3 h. ago Gardeners urged to hang mirrors outside to deter pests immediately

Placing mirrors in your garden can be more useful than just decorating the space - they can create an illusion that pigeons simply don't like

Politics

4 h. ago Brits should prepare a 72 hour 'survival kit' as Putin plots to sabotage gas pipelines and cause mass blackouts, warn spies

Concerns that the Russians are planning a sabotage operation have escalated since one of their spy ships was detected mapping underwater infrastructure

Events

6 h. ago Eric André reveals reason he turned down Kieran Culkin’s Oscar

Culkin won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in Jesse Eisenberg’s ‘A Real Pain’

Politics

8 h. ago Handle with care: the international community sending parcels of pure joy through the mail

Anna Ryan-Punch was 15 when she received her first friendship book. It was the start of a lifelong hobbyAustralian Anna Ryan-Punch was 15 when she received her first friendship book – a handmade and decorated pocket-sized booklet full of names and addresses of people looking for pen pals. Recipients were invited to add their details to the list, send a letter to other signatories, and then pass the booklet on to someone new.“They were included in letters as a side thing,” Ryan-Punch, now 44, says. When it was full of potential pen pals, the friendship book would, hopefully, be returned to the person who made it. “I didn’t have anyone to send them on to, but I wrote to people out of them and that kind of grew into a circle.” Continue reading...

Politics

8 h. ago I went searching for the grandmother I never met. Under a tree where she once sat with Leonard Cohen, I broke | Gina Chick

When adoption laws changed in Australia, we discovered her name: Charmian Clift. I felt instant recognition. This explained everythingGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailWhen I was young, I had no idea that my mother was such an extraordinary woman. She was just my mother, swirling in and out of the house, singing to her jonquil bulbs, tripping over the animals I rescued, all while reading five books at once. If she was in the kitchen, my sisters and I hid downstairs as she clattered and crashed all the saucepans and swore like a sailor at the latest ruined batch of biscuits.She wept at whatever devastation the nightly news delivered into the lounge room. She loved and was loved in return by my father, Douggie. She birthed four babes, grew the surviving three into formidable women and instilled in us a fierce belief that there was nothing we could not do. Continue reading...

Politics

8 h. ago Canada Parliament on lockdown with urgent warning to 'seek shelter' and 'hide'

Ottawa Police are on scene of an ongoing police operation at the Parliament Hill building

Events

8 h. ago The £35 Amazon mattress topper with 12,000 ratings that's like 'sleeping on a cloud'

"Transformed our mattress in to a cloud. Really soft and comfortable and has improved back pain massively"

Economics

12 h. ago Now you see it: Eric Kogan’s everyday urban illusions – in pictures

New York-based photographer Eric Kogan uses shadows, reflections and fortuitous timing in order to create optical illusions in his work. “It’s more of a life’s journey than a project,” he says, “but if I had to describe it, it’s all about spotting unusual moments in everyday places.” In his daily walks around the city, he keeps an eye out for interesting juxtapositions or humorous framings: a pigeon balancing on a ghostly tree; a cloud caught in a net; statues miraculously coming to life. “At the root it’s about seeing, but maintaining the right state of mind is also everything. I’m hoping the photos will connect with others, and, with each individual, take on personal narratives.”See more at instagram.com/erickogan Continue reading...

Politics

13 h. ago Floating away: warm tones and vintage details lift the spirits in a grand Parisian apartment

An interior decorator and furniture designer uses colour and fleamarket finds to create an inviting sanctuaryNestled in a classic Haussmannian building in Paris’s 17th Arrondissement, Tiphaine Verdier’s apartment is a feast for the senses. This large duplex, perched on the top two floors, is not just a home but a canvas where colour and creativity collide. With a fearless approach to bold hues, Tiphaine has transformed what was once a blank slate of plain white walls into a theatrical and inviting sanctuary.When Tiphaine first stepped into the apartment, it was a minimalist’s dream – or, as she might put it, a colour enthusiast’s nightmare. “All the walls were just plain white,” she recalls. But Tiphaine, an interior decorator and furniture designer, saw the potential in the apartment’s unique layout. “I was drawn to the fact that it felt like a house in the sky, with a clear separation between the day and night spaces.” Continue reading...

Events

14 h. ago ‘It’s distressing’: Elton John speaks of pain of losing his eyesight

Artist says severe eye infection last year has left him unable to read, see TV or watch his sons playing sportsElton John has spoken of his distress at losing his eyesight and how he can no longer watch his young sons playing.John revealed in a social media post last year that a “severe eye infection” had left him “with only limited vision in one eye”. Continue reading...

Politics

16 h. ago Fuming nimby complains tree outside her house is making her depressed

EXCLUSIVE: Sarah was shocked to discover that a tree outside her home in Wimbledon Park is set to be trimmed just as the spring blossoms have flowered.

Society

18 h. ago Major endometriosis study reveals impact of gluten, coffee, dairy and alcohol

Edinburgh University report authors say dietary changes could benefit women living with the diseaseDietary changes could reduce the pain of endometriosis for half of those living with the disease, a new study suggests. The largest international survey ever conducted on diet and endometriosis, involving 2,599 people, found 45% of those who stopped eating gluten and 45% of those who cut out dairy reported experiencing an improvement in their pain.When women cut down on coffee or other caffeine in their diet, 43% said their pain was reduced, while 53% of women who cut back on alcohol reported the same. Continue reading...

Politics

18 h. ago Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ could mean recession in the US and pain worldwide | Steven Greenhouse

The US president’s tariffs are vengeful and impetuous – and will have immense costs with no clear goalWith the huge and painful tariffs that Donald Trump announced on Thursday, “Tariff Man” is acting like a paranoid 12-year-old bully who is convinced that everyone has wronged him, and he wants revenge. But the president’s instrument of revenge – massive tariffs – is going to do serious damage to the US and global economies. Stock market investors are convinced that’s the case, with Wall Street and world stock markets losing trillions of dollars in value in recent days as a result of Trump’s obsession.The president has escalated his risky, vengeful trade war even though the US economy was in strong shape when he took office – the jobless rate was just 4.1%, inflation was below 3% and US economic growth was the strongest in the industrial world, with its stock market at record levels. So it’s unclear whether the US economy needed the shock treatment that Trump is inflicting. The price...

Politics

18 h. ago 'I felt crippling pain decorating Christmas tree and needed six operations'

A woman who felt crippling pain in her pelvis while reaching up to place a star at the top of a Christmas tree at 27 needed six operations when doctors found out why.

Politics

19 h. ago Broken and in the grip of civil war, can Myanmar rebuild after earthquake?

The junta’s poor emergency response leaves people fearing prolonged chaos, despite the relentless propaganda For seven painful days, Hnin has waited for news. Her two daughters, two and seven years old, her husband and their domestic worker, were all inside a six-storey hotel in Mandalay, central Myanmar, when it collapsed.Delays to search operations have added to her agony. Hnin rushed around the devastated city, where communication lines were barely functioning, to buy head-torches and fuel for poorly equipped teams. A hotel manager refused to allow the use of a digger, fearing the building would collapse. Days passed before Chinese and Russian rescue teams arrived. Continue reading...

Events

19 h. ago Inside the triads' grip on our streets: How Chinese gangsters run silent network across Britain with strongholds in FOUR major cities

EXCLUSIVE: Chinese triad gangs may rarely hit the headlines, but they operate in many of Britain's Chinatowns - while also exerting control much further afield.

Events

19 h. ago Mark Bonnar: ‘I wanted to be a historian, then a drummer, and then I just wanted to be employed’ | Q&A

The actor on how an aside about sex became big news, getting let off for weed, and crying at advertsBorn in Edinburgh, Mark Bonnar, 56, studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. In 2017, he won a best actor Bafta Scotland for his role in Unforgotten, and his other TV work spans Line of Duty, Catastrophe and the Netflix series Department Q, which is released in May. His films include Ridley Scott’s Napoleon, Operation Mincemeat and Last Breath, which is out now. He is married to actor Lucy Gaskell, has two children and lives in Hertfordshire.What is your greatest fear? That we’re all going to hell in a handcart and Trump is driving. Continue reading...

Politics

21 h. ago Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for butternut squash with noodles

A tom-yum style bowl bursting with aromatic Thai flavoursThis is probably a middle-aged thing, but it only takes something small to make my day. Usually, that’s bumping into a friend on the school run, spotting a cheeky green parakeet in the tree-tops or lighting a few candles at dinner in the evening. When it comes to food and today’s recipe, however, I rather childishly like to say the words “noodle soup” out loud, as if my mouth is pursing in anticipation of the noodles. I love using a whole butternut squash in a dish – that is where a cook’s satisfaction lies. And, for my sins, I adore slurping the noodles out of the bowl. Continue reading...

Politics

21 h. ago Kelly Holmes' fears of being arrested and finally finding peace after mental health battle

Dame Kelly Holmes is one of the most decorated British athletes of all time, but some of her biggest battles have been fought away from the track

Events

23 h. ago Annaliese is dying at just 25 years old. Now she hopes her unimaginable story can save others from her tragic fate

The 25-year-old from Adelaide has endured unimaginable pain, the loss of independence, and the heartbreaking realisation that she will never live out her dreams.

Events