57 m. ago I’m an Emily Henry superfan but Great Big Beautiful Life has one major problem

I was one of the first to read Emily Henry's Big Beautiful Life, but as a huge fan of the author I had one major issue with it

Politics

72 m. ago Experts talk realism of Conclave movie: ‘Gets a lot of the details right’

After the death of Pope Francis, experts weigh in on how much the real-life papal election will mirror the hit Oscar-winning movieI confess: my first thought this morning, when I heard the news that Pope Francis died at the age of 88, was of Conclave. As in both the lowercase, technical meaning – the sequestration of cardinals to elect a new pope with a two-thirds majority – and the capital-C film of the same name from last year, which allowed viewers to vicariously participate in a process long shrouded in secrecy and reverence. (And premiering during the US vote, to experience election thrills without grim disappointment.)The film, directed by Edward Berger, luxuriated in process both sacred and profane – the orderly processions and cafeteria run-ins, the ceremonial burning of paper votes and security screenings, the white smoke and the complimentary toiletries bags. The hallowed halls of the Vatican and the gossip that flits among them, especially as different factions compete to...

Politics

76 m. ago Pope Francis: cardinals to meet in Rome to set date for funeral – live

Pope Francis, the head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, died at his home in the Vatican on Monday aged 88 after suffering a stroke and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also expected to attend the funeral, presidency source told AFP.Expect the diplomatic list to grow rapidly in the coming days, with most countries sending their heads of state or government to pay tribute to Francis – creating potential space for high-level meetings on the margins of the funeral. Continue reading...

Politics

81 m. ago Pundits’ showy partisanship reflects football’s embrace of fan

The coverage of Manchester United’s win over Lyon last week was just the latest sign that fandom is consuming everythingImpartiality fan here – for my sins! – but you have to say Robbie Savage and Rio Ferdinand during the closing minutes of Manchester United v Lyon on Thursday night were absolute class. It all starts in the 118th minute, with United 6-5 down on aggregate, and the TNT Sports camera lingering on the face of a crying boy in the crowd. “Let’s hope we can put a smile on that young man’s face by the time we finish,” the commentator Darren Fletcher says.And it’s worth unpacking those 17 words, because contained within them are at least three layers of assumption. Foremost among which is the assumption that it would be a good thing, all round, if United won. The child is crying. Is there any cause more catholic or universal, any image more reliably guaranteed to tug at the tear ducts, than a crying child? The coefficient can wait for now. Continue reading...

Sport

82 m. ago Hell is not other people – it’s being stuck in the ninth circle of an automated telephone service | Hilary Freeman

Tuvalu is celebrating its first ATM, but here’s a warning from the UK, where human contact has been lost to the self-service age Life is about to change on the remote island nation of Tuvalu. And not, in my opinion, for the better. To great fanfare, Tuvalu – an entirely cash-based society – has unveiled its first ever ATM, marking its move towards financial modernisation. But while the 10,000 people living in that country may be celebrating no longer having to queue at the bank, I fear their happiness will be short-lived. It’s the start of the slow erosion of human contact that heralds the dehumanisation of yet another society.The world’s first ATM was introduced in Britain in 1967, but for me the tyranny of machines that promise convenience but erode human contact really began about 20 years ago, in the form of self-checkouts in our local Sainsbury’s. Having watched the Terminator movie franchise during my formative years, I railed prophetically against them, aware that it was just...

Politics

83 m. ago Chances of next Pope being English as officials start to prepare for life after Pope Francis

With the death of Pope Francis confirmed earlier this week, attention has turned to the future of the Catholic church as some wonder who the next pontiff could be

Politics

1 hour ago Nostradamus's prediction on Pope Francis death and Catholic Church's future

One of the astrologer's prophecies is being linked to the Pope's death yesterday.

Events

2 h. ago Pope Francis dead: World in mourning as Head of Catholic church passes away aged 88 of 'stroke and heart failure'

Pope Francis died at 7.35am on Monday morning

Events

2 h. ago Paradise Logic by Sophie Kemp review – a TikTok Stepford Wives for the Pornhub era

This startling debut follows a young woman on a surreal and bluntly graphic quest to be the perfect girlfriendSet in upstate New York, Sophie Kemp’s surreal satirical debut puts us in the uneasy company of a part-time model who calls herself Reality as she sets out on a crazed quest to become the perfect girlfriend. The chief beneficiary of her self-education is a crack-smoking postgrad and wannabe musician named Ariel, who cheats openly, gives her an infection and – in the reader’s eye – sees her as little more than a sex toy able to fetch snacks. But Reality is besotted, ignoring her own doomsaying conscience – what she refers to with typical idiosyncrasy as “the familiar voice” – as well as her best friend, Soon-jin, who thinks Ariel looks like a “school shooter”: “I think what she was saying was: Ariel is a unique bad boy who often wore a leather jacket.” What ensues is akin to a TikTok Stepford Wives for the Pornhub era. Taking tips from a magazine, Girlfriend Weekly, which mag...

Politics

2 h. ago Goldbeak review – kids cartoon sends baby eagle to live in a chicken coop

Low-budget visuals drain the charm from this animated tale strangely reminiscent of Jonathan Livingston SeagullBirds of a feather flock together, unless you’re an eagle being raised in a community of chickens, per this animated family adventure. Orphaned in a plane crash (yes, eagles use planes), young Goldbeak is from a prominent political family and, naturally enough, he comes to realise he doesn’t exactly fit in with the hens and roosters with whom he is living. Notably, chickens are not known for their prowess at flying, and so he finds his literal wings metaphorically clipped, though he is desperate to soar above his contemporaries.Thematically, this is vaguely reminiscent of 1970s publishing hit Jonathan Livingston Seagull, a short allegorical fable about a frustrated gull who refuses to accept the limitations of his community and yearns to go beyond the limits of what seems possible. Here, though, Goldbeak’s exceptionalism is firmly rooted in biology, so maybe he’s more like ...

Politics

2 h. ago If you only see one Western in your lifetime make sure it's this one

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, starring Clint Eastwood, has been hailed as the best Western movie ever made and fans are now saying that if you only watch one film in this genre, make sure it's this one

Politics

2 h. ago Cardinals meet Tuesday at Vatican to choose date for Pope Francis' funeral

Cardinals are meeting at the Vatican to make the first decisions about running the Catholic Church following the death of Pope Francis

Politics

2 h. ago Woman escapes UK rental market to live in a van with her dog for just £650 a month

Nicole Keefe, 27, from Newcastle, spent years moving around as a child "due to situations out of (her) control" and later because of "things not going right" with partners

Economics

2 h. ago Megyn Kelly launches blistering attack on the Pope just hours after his death

Megyn Kelly issued a scathing attack on Pope Francis just hours after the Catholic Church announced his passing.

Events

3 h. ago Cardinals to meet in Rome in preparation for funeral of Pope Francis

Funeral should be held between the fourth and sixth days after the pope’s death, with heads of state and royalty expected to attendCardinals will meet on Tuesday to decide the date for Pope Francis’s funeral, starting a process that will culminate in the election of a new Catholic leader.The pope, the head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, died at his home in the Vatican on Monday aged 88 after suffering a stroke. He had been recovering from double pneumonia that saw him hospitalised for five weeks. Continue reading...

Politics

4 h. ago From 'conclave' to 'white smoke,' a glossary of terms used in a papal transition

A change in popes is a complicated process, with centuries-old rituals involving the transition in leadership for both the spiritual head of the global Catholic Church and the Vatican’s head of state

Events

4 h. ago Pope Francis' conservative critics had a unique way to oppose him: a retired pontiff

Every pope has his critics

Culture

4 h. ago ‘A signal of simplicity’: Pope Francis’s funeral will be his final humble gesture

One of pontiff’s last acts was to simplify papal rites, stripping away elaborate rituals and scaling back processionLatest updates: tributes paid after Pope Francis dies aged 88When the late Pope Francis stepped on to the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica to give his first speech as leader of the Catholic church in March 2013, he cast away formality by dressing in simple white robes instead of the regal ermine-trimmed cape usually worn by newly elected pontiffs.The next day, Francis – a name chosen in honour of Francis of Assisi, the Italian saint who renounced a life of luxury to help the poor – returned to the Rome hotel in which he had stayed before the conclave to pick up his luggage and pay his bill. He substituted a plush apostolic apartment for a simple room within the Vatican walls and, unlike his predecessors, did not spend his summers in Castel Gandolfo, an opulent 12th-century fortress close to Rome. Continue reading...

Politics

4 h. ago A friend killed, and inquiries shelved: life fighting the stigma of albinism in Malawi

People with albinism are often attacked and even killed for body parts. As elections approach, activist Tonney Mkwapatira fears the situation may get worseTonney Mkwapatira was making a rare visit back to his home village from the Malawian city of Blantyre when he saw his childhood friend for the last time. Just a week after Mkwapatira returned to Blantyre he heard that his friend, a security guard for a church, had been murdered.“His name was Chikumbutso Masina and we used to chat almost every day. We looked alike and it was painful when people missed him because they used to ask me questions like, “Oh we heard that you had died?” It really touched me and I will never forget,” he says. Continue reading...

Events

4 h. ago Australians start voting in general elections as pope's death overshadows campaigning

Australians have begun voting at general elections as campaigning is overshadowed by the death of Pope Francis

Politics