54 h. ago Israel to close last remaining route from southern Gaza to the north as it continues offensive on Gaza City – Middle East crisis live

Hamas has said it will review the outline of Trump’s Gaza plan, as leaders across the Middle East voiced support for the proposalThe Australian government has said it is “deeply concerned” about the safety of its citizens on board a flotilla to Gaza, with expectations the boats could be intercepted by Israeli forces as early as Wednesday afternoon Australian time.The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has said they have been in contact with six Australians confirmed to be on flotilla consisting of more than 40 ships.I’m deeply concerned by the alleged drone attacks on the Global Sumud Flotilla and the risks to the safety of Australians and other passengers onboard.Australia calls on all parties to respect international law and international humanitarian law, and to refrain from any unlawful or violent act against the flotilla.I think people feel pretty calm. And because everybody is really, really concerned about what’s happening in Palestine every single day, it really kind of...

Politics

6 d. ago ‘I’m feeling pretty confident’: powerlifter Kate Evert, 75, is on her way to the world championships

In October, Evert, who works out three times a week, will begin the journey from Missouri to South AfricaIn October, Kate Evert will begin the long journey from the small town of Republic, Missouri, to Cape Town, South Africa, to compete in the World Masters Powerlifting Championships. The competition is for athletes aged 40 and above – Evert is 75.“Seventy-six in November, heaven help me,” she says. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago World Athletics Championships 2025: 200m finals, heptathlon and more – live

Updates from night seven of the worlds in TokyoMcLaughlin-Levrone storms to 400m gold | Mail YaraWomen’s 800m: Keely Hodgkinson will be excited to be back in action in today’s semi-finals.The Olympic 800m champion has been so bored in her hotel in the 35c heat she has even taken to staging playful indoor races with her training partner, Georgia Hunter Bell. But she dusted off the cobwebs in qualifying comfortably for today’s semi-finals in 1:59.79. “I don’t like the rounds,” she said. “They feel awful. They are awful. It was not pretty or fast tonight but I am safely through.” Continue reading...

Sport

2 w. ago ‘It makes you feel like a teenager again!’ Why The Summer I Turned Pretty is 2025’s surprise TV hit

This nostalgic tale of first love is an agonising masterclass in modern romance. No wonder it’s become such a sensation – and that a movie is on the wayIt’s often said that the romcom is dead. Kiss goodbye to the crisp charm of Nora Ephron’s freshly sharpened pencil bouquets in the fall, embrace the era of musings on love as nothing more than a maths equation. Then along comes gripping teen romance The Summer I Turned Pretty and it gets us at the first Taylor Swift track.Across its 26-episode run, the adaptation of Jenny Han’s trilogy of novels has won the hearts of millennials who have been desperately yearning for a nostalgic watch to fill the void of 00s romcoms. Reminiscent of rose-tinted love stories of their youth, before dating apps, catfishing and ghosting entered their vocabulary, the show’s potency has been such that Prime Video even issued a warning asking viewers not to use hate speech towards the cast. It isn’t real, no matter how visceral it feels, and the streamer did...

Events

2 w. ago After quitting the US, Britain seemed like a sanctuary from Trump’s Maga movement. Now I wonder, for how long? | Emma Brockes

I was the envy of the friends I’d left behind. Now it seems prudent to assess how much that nativism will truly take root hereThis time last year, I had just moved back to Britain from the US and was enjoying the almost universal envy of American friends. While they were looking down the barrel of a second Trump presidency with its guarantee of chaos and division, we had elected Keir Starmer by a landslide and were feeling pretty pleased with ourselves. I remember people congratulating me on the prescience of my move, which I absolutely took even though politics hadn’t been part of my decision (not least because, for most of 2024, I had assumed Trump would lose). Anyway, here we are a year later and who’s laughing now?I guess the answer to that is Nigel Farage and his Reform UK party, which has somehow managed to harness the anger, disappointment and shame felt by large numbers of people who voted for and were then let down by Brexit, and are now in search of another fire to light. ...

Politics

2 w. ago I quit the US and Britain seemed like a sanctuary from Trump’s Maga movement. Now I wonder, for how long | Emma Brockes

I was the envy of the friends I’d left behind. Now it seems prudent to assess how much that nativism will truly take root hereThis time last year, I had just moved back to Britain from the US and was enjoying the almost universal envy of American friends. While they were looking down the barrel of a second Trump presidency with its guarantee of chaos and division, we had elected Keir Starmer by a landslide and were feeling pretty pleased with ourselves. I remember people congratulating me on the prescience of my move, which I absolutely took even though politics hadn’t been part of my decision (not least because, for most of 2024, I had assumed Trump would lose). Anyway, here we are a year later and who’s laughing now?I guess the answer to that is Nigel Farage and his Reform UK party, which has somehow managed to harness the anger, disappointment and shame felt by large numbers of people who voted for and were then let down by Brexit, and are now in search of another fire to light. ...

Politics

3 w. ago Pretty town surrounded by waterfalls and mountains feels like being in the Alps

Betws-y-Coed in north Wales is a beautiful town surrounded by craggy mountains, peaceful lakes, and lush woodlands - making it an ideal spot for an autumn break

Politics