57 h. ago X Factor star Diana Vickers defends Sabrina Carpenter over THAT raunchy album cover backlash: 'Women should be free to be sexy'

Diana Vickers has jumped to the defence of pop sensation Sabrina Carpenter after the chart-topper sparked controversy with her saucy new album artwork.

Culture

3 d. ago From Madonna to New Order and Oasis, one man’s odyssey to make an ‘atlas of album cover maps’

Damien Saunder set out to survey the cartographic influence on album sleeve design. Four years and 400-plus records later, he’s created the coffee table book music fans and map lovers never knew they neededGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailGrowing up in rural Wangaratta in north-eastern Victoria, Damien Saunder spent many a wintry day listening to music on the family’s record player. Just beneath the stereo was a Reader’s Digest atlas. “Anytime we put on a record, I’d get out the atlas,” Saunder recalls. “It was like a gateway to the world – a way to dream, explore and let your mind wander.”Decades later, music and maps have come together again, this time in a coffee table book: Maps on Vinyl, a world-first survey of the cartographic influence on album sleeve design; an atlas of album cover maps. It’s the book most music fans – and map-makers – never knew they needed. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago The Guardian view on Trump’s aid cuts and development: the global majority deserve justice, not charity | Editorial

Funding is plummeting as needs grow, with the closure of USAID, the slashing of UK and European aid budgets, and the obstruction of debt reform and cancellationWhen one door closes, you would hope that another opens. As USAID was formally shut down on Monday, a once-in-a-decade development financing conference was kicking off in Seville. But while initially intended to move the world closer to its ambitious 2030 sustainable development goals, it now looks more like an attempt to prevent a reversal of the progress already made.A study published in the Lancet predicted that Donald Trump’s aid cuts could claim more than 14 million lives by 2030, a third of them among children. For many poor countries, the scale of the shock would be similar to that of a major war, the authors found. More than four-fifths of the US agency’s programmes have been cut, with surviving projects folded into the state department. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago “All those brave men and women who didn’t come home”: Local WWII Veteran, 104, Shares Wisdom in Tribute to Fallen Comrades

In honour of Armed Forces Day, a 104-year-old Second World War veteran from Worcestershire and his loved ones are sharing his story, in hopes of keeping the memories of fallen soldiers alive.

Events

8 d. ago How Dolce went from haute couture to Hollywood: Boutique Milanese brand used to hire local Italian women for their shows but are now dressing A

They burst on the scene in 1983, as the 'new talents' of Milanese fashion - but Dolce & Gabbana is now far from their origins, as they have become Hollywood's 'haute couture' of choice.

Culture

8 d. ago 'Russian Paris Hilton' who appeared on iconic Pulp album cover has link to Putin

Ksenia Sobchak is a Russian journalist and liberal politician, but is also known as the scantily-clad blonde woman on the cover of Pulp's 1998 release This Is Hardcore

Politics

9 d. ago Voices: Global aid is about more than money and charity – it helps us all

The world has done extraordinary things when we’ve had a vision to match our resources, writes David McNair

Politics

9 d. ago Lorde fans left in shock after receiving picture of her private parts on new vinyl cover for Virgin album

The singer, 28, had already raised eyebrows with her latest album's main artwork , which features an x-ray of her pelvis - inter-uterine device included.

Events

1 week ago Sabrina Carpenter releases a demure album cover she says has been 'approved by God'

Prudes can purchase a copy of Man’s Bets Friend with less debaucherous album art

Politics

1 week ago I Gave You Eyes and You Looked Toward Darkness by Irene Solà review – makes most fiction feel timid

This Catalonian tale of a botched pact with the devil has the demonic excess of a Hieronymus Bosch paintingMargarida is trapped in Mas Clavell, a farmhouse in the Catalonian mountains, with Bernadeta. Bernadeta is dying in an annoying way, with “deep, raspy snores”. Margarida herself has been dead for some time. Rather than ascend to heaven, she has been “dragged downstairs by the ghastly, insufferable women of the house”. Irene Solà’s teeming third novel, I Gave You Eyes and You Looked Toward Darkness, follows these women, both dead and alive, as they prepare for a party. They cook and scrub, tell stories and make fart jokes. The novel begins at dawn and ends at night, but the historical era jumps around without warning. Now the viceroy’s men are arriving on horseback. Now a teenager is calling everyone a “dumbass”. Now local women are fleeing from Nazi soldiers. Characters shape-shift as much as the timeline. A he-goat becomes a bull, then a cat, then “an unusually long, skinny ma...

Events

1 week ago Sabrina Carpenter says alternate album artwork has been ‘approved by God’ after divisive original cover

‘Espresso’ singer faced criticism earlier this month when she released provocative artwork for her next album ‘Man’s Best Friend’

Politics

1 week ago Sabrina Carpenter unveils cheeky alternative to her sexually

Carpenter, 26, dropped the image on social media, days after facing backlash over her original album cover which saw her posing on all fours as a faceless man tugged at her hair.

Politics

2 w. ago When did ‘feminist critique’ of celebrities become nothing more than a snide telling

Those delivering paternalistic lectures to Sabrina Carpenter, Addison Rae and Sydney Sweeney would do well to revisit recent historySabrina Carpenter was accused of dragging women back into an unenlightened past last week, as the controversial cover for her new album was met with (apparently) feminist furore. It’s ironic, then, that the past is precisely where Carpenter’s most outspoken critics could do with looking. It’s clear that the general consensus is lurching grimly to the right when it comes to gender, and a new generation of young, female critics should be wary of falling into step. The debate about how we look at women, and what they want, risks limply missing the point.In the past few weeks, Sydney Sweeney has been chastised for selling sexy soap, and Addison Rae scolded for dancing in her underwear on stage. It’s odd that the backlash has been so immense, given the celebration of Halina Reijn’s Babygirl film just a few months ago. The SheEO Nicole Kidman slurping milk ou...

Politics

2 w. ago Coatbridge law firm Friels raises £3180 for annual charity Will Aid campaign

Friels has been a proud supporter of Will Aid since 1996, dedicating their time and expertise to writing Wills and raising a grand total of £24,899.

Economics

2 w. ago Hamilton Accies Women considering legal advice after rebrand demands

Accies Women's boss Robert Watson has reacted to the news his side could be forced to change their identity amid a fallout with the owners of Hamilton Academical FC

Politics

2 w. ago Paddy McGuinness breaks silence on Carlos Tevez humiliation and accuses him of 'assault'

Former Manchester City ace Carlos Tevez fired four goals past England keeper Paddy McGuinness in less than ten minutes as fans accused him of forgetting Soccer Aid is a charity match

Events

2 w. ago Who won Soccer Aid? Score, controversial moments and huge amount raised for UNICEF

The iconic Soccer Aid charity match took place last night at Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium with an impressive amount of money being raised for charity as the celebs took to the pitch

Sport

2 w. ago How much did Soccer Aid raise in 2025? Total over the years and which charity it goes to

Soccer Aid raised another eye-watering sum for charity - to add to the millions previously donated 💕

Politics

3 w. ago Sam Thompson joins final minutes of Soccer Aid charity match as England player

The celebrity charity match sees an England team take on Soccer Aid World XI FC to raise money for aid organisation Unicef.

Sport

3 w. ago Outrage after Tyson Fury drops the F bomb on soccer aid 'He should never appear on TV again!'

Hollywood star Julia Roberts was in attendance at Old Trafford for Soccer Aid 2025, which sees an England team take on Soccer Aid World XI FC in a charity football match

Events