23 h. ago I'm an American living in the UK and these are the cultural differences that took a lot of adjusting to

TikToker 'kjordyyy' took to social media to explain some of the British quirks that he's found the most 'confusing'.

Politics

40 h. ago Hooters Nottingham and Liverpool futures decided as US parent company in administration

EXCLUSIVE: The futures of the Nottingham and Liverpool branches of the famous American food chain have been determined, at least for now, according to insiders close to the UK operation

Society

65 h. ago Politicians criticise US efforts to make EU firms reverse diversity initiatives

Officials in France and Belgium hit out at ‘American interference’ amid growing transatlantic tensionsEurope live – latest updatesOfficials in France and Belgium have hit back at American efforts to impose Donald Trump’s rollback of diversity measures on Europe, which in the US has seen Disney put under investigation.Several companies across the EU have in recent days reportedly received letters informing them that the Trump administration’s crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives also applies to firms around the world looking to do business with the US government. Continue reading...

Politics

2 d. ago Living Together review – how Austrians teach immigrants to find their place in society

New arrivals sit in drab spaces and are learn how to fit in, in a film that quietly addresses the costs of integration to minority groupsThomas Fürhapter’s documentary sheds light on the challenges of adjusting to a new culture as it follows a series of “integration classes” offered to immigrants in Vienna. The film opens in the nondescript corridors of an administrative building, which lead into sun-filled but impersonal meeting rooms where these sessions take place. As the participants discuss their worries and uncertainties, these colourless spaces transform into sites of passion and community.Conducted in multiple languages, the seminars grapple with culturally specific issues faced by different minority groups. Topics of discussion range from Austrian ways of greeting, to more serious concerns such as racism and domestic abuse. In talking about the present and the future, people also reveal pieces of their past: some moved to Austria for love, others fled the horrors of war. De...

Events

3 d. ago Former SAS hero says Britain 'can't trust' the United States with top secret intelligence after 'moronic' war plan leak

Chris Ryan feared the lives of British and American spies could be at risk following the extraordinary security blunder by senior US officials - and warned similar failures would likely happen under Trump

Events

3 d. ago Our Beautiful Boys by Sameer Pandya review – teenage lives at the crossroads

A night of violence exposes the dynamics of race, masculinity and privilege at play in America’s schools The Marabar caves in A Passage to India represent the breakdown of order and communication as well as provoking the terrible accusation that drives EM Forster’s story. Sameer Pandya plays with a similar plot device in his compelling US-based novel, including an epigraph from Forster’s classic.It is set in southern California, where three teenage boys on the brink of adulthood – stars of their high school American football team with promising college careers ahead of them – attend a party at an abandoned house in the hills. Vikram is an Indian American, while Diego, who is Latino, lives with his academic mother. MJ is white with wealthy parents. Part of the pleasure of Pandya’s writing lies in his unravelling of identity politics – a theme explored in his debut, Members Only.Our Beautiful Boys by Sameer Pandya is published by Bloomsbury (£16.99). To support the Guardian and Observ...

Politics

5 d. ago Trump’s executive order forces removal of ‘improper ideology’ at Smithsonian museums to promote ‘American greatness’: Live

President directs JD Vance to rid museums of ‘divisive narratives’ in latest culture war push

Politics

5 d. ago ‘What the hell is this stuff?’: French people on the culture shock of flossing

While preventative care has not traditionally been a priority in France, US dentistry is ‘very focused’ on itThere are many established, regularly parodied cultural differences between France and the US: style, portion sizes, attitudes towards picking up after your dog.But there’s another – possibly bloodier – contrast: flossing. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago Signal 'war plan' leak shows that Trump's team is willing to 'play fast and loose' with the lives of American soldiers, former Obama diplomat Brett Bruen tells new Mail podcast

Former Obama White House staffer weighed in on the handling of the Signal 'war plan' leak by the Trump administration on new Mail podcast - Apocalypse Now?

Politics

7 d. ago What new Rangers owners are thinking about £5.5m Vaclav Cerny deal as 'interesting' chapter hinges on one thing

Speaking on Hotline Live, our man Keith Jackson reckons the American owners-to-be are well aware of the Cerny situation, and the narrow window they have to act

Economics

7 d. ago Accusations and resignations mark remarkable 24 hours at charity founded by Prince Harry

Insiders cite cultural differences after Harry steps down as patron of Sentebale over ‘untenable’ leadershipIn a message to supporters on Wednesday afternoon, the Sentebale charity, founded two decades ago by Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, tried to put a brave face on an extraordinary 24 hours. “While trustees are key for governance and regulation, and patrons – especially founders – are an honour to have, it’s the people in the field who are advancing the work, no matter what,” the charity said.“Our commitment to supporting youth in southern Africa with better health, stronger livelihoods and climate resilience remains as strong as ever. The work continues because they deserve nothing less.” Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Snoop Dogg offers to help heal the rift between Princes William and Harry and says 'life is too short to not make things right': 'They're brothers, man'

The American rapper, who lives close to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in LA, has said he would be more than happy to act as a peacemaker between the brothers.

Politics

1 week ago Just Another Girl on the IRT review – Leslie Harris takes on race, sex and class in 90s indie gem

Ariyan A Johnson stars as the back-talking, fourth wall-breaking high schooler who falls pregnant in Harris’s rough and ready dramaThere’s an undimmed freshness, warmth and freewheeling energy in this 1992 indie gem, and its director Leslie Harris – whose career since has chiefly involved writing and teaching – deserves a far bigger presence in US film history. Ariyan A Johnson plays Chantel, a young Black American high schooler who lives with her stressed parents and two kid brothers in Brooklyn (in an era before its gentrification) and rides the subway’s IRT Eastern Parkway line.Chantel is getting great grades in school, and plans to be a doctor, but is addicted to talking back to the teachers and won’t restrain herself, even when she’s sent to the principal’s office. Her relationship with her mother and father is just as fraught – and as far as dating goes, Chantel is not going to sell herself short. And when she finally has sex with her boyfriend Tyrone (Kevin Thigpen), dizzied ...

Events

2 w. ago ‘He threw body piercing parties and lay on a bed of nails’: the wild life of body modification guru Fakir Musafar

A new documentary explores how the pioneer of the ‘modern primitive’ subculture used painful BDSM practices to access new spiritual planes – outraging conventional societyIn the opening moments of A Body to Live in, a documentary by American film-maker Angelo Madsen, we are confronted with two black-and-white photographs. Taken in 1944 by the teenage Roland Loomis, they show him stripped to his underwear, his waist heavily restricted by a leather belt, a rope wrapped several times around his neck.Loomis later renamed himself Fakir Musafar and became one of the founders of the modern primitive movement – a subculture that revolves around body modification practices including branding, suspension, contortion and binding. A Body to Live in, which premieres internationally at London’s BFI Flare film festival this week, dissects Musafar’s body of work, which explored the tension between masculinity and femininity, pain and pleasure, spirituality and S&M. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Underrated European town is so magical it's named as a bucket list destination

Everyone loves a holiday and learning about other cultures. Considering the many different countries to explore, it's always a hard decision to choose where to go.

Politics

2 w. ago The impact of Trump 2.0 on Australia is evidence of how American we suddenly aren’t | Van Badham

Our two countries once shared a history fighting together for freedom. But does the US, like, even do that any more?Australians have found the behaviour of our American cousins challenging of late. Cultural differences yawn as wide as the Pacific between us. We were not sad to see “the baby wombat grabber” go.The first mistake made by Montana-based tourist Sam Jones, Online Influencer, was to snatch a joey from its mother at night. Her second mistake was to sway the frightened creature in front of some gormless chucklehead who filmed her – giggling – and to upload the footage to the internet. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Houthis and US both vow escalation after wave of deadly American airstrikes in Yemen – Middle East crisis live

US says airstrikes are intended to deter rebel group from attacking Red Sea shippingJason Burke is the International security correspondent of the GuardianBenjamin Netanyahu has announced he will seek to dismiss the director of Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, through a cabinet vote later this week, in a move that will prompt further accusations of authoritarianism. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago I went to China to teach women about sex. These are the culture shocks I noticed instantly

An Australian sexologist has lifted the lid on the surprising cultural differences she's noticed while working in China.

Events

2 w. ago Family of Ugandan UN judge who was found guilty of modern slavery after forcing young woman to work as her slave blame conviction on 'cultural differences'

Lydia Mugambe, 49, treated her victim as an 'unpaid skivvy', taking advantage of the woman in the 'most egregious way', a court heard yesterday.

Events

3 w. ago The Guardian view on Modi redrawing India’s electoral map: deepening a dangerous north

The Hindu nationalist prime minister’s push could shift power northward to his political advantage but risks escalating political tensionsWhen Narendra Modi’s alliance won a narrow majority in last year’s Indian election, it signalled his waning popularity after a decade in power. A victory in 2029 may seem unlikely. Yet his government’s push to redraw parliamentary constituencies using post-2026 census data could tilt the electoral field in his favour.The process, known as delimitation, ensures each member of parliament represents an equal number of voters – a principle of democratic fairness. Since 1976, however, it has been frozen to avoid penalising Indian states that curbed population growth. If delimitation proceeds, Mr Modi’s populous northern strongholds will gain seats, weakening the political clout of India’s economically dynamic and culturally distinct southern cone. Its five states are governed by different parties but, critically, none belong to Modi’s ruling Hindu nati...

Politics