78 m. ago Conflict, imperialism, escape and the rise of Big Tech feature in Women’s Prize for Fiction 2025 longlist

Books by renowned authors including Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie are among the works selected by a panel of expert judges, along with nine debut writers

Events

2 h. ago JD Vance’s traumatic past doesn’t explain his bullying of Ukraine: his ‘might is right’ doctrine does | Karolina Wigura and Jarosław Kuisz

The man who wrote Hillbilly Elegy would have recognised the old eastern Europe. But he’s attacking the democratic order we yearned forEven before the shocking treatment of Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, the US had voted with Russia in the UN. Alarm bells about the security threat now facing Europe were already ringing during JD Vance’s speech in Munich in February, when he questioned the point of defending Europe’s liberal democracies from Russia.For the countries surrounding Russia, this is not just about impertinence or failing diplomacy but about potentially being wiped off the map.Karolina Wigura is a Polish historian and co-author of Post-Traumatic Sovereignty: An Essay (Why the Eastern European Mentality is Different)Jarosław Kuisz is editor-in-chief of the Polish weekly Kultura Liberalna and the author of The New Politics of Poland: A Case of Post-Traumatic Sovereignty Continue reading...

Events

2 h. ago Memories of a Catholic Girlhood by Mary McCarthy review – incurable sadness if bravely borne

Colm Tóibín introduces this welcome reprint of the US author and critic’s poignant account of orphanhood, first published in 1957Mary McCarthy was a formidable, not to say frightening, figure in the literary landscape of mid-20th-century America, one of a cohort of remarkable left-leaning intellectuals that included Elizabeth Hardwick, Dwight Macdonald, Randall Jarrell and McCarthy’s lifelong friend Hannah Arendt. The famous feud between McCarthy and the playwright Lillian Hellman – “every word Hellman writes is a lie, including ‘and’ and ‘the’” – led to a $2.5m libel suit brought by Hellman but which in the end damaged her own reputation beyond repair.McCarthy was already an established critic and fiction writer when, in 1963, she published The Group, the novel that was to bring her huge popular success. It is an account of the lives of a set of young women in postwar New York and, for its time, was frank to the point of being scandalous. Anyone reading it now will wonder what the ...

Politics

2 h. ago Chinese EV maker BYD raises $5.6bn in share sale to drive overseas expansion

Tesla rival says follow-on Hong Kong offering is the biggest in the global automotive sector in a decade

Economics

3 h. ago Hero donor who saved millions of babies by giving blood over six decades dies

James Harrison, who was recognised by the Guinness World Records as the person who had donated the most blood plasma in the world, has passed away in New South Wales, Australia

Events

3 h. ago The Chimamanda effect: Nigerians delight at first novel in a decade from their beloved daughter

‘Rock star’ author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Dream Count has been hotly anticipated by her fansWhen Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie asked participants at her annual writers’ workshop in Lagos to introduce themselves, one woman was so excited to be close to her idol that she immediately burst into tears.“She asked someone to get me water and my heart just melted,” says writer and actor Uzoamaka Power. “[That workshop] was one of the best moments of my life.” Continue reading...

Politics

3 h. ago Syrian refugee family that Pope Francis brought to Rome prays for him as they build new life

Nearly a decade after Pope Francis plucked them from a refugee camp in Greece, a Syrian couple and their child have carved out a quiet life in suburban Rome

Events

4 h. ago The Rainham volcano: a waste dump is constantly on fire in east London. Why will no one stop it?

Under Arnolds Field, tonnes of illegally dumped waste have been burning for years, spewing pollution over the area. Locals fear for their health – and despair that no one seems willing to helpOne afternoon in July 2011, an 11-year-old boy named William Knowlden was out cycling with friends when he came upon Arnolds Field, an expanse of green land in Havering, east London. The site spans about 17 hectares, or 24 football pitches, and around its perimeter runs a wooden fence, with two access points through which vehicles can pass. Arnolds Field rises much higher than the surrounding land. Its surface is lumpy and undulating, like a blanket thrown over a heap of cuddly toys. The land is overgrown. It has been decades since animals grazed there, and few people have set foot on it in recent years. But every so often, it is mistaken for a safe place to explore.As Knowlden descended a hill, he lost control and was thrown over the handlebars. When he came to, he was lying in a small crater ...

Events

5 h. ago AP PHOTOS: Cat owners in Kashmir thrown into a tizzy over viral posts bad

Cat lovers in Indian-controlled Kashmir were thrown into a tizzy. Panic spread and local veterinarians saw a surge in pet owners coming in with their cats — all because of posts that went viral on social media.

Culture

5 h. ago Largest wildfire in decades rages in Japan as authorities warn it could spread

Blaze in Ofunato has spread through 2,100 hectares of land, damaged dozens of homes and forced more than 1,000 to fleeAuthorities in Japan have warned that the country’s biggest wildfire in decades is likely to spread, after it damaged dozens of homes and forced more than 1,000 people to flee.Fires continued to rage a week after they broke out in the city of Ofunato, on the north-east coast, with weather officials speculating that this year’s unusually dry winter and strong winds were to blame. Continue reading...

Events

5 h. ago Cyclone Alfred intensifies to Category 2 ahead of rare landfall in Australia: Latest updates

Storm is expected to make landfall on Thursday or Friday between Brisbane and Sunshine Coast and could be one of most destructive in region for decades

Politics

5 h. ago Urgent warning to anyone hanging bird boxes in certain position

Birdhouses can be a great way to attract a variety of different bird species to your garden, however outdoor experts warn that by hanging them incorrectly you could be doing more harm than good

Events

6 h. ago Calm before the storm: nervous Brisbane waits for Alfred’s arrival

Authorities have clearly grasped the scale of potential disaster, but the tropical cyclone won’t feel real to many in the city until the weather starts to turnWhen and where is Tropical Cyclone Alfred likely to hit?Bribie Island braces for AlfredFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastBrisbane residents who lived through the devastating 2011 floods recall an “eerie calm” that set upon the city.Back then, the city woke to sun and blue sky, but knowing the severe threat from rising flood waters was on its way. The driving rain had stopped, but the looming river peaks would cause most of the widespread damage.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

Events

8 h. ago Five million Brits have been in council tax arrears over the last five years, damning survey reveals

Exclusive research from Opinium has shown that one in 10 UK adults have been indebted to their local authority at some point, as some lift tax by up to 10 per cent from April.

Economics

8 h. ago Threatened species: court asked to compel Australian ministers to create recovery plans

The Wilderness Society launches legal action in hope of helping animals on brink of extinctionFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastOne of Australia’s largest conservation organisations has launched legal action alleging that successive federal environment ministers failed to meet their obligation to create recovery plans for native species threatened with extinction.The Wilderness Society (TWS) filed the proceedings in the federal court on Monday.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

Politics

9 h. ago Seven in ten healthcare workers see patients unable to pay energy bills, survey suggests

Poor housing conditions are causing an ‘entirely preventable public health crisis’, medics warn

Science

9 h. ago Angela Rayner rolls out £1.5billion pot to boost 75 neighbourhoods

A total of 75 areas will each receive up to £20million in funding over the next decade to help revive high streets, youth clubs, parks and libraries, the government said

Economics

9 h. ago Government adverts launched to warn of misinformation from people smugglers

The digital content shared by the Home Office comes as part of an international campaign to warn those considering coming to the UK.

Events

9 h. ago Another journalist killed in Mexico. Here's how the deaths are counted

Mexican authorities are investigating the killing of a local reporter in the central state of Guanajuato, the country’s homicide leader

Events

9 h. ago More than half of adults worldwide will be overweight or obese by 2050 – report

Analysis forecasts a third of young people will also be overweight or obese, in ‘unparalleled’ threat to healthMore than half of adults and a third of children and young people worldwide will be overweight or obese by 2050, posing an “unparalleled threat” of early death, disease and enormous strain on healthcare systems, a report warns.Global failures in the response to the growing obesity crisis over the past three decades have led to a staggering increase in the numbers affected, according to the analysis published in the Lancet. Continue reading...

Politics