25 h. ago Mark Twain by Ron Chernow review – the story of America’s first literary celebrity, from the author of Hamilton

A definitive new biography takes in adventures on the Mississippi, racist stereotypes and get-rich-quick schemesIn his lifetime, Mark Twain was the greatest literary celebrity the world had ever known. In the US, he hobnobbed with presidents; on his many travels, he would dine privately with the German kaiser, the Austrian emperor, or the Prince of Wales. Visiting England to collect an honorary degree from Oxford University, he was cheered off his ship by the stevedores of the London docks, before making his way to Windsor Castle for tea with the king and queen.He was the bracing, irreverently humorous voice of America. Like Charles Dickens, whom he heard read from his own work in New York, he became a performer as well as an author. In London he was feted when he read passages from his travelogue of the Wild West, Roughing It. Everyone loved the “twang of his drawl”. He went on to take his work in progress, Huckleberry Finn, round more than 100 American towns and cities, earning ha...

Culture

3 d. ago A roofless palace in Italy's Viterbo hosted the first and longest conclave

It was the mounting rage of citizens in Viterbo, a small town north of Rome, that ended the longest papal election in the Catholic Church’s history, forging for the first time the word “conclave.”

Politics

3 d. ago Ofsted’s proposed report cards should be opposed – school leaders’ union

The NAHT has launched legal action against the watchdog over the potential impact of their proposals on the mental health of leaders.

Politics

3 d. ago ‘Protest can shape the world’: Rebecca Solnit on the fight back against Trump

Demonstrations against the US president have been underplayed and dismissed, but a lifetime of activism has taught me how powerful collective action can beOn 5 April, millions of people rallied against the Trump administration and its campaigns of destruction. In small towns and big cities from Alaska to Florida, red counties and blue (and a handful of European cities), they gathered with homemade signs full of fury and heartbreak and sarcasm. Yet the “Hands Off” protests received minimal media coverage, and the general response was that they didn’t do anything, because they didn’t have immediate and obvious, and most of all quantifiable, consequences. I’ve heard versions of “no one cares”, “no one is doing anything” and “nothing came of it” for all my activist life. These responses are sometimes a sign that the speaker isn’t really looking and sometimes that they don’t recognise impacts that aren’t immediate, direct or obvious. Tracking those indirect and unhurried impacts, trying ...

Politics

3 d. ago ‘Protest shapes the world’: Rebecca Solnit on the fight back against Trump

Demonstrations against the US president have been underplayed and dismissed, but a lifetime of activism has taught me how powerful collective action can beOn 5 April, millions of people rallied against the Trump administration and its campaigns of destruction. In small towns and big cities from Alaska to Florida, red counties and blue (and a handful of European cities), they gathered with homemade signs full of fury and heartbreak and sarcasm. Yet the “Hands Off” protests received minimal media coverage, and the general response was that they didn’t do anything, because they didn’t have immediate and obvious, and most of all quantifiable, consequences. I’ve heard versions of “no one cares”, “no one is doing anything” and “nothing came of it” for all my activist life. These responses are sometimes a sign that the speaker isn’t really looking and sometimes that they don’t recognise impacts that aren’t immediate, direct or obvious. Tracking those indirect and unhurried impacts, trying ...

Politics

4 d. ago 8 of the best cities and towns to visit in Peru, from Lima to Cusco

With a rich and ancient past steeped in Incan history, this South American nation combines natural marvels, exceptional cuisine and mesmerising landmarks

Politics

4 d. ago School leaders’ union launches legal action against Ofsted over report card plan

Headteachers fear the watchdog’s inspection proposals will increase high-stakes accountability and pressure on school staff.

Politics

4 d. ago Many schools are dealing with consequences of toxic masculinity each day – union

Paul Whiteman, the NAHT school leaders’ union chief, has called for collaboration to stop a generation of boys ‘disappearing into a vortex of hatred’.

Economics

4 d. ago Most schools have Send pupils in mainstream classes amid capacity issues – poll

Many parents are ‘frustrated’ that schools cannot fully meet the needs of the Send pupils in their care, the chief of a school leaders’ union said.

Politics

5 d. ago Trump nominates Mike Waltz to become UN ambassador after leaving national security adviser role – live

Trump says Marco Rubio to become interim national security adviser and nominates Mike Waltz to become the US ambassador to the UNTrump’s national security adviser to leave postThe Trump administration is seeking to strip collective bargaining rights from large swaths of federal employees in a test case union leaders argue is part of a broader attack on US labor unions that could land before the US Supreme Court.A Trump win would deliver a severe blow to labor unions in the US. Some 29.9% of all federal workers were represented by labor unions in 2024 compared to 11.1% for all US workers. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Trump’s national security adviser Mike Waltz to leave post weeks after Signal group chat scandal – live

Trump opted not to fire Waltz to avoid media backlash, sources tell GuardianTrump’s national security adviser to leave postThe Trump administration is seeking to strip collective bargaining rights from large swaths of federal employees in a test case union leaders argue is part of a broader attack on US labor unions that could land before the US Supreme Court.A Trump win would deliver a severe blow to labor unions in the US. Some 29.9% of all federal workers were represented by labor unions in 2024 compared to 11.1% for all US workers. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Trump’s national security adviser and deputy to leave posts, reports say – live

Mike Waltz and Alex Wong to leave White House roles after scrutiny following the Signal group chat scandal, multiple US media outlets reportThe Trump administration is seeking to strip collective bargaining rights from large swaths of federal employees in a test case union leaders argue is part of a broader attack on US labor unions that could land before the US Supreme Court.A Trump win would deliver a severe blow to labor unions in the US. Some 29.9% of all federal workers were represented by labor unions in 2024 compared to 11.1% for all US workers. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago US treasury secretary urges Fed chair to cut interest rates as Trump claims shrinking economy isn’t related to tariff war – live

Bessent urges Powell to cut interest rates, echoing Trump’s demands; US president claims economic slowdown ‘nothing to do with tariffs’Trump’s tariffs: ‘It feels like Covid 2.0. So many things are getting disrupted’The Trump administration is seeking to strip collective bargaining rights from large swaths of federal employees in a test case union leaders argue is part of a broader attack on US labor unions that could land before the US Supreme Court.A Trump win would deliver a severe blow to labor unions in the US. Some 29.9% of all federal workers were represented by labor unions in 2024 compared to 11.1% for all US workers. Continue reading...

Society

5 d. ago Council must ‘come to its senses’, union chief says amid fresh bin strike talks

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham is leading the union’s negotiating team as talks aimed at ending Birmingham’s bin strike continue.

Events

6 d. ago Rolls Royce reveals 'optimism' as Royal Mail takeover rubber

Watch today’s business headlines in less than two minutes as a Birmingham bin strikes deal edges closer, Royal Mail’s takeover is approved and the US and Ukraine sign deal to share mineral sales profits.

Politics

6 d. ago May Day talks to take place in bid to resolve Birmingham bin strike

Sharon Graham will head the Unite union’s negotiating team at talks on Thursday morning under the auspices of conciliation service Acas.

Events

6 d. ago DAN HODGES: Unions no longer represent the interests and worries of millions of working Britons... there is only one man who speaks for them now

When was the last time a trade-union leader standing alongside their members in a fight for their livelihoods generated such widespread media interest?

Economics

6 d. ago Union chief to lead negotiations in bid to end Birmingham bin strike

Sharon Graham will head Unite’s team at talks on Thursday under the auspices of conciliation service Acas.

Events

7 d. ago Birmingham bin strikes laid bare as refuse collectors to lose up to £8,000 each year

Unite says Birmingham City Council has "been playing games" after the union found the authority - declared bankrupt in 2023 - has decided to now cut bin lorry drivers' pay

Economics

7 d. ago Hopes fading for end to bitter Birmingham bin strike after council revealed plans to cut drivers' pay by £8,000 prompting outrage from unions

Unite said the move by the city council to downgrade wagon drivers' pay amounted to an 'escalation' in the dispute.

Economics