48 h. ago Pope Leo extends condolences to Texas flood victims: ‘We pray for them’

US-born pontiff addresses probably the deadliest natural disaster in his home country since assuming role in MayPope Leo XIV on Sunday voiced his sympathies for the families whose lives have been upended by the flooding in Texas’s Hill Country, which left about 80 dead – many of them children – and others missing.After reciting Angelus prayers at the Vatican, the American-born pontiff remarked in English: “I would like to express sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones, in particular their daughters who were in a summer camp in the disaster caused by flooding of the Guadalupe River in Texas. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago From swim schools to eye clinics: how families of 7/7 victims used heartbreak to help others

Relatives tell of their determination to see good come from the killing of their loved ones in 2005 London bombingsIn the city of Bhubaneswar, the capital of the north-east Indian state of Odisha, there is an eye clinic that has transformed the lives of thousands of children.Before the unit was established in 2008, according to its vice-chair, there was no dedicated children’s eye care centre in the entire eastern part of India, a country home to 20% of the world’s blind children. The clinic now sees about 3,000 children a month and performs 350 eye surgeries – a significant proportion of them at no cost to the often very poor families who need them. Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago Millions of US kids attend schools in dangerous ‘urban heat zones,’ analysis finds

Children living in the country’s largest cities are disproportionately threatened by the effects of extreme heat

Politics

1 week ago Supreme Court meets Friday to decide 6 remaining cases, including birthright citizenship

The Supreme Court is meeting Friday to decide the final six cases of its term, including President Donald Trump’s bid to enforce his executive order denying birthright citizenship to U.S.-born children of parents who are in the country illegally

Events

2 w. ago Majority of children will be overweight or obese in nine areas of England by 2035, study shows

Exclusive: Analysis by Royal Society for Public Health suggests obesity rates will rise in 90% of the countryThe majority of children will be overweight or obese in nine areas of England by 2035, according to “deeply concerning” projections showing child obesity rates are set to worsen across 90% of the country.More than a third of primary school children (36%) are already overweight or obese, figures from the government’s national child measurement programme show. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Lottie Tomlinson rushed to hospital for emergency surgery in Abu Dhabi after falling ill on the plane

The influencer, 26, who is one of One Direction star Louis Tomlinson's sisters, had flown to the country with her fiance Lewis Burton and their children.

Science

3 w. ago JAMES RAY: Children in this country are desperate for strong paternal role models. I'm on a mission to help men be the best fathers they can be

James Ray, a priest in the Church of England, is the author of Responsibility: Becoming the Authentic Man.

Events

3 w. ago South African woman’s murder prompts anger at country’s high level of femicide

Olorato Mongale, allegedly killed by man she went on date with, is latest victim of violence against womenA wave of anger and frustration has gripped South Africa after the murder of 30-year-old Olorato Mongale, allegedly by a man she went on a date with. It is the latest in a series of high-profile cases of violence against women and children in the country.Friends of Mongale, a former journalist who had been studying for a master’s degree in ICT policy, raised the alarm when she stopped checking in with them while on a date in Johannesburg on 25 May. Her body was found that day. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago ‘The joy shot out of his voice’: Ray Davies, Graham Nash and others on Brian Wilson’s songwriting genius

With the innocence of a child and the vision of a god, his craft was astonishing. From Jessica Pratt to Jim James and Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil, top musicians explain why he was like no other‘He taught the world how to smile’: Brian Wilson bandmates pay tribute along with Bob Dylan, Elton John and moreTwelve of Brian Wilson’s greatest songsFor all the sophistication that everyone talks about, Brian never loses the thread of the song: the emotion. They have this childlike quality. These days we’d probably say he’s on the spectrum – there’s a sort of Asperger’s type innocence. He makes the lyrics and the melody speak. It’s so welcoming and without edge; it’s not part of a cynical adult world. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago Messiest school mum brawls from 'biting finger off' to TV star playground ban

Parents up and down the country have lost their cool as they pick up their children from school, with some ending up in court and others left battered and bruised

Culture