9 h. ago Bog standard? Tokyo’s spectacular public toilets – in pictures

Public toilets are rarely thought of fondly – that is unless you’re talking about those in Tokyo’s Shibuya district. Commissioned in 2019, creatives including renowned architects Shigeru Ban and the late Fumihiko Maki designed 17 beautiful, functional, meticulously clean public toilets, some of which featured in Wim Wenders’s 2023 film Perfect Days. Hong Kong-based photographer Ulana Switucha came across the toilets, each unique, while working on a project about Japanese architecture in 2023, and went back to photograph them the following year. “These structures are works of art,” she says. “They shine as beacons in their urban setting and demonstrate that public design can go beyond functionality to represent cultural and artistic value.”Ulana Switucha is the winner of the architecture and design category of the Sony world photography awards 2025 Continue reading...

Politics

16 h. ago London council refuses to house homeless young mother after leaving her sofa surfing while pregnant

Hounslow council was told to offer the woman and her baby its next available suitable home after its failures meant she missed out on a number of secure tenancies, but it has refused

Society

18 h. ago London council spent £13,400 making public toilets gender neutral

Kingston Council paid thousands to make toilets at Latchmere Recreation Ground in Battersea gender neutral

Economics

39 h. ago London council refuses to house homeless young mother left sofa surfing while pregnant

Hounslow council was told to offer the woman and her baby its next available suitable home after its failures meant she missed out on a number of secure tenancies, but it has refused

Society

40 h. ago New £4million lido to open in the UK next year with pool, kids' splash park and spa

Britain's lido revival continues, with an East London council announcing it will open a year-round lido in Ilford ahead of next summer - four years after the original swim complex closed.

Economics

42 h. ago Ice cream vans could be banned near Greenwich Park after council row

Plans to prohibit ice cream vans from trading on a street next to Greenwich Park are one step closer to fruition in the latest chapter of a drawn-out saga that has already cost the taxpayer thousands.

Events

42 h. ago West London council refuses to house homeless young mother left sofa surfing while pregnant

Hounslow council was told to offer the woman and her baby its next available suitable home after its failures meant she missed out on a number of secure tenancies, but it has refused

Society

43 h. ago Kensington and Chelsea admits ‘rushed’ Grenfell housing purchases were unsafe

The admission comes as the council seeks to sell off 14 of the homes

Politics

57 h. ago Shoreditch towers plan secures 'support in principle' from City Hall

Development would reach 12 storeys high on a disused patch of land between two busy railway lines

Politics

57 h. ago Reprieve for East London 'dive bar' popular with metalheads as council agrees to noise limits amid complaints

Blondies Brewery in Leyton will be allowed to stay open despite being challenged by neighbours over ‘unacceptably’ noisy gigs

Politics

57 h. ago West London council refuses to house young mother left sofa surfing while pregnant

Hounslow council was told to offer the woman and her baby its next available suitable home after its failures meant she missed out on a number of secure tenancies, but it has refused

Politics

60 h. ago Toby Carvery boss apologises for ‘upset caused’ by felling of centuries

The tree was cut down in Whitewebbs Park, north London on April 3.

Politics

60 h. ago Toby Carvery owner apologises after ancient oak tree felling in north London

The cutting down of the tree has been compared to that of the landmark Sycamore Gap tree

Politics

62 h. ago Ancient London oak hacked down by Toby Carvery owners could have lived ‘another few hundred years’

The ancient oak was on the edge of Whitewebbs Park, next to the Whitewebbs House Toby Carvery

Politics

63 h. ago What the Supreme Court ruling over the definition of a woman means for prisons, hospitals and schools

From NHS wards to public toilets, what does Wednesday’s Supreme Court ruling mean in practice?

Events

3 d. ago Council plans legal action over ancient London oak felled by Toby Carvery

Council plans legal action over ancient London oak felled by Toby Carvery  The Guardian

Politics

3 d. ago Council leader ‘outraged’ by Toby Carvery felling ancient oak without permission

The cutting down of the tree has been compared to that of the landmark Sycamore Gap tree next to Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland.

Politics

3 d. ago What does the Supreme Court gender ruling mean? All your questions answered from sharing public toilets to maternity leave and competitive sports

The case tested legally for the first time whether or not somebody with a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) recognising their gender as female should be treated as a woman.

Sport

3 d. ago Council plans legal action over ancient London oak felled by Toby Carvery | Trees and forests

Council plans legal action over ancient London oak felled by Toby Carvery | Trees and forests  The Guardian

Politics

6 d. ago 'Impossible choice': West London council tells homeless family to move 275 miles to Hartlepool or lose housing support

Soheila Serkani was told she and her daughter must move to Hartlepool after being evicted from their private rented home last month

Society