mother turned to tech for help with her kidney disease. She bonded with the bot so much I was scared she would refuse to see a real medicThis essay was originally published on Rest of worldEvery few months, my mother, a 57-year-old kidney transplant patient who lives in a small city in eastern China, embarks on a two-day journey to see her doctor. She fills her backpack with a change of clothes, a stack of medical reports and a few boiled eggs to snack on. Then, she takes a 90-minute ride on a high-speed train and checks into a hotel in the eastern metropolis of Hangzhou.At 7am the next day, she lines up with hundreds of others to get her blood taken in a long hospital hall that buzzes like a crowded marketplace. In the afternoon, when the lab results arrive, she makes her way to a specialist’s clinic. She gets about three minutes with the doctor. Maybe five, if she’s lucky. He skims the lab reports and quickly types a new ...

Society

7 d. ago More than 50 airline pilots referred to drug and alcohol clinics amid flight safety concerns

More than 50 airline pilots have been referred to a drug and alcohol clinic in the past five years over concerns they may pose a safety risk on flights.

Events

8 d. ago Tragedy of the world's shortest man who died aged 27 after refusing to let his small size stop him from getting the most out of life

Khagendra Thapa Magar, from Nepal, stood just 2ft 2.4 inches tall when he was officially crowned the world's shortest man by Guinness World Records in 2010.

Events

9 d. ago Six metres below ground, a hospital treats Ukrainian soldiers injured by Russian drones

Doctors at the secret facility are able to perform amputations while others monitor zigzagging drones overheadScrubby trees hide the entrance. A sloping wooden tunnel descends to a brightly lit reception area. There is a surgery unit, equipped with beds, cardiac monitors and ventilators. And shelves full of medical equipment, drugs and neat piles of spare clothes. In a staff room with a washing machine and kettle, doctors keep an eye on a screen. It shows the movements of Russian spy drones as they zigzag in the sky above.Welcome to Ukraine’s secret underground hospital. The facility opened in August and is the second of its kind, located in eastern Ukraine not far from the frontline and the city of Pokrovsk, in Donetsk oblast. “We are 6 metres below the earth. It’s the safest way of providing help to our injured soldiers. And it keeps medical personnel safe,” said the clinic’s surgeon, Maj Oleksandr Holovashchenko. Continue reading...

Events

9 d. ago Six metres below ground: inside the secret hospital treating Ukrainian soldiers injured by Russian drones

Doctors at the secret facility are able to perform amputations while others monitor zigzagging drones overheadScrubby trees hide the entrance. A sloping wooden tunnel descends to a brightly lit reception area. There is a surgery unit, equipped with beds, cardiac monitors and ventilators. And shelves full of medical equipment, drugs and neat piles of spare clothes. In a staff room with a washing machine and kettle, doctors keep an eye on a screen. It shows the movements of Russian spy drones as they zigzag in the sky above.Welcome to Ukraine’s secret underground hospital. The facility opened in August and is the second of its kind, located in eastern Ukraine not far from the frontline and the city of Pokrovsk, in Donetsk oblast. “We are 6 metres below the earth. It’s the safest way of providing help to our injured soldiers. And it keeps medical personnel safe,” said the clinic’s surgeon, Maj Oleksandr Holovashchenko. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Clean lines and a connection with nature: the modernist beach house jutting out over a Scottish loch

A couple’s dream home on Scotland’s rocky west coast is an audacious, Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired feat of architectureBuilding a bold new contemporary home directly on the British coastline is a tall order. Aside from the logistics of designing a house that functions successfully in such an unforgiving setting, planning permission is likely to make it a nonstarter. But on the shore of Loch Long on the Rosneath peninsula, 40 miles north-west of Glasgow, John MacKinnon and his wife Laura found a way to make it work for their house, Rock Cove. While the area is wild and ruggedly beautiful, its history has long been intertwined with the military and was once a brownfield site, home to disused Ministry of Defence huts and garages, overgrown and strewn with rubble.Back in 2008, MacKinnon had bought a property on the same site, a 1940s cottage that had been repurposed as a navy signalling station. MacKinnon has a deep-seated passion for design, and worked closely with architect Stuart...

Society

1 week ago Expert reveals the five plants every home should have to boost wellbeing

AN expert has revealed the five plants every home should have to boost wellbeing – with Aloe Vera topping the list. Author of ‘How to Make Your Houseplants Love You’ and presenter of BBC Gardeners’ World Live, Joe Bagley, said not only are they low maintenance, but they also have powerful oxygenating abilities which aid...

Politics

1 week ago The crimewave sweeping Britain? Illegal houses in multiple occupation | Aditya Chakrabortty

With private-sector villainy and public-sector complicity, what makes this HMO scandal so characteristic of modern Britain is how far the guilt spreadsFan of true crime? Then this column is for you. Rather than some cold case told through yellowing newspapers and sepia photos, this one is still happening. And just wait for the plot twist! But first let me outline the key facts; your challenge is to decide who’s guilty.Our crime scene is a redbrick townhouse built in the last years of Victoria – tall, battered but undeniably handsome. It’s in Bowes Park, on London’s northern outskirts – the kind of neighbourhood that on a Friday afternoon offers nice cafes, a community-owned pub and some WFH dads wandering the streets scavenging for ciabatta sandwiches.Aditya Chakrabortty is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Vet says there's one dog breed 'most likely to bite' when they visit clinic

A vet has shared the dog breed that is 'most likely to bite' when they visit his clinic - and it seems many agree with his assessment

Politics