15 h. ago It had brought joy for decades, but all that was left was a freakish laughing head

For over 50 years, the Fun House at Blackpool brought laughter and a few broken bones - that was until one fateful night back in 1991

Politics

16 h. ago New Michael Schumacher health condition update as truth and fiction cleared up

There have been true and false claims made to date about Michael Schumacher's health status, with more than a decade having past since his skiing accident which left him with life-altering injuries

Politics

7 d. ago ‘It’s not a genuine apology’: Spanish women reject Catholic attempt to redress Franco incarceration

Many survivors believe organisation’s request for forgiveness over abuse in Women’s Protection Board centres does not go far enoughAs the members of the Catholic organisation wrapped up their speech with an appeal for forgiveness, the auditorium in Madrid exploded in rage. For decades, many in the audience had grappled with the scars left by their time in Catholic-run institutions; now they were on their feet chanting: “Truth, justice and reparations” and – laying bare their rejection of any apology – “Neither forget, nor forgive”.It was an unprecedented response to an unprecedented moment in Spain, hinting at the deep fissures that linger over one of the longest-running and least-known institutions of Francisco Franco’s dictatorship: the Catholic-run centres that incarcerated thousands of women and girls as young as eight, subjecting them to barbaric punishments, forced labour and religious indoctrination. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Tributes pour in for talented footballer, 19, who died suddenly as club make emotional gesture to player who brought 'joy and strength to everyone'

Pontypool footballer Tristan O'Keefe tragically passed away on Wednesday, June 11,  leaving his family and friends 'devastated.'

Sport

2 w. ago Girl's 'flu' symptom was actually red flag for rare brain tumour

Over a decade later, Niamh has said the condition has left her without any kind of peripheral vision

Science

2 w. ago Why is defence such a hard sell? The same reason Starmer is struggling in the polls | Martin Kettle

Decades of failures have left liberal democratic governments unable to command public confidence when it really mattersDefence reviews and foreign policy resets seem to turn up almost as often as the Sussexes’ lifestyle brand relaunches these days. Labour’s strategic defence review this week comes less than two years after the Conservatives’ hardly less detailed defence white paper in July 2023, which in turn was a “refresh” of Boris Johnson’s ambitious integrated review of defence and foreign policy of March 2021. By this measure, it must be doubtful if, come the 2030s, analysts will look back on Keir Starmer and John Healey’s review and say it broke the mould.The Labour government was entitled to try to put its own stamp on defence policy, of course, and its review team of George Robertson, Richard Barrons and Fiona Hill did a good, reasonably independent job. Yet this 2020s pattern of repeated strategic adaptation and refocus feels like the new normal now. It is also true that gr...

Politics

3 w. ago Incredible Spanish town abandoned by mistake and left to rot for 55 years

A stunning Spanish town that 1,000 residents once called home was completely abandoned and left to rot more than five decades ago - all because of a flood that never even happened

Politics

4 w. ago The Guardian view on the BBC World Service: a boon to the UK, as well as audiences elsewhere | Editorial

Britain would benefit from pledging more sustained and committed support in this age of disinformation and global turmoilTwo years ago, BBC Arabic radio left the airwaves after decades. Soon afterwards, Russia’s Sputnik service began broadcasting on the frequency left vacant in Lebanon. That detail illuminates a larger picture. China, Russia and others see global-facing media as central to their global ambitions and are investing accordingly – pumping out propaganda to muddle or drown out objective, independently minded journalism. These outlets are state-controlled as well as state-owned.Meanwhile, conspiracy theories and disinformation proliferate online, attacks on press freedom intensify and the Trump administration is dismantling media organisations including Voice of America and Radio Free Asia (RFA), which have been essential sources of information for audiences under repressive regimes. Official Chinese media were gleeful at what RFA’s president, Bay Fang, cal...

Events