1 hour ago Why is Ghislaine Maxwell getting the Club Fed treatment? | Arwa Mahdawi

Her privileges in America’s two-tiered legal system reportedly range from from unlimited toilet paper to puppy playtimeI don’t know what, if anything, keeps Ghislaine Maxwell up at night. But it’s certainly not the prospect of running out of toilet paper in the minimum-security prison where she’s residing. Maxwell is serving a 20-year-sentence for her role in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation. Rather than doing hard time, however, it seems Maxwell is having a relatively easy go of it. While most inmates get an allocation of two rolls of toilet paper per week, for example, CNN reports that Maxwell gets an unlimited supply.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Politics

3 h. ago Argos shoppers rush for £65 Tefal air fryer deal that's cheaper than Ninja

The Tefal Easy Fry Mega 7.5L Air Fryer has been reduced from £140 to £65 as part of the Argos Black Friday deals

Economics

8 h. ago ‘So unchanged it is almost otherworldly’: the oasis town of Skoura, Morocco

For the explorer and author, the desert outpost, irrigated by water from the Atlas mountains, is the perfect place to decompressThe first thing I notice when I walk into the oasis is the temperature drop. Then, I hear the birdsong and the rustling of the palm trees. The harsh sun dims and there’s water and the smell of damp earth. It’s easy to understand why desert travellers yearned to reach these havens and why they have become synonymous with peace. I’m an explorer who’s walked through many oases with loaded camels, crossing Morocco and the Sahara on foot, but Skoura, a four-hour drive from Marrakech, is a place I visit to decompress.You may be imagining some kind of cartoon mirage oasis – a sole date palm shimmering above the endless sands. In fact, Skoura has a population of around 3,000 people living in a small town on the edge of the palms with 10 sq miles (25 sq km) of agricultural land. Many visitors to Morocco start in Fez or Marrakech and stop off in A...

Politics

8 h. ago Chris McCausland: Seeing into the Future – an astonishing look at how tech is changing disabled people’s lives

Prepare to have your perspective shattered by the comedian’s visits to our US tech overlords. The upcoming advancements for those with disabilities are life-changingWashing machines liberated women to get soul-crushing jobs that ate up their free time. Social media gave the world one revolution – before it destabilised democracies everywhere else. Now AI is here, and its main job seems to be replacing screenwriters. It’s easy to fall into techno-pessimism, but new documentary Seeing into the Future (Sunday 23 November, 8pm, BBC Two) has a different angle. For disabled people, tech has already brought about life-changing advancements. And we haven’t seen anything yet.It is presented by comedian and Strictly winner Chris McCausland, who is blind. Some of the most casually astonishing scenes occur early on, showing how he uses his phone – essentially, an eye with a mouth. “What T-shirt is this?” he asks, holding up a garment. “A grey T-shirt with a graphic logo of Deftones,” his p...

Politics

9 h. ago The Premier League players who have drifted from view this season

A number of big-money signings, promising talents and club legends are struggling to make their markBy WhoScoredA £50m signing from Manchester City, Raheem Sterling was once a declaration of ambition by Chelsea but he is now lost in the £1.4bn of talent that has arrived since. It is easy to forget that Sterling was the first of 50 signings under the club’s owners. Continue reading...

Sport

9 h. ago Blind date: ‘She did laugh a few times but I’m not sure if it was at me or with me’

Henry, 28, a student, meets Sarah, 30, an operations managerWhat were you hoping for? A fun, easy-going evening with some yummy grub. Continue reading...

Politics

9 h. ago Who knew it would take an American pope to remind us of the value of art and good taste? | Jason Okundaye

Anti-AI and pro-beauty, Leo XIV has proved an unlikely custodian of culture – and a patron of meaningful work in a world of algorithmic slopSo, who figured that Pope Leo XIV would end up being kind of cool? Not me. Although as a lapsed Catholic I had little stake in the conclave race, I felt that there was something unglamorous, dare I say godless, about a first-ever supreme pontiff born in the US, let alone one hailing from Chicago, the same city as Hugh Hefner, Hillary Clinton and Kanye West. There were greater apprehensions beyond taste, too. Would this finally be the ordination of the reinvigorated Maga movement after the death of the compassionate Pope Francis? When Leo appeared on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica wearing the traditional red mozzetta cape eschewed by his predecessor, it was too easy to jump to conclusions.By the grace of God, the red mozzetta was a red herring. Very quickly, American conservatives went into meltdown over the pope’s patent anti-Maga leanings a...

Politics

11 h. ago The UK seaside village so beautiful psychologists say it can make you feel better

The seaside village has been named one of the most colourful places in the world - and it's easy to see why

Science

11 h. ago The Welsh village so beautiful psychologists say it can make you feel better

The colourful Welsh seaside village has been named one of the 26 most vibrant places in the world, and it's easy to see why it's been cheering people up for the past 100 years

Science

13 h. ago 4 surprising reasons why your home still feels cold — fix it without turning up the heating

An interiors expert has revealed four simple ways to make our homes feel warmer and to combat the increasingly dropping temperatures this winter with these easy hacks

Society

13 h. ago This Welsh mountain with epic views is one of the top 10 hikes on the planet

It was named one of the best hikes in the world and it's easy to see why

Politics

23 h. ago Dice potatoes quickly without knife using 'quick and easy' method used by chefs

Potatoes are a British staple, but dicing them can be tedious. A woman has shared a clever hack she learned from top chefs which dices potatoes quickly - and no knife is required

Politics

25 h. ago Alastair Cook and Becky Ives make best of TNT Sports’ shonky Ashes production | Barney Ronay

Presenter Ives was breezy, while Cook fronted everything like the last ceremonial horse of some dying cavalry unitYou know what they say. Never judge a pitch until both teams have batted really badly on it. You know what they say. Over here you bat long, bat hard, bat short, bat soft. You know what they say, the Ashes in Australia is all about a hybrid maverick production with a fan-first identity.Given the brilliance of the basic entertainment on day one in Perth, it was easy to forget that England’s Baz-facing tourists aren’t the only setup with a brave new philosophy in play, out there disrupting the norms, and in need, above all, of a decent start. Continue reading...

Society

43 h. ago Cop30 conference centre evacuated as fire breaks out – as it happened

UN secretary-general António Guterres earlier used speech at Belem summit to urge countries to find compromises in final hours of negotiationsInside the halls of Cop30 you see people from all around the world, and it can be easy to forget that there are many people who remain unrepresented.On Thursday morning, Magne Tony was standing with compatriots from French Guiana outside the entrance to the conference centre, trying to push pieces of paper into the hands of arriving delegates and observers headed: “Our Amazon is dying”.The main problem is that France are in 9,000 kilometres from Amazonia, from South America, and they’re taking decisions. [But] they don’t really know what is the problem really. They’re taking the decisions from their own mind and the problem is that they’re far from reality.That’s why we decided to alert the people in the world about [our] problems: water coming up, getting enough to eat, more heat – in some parts of French Guiana, people don’t have water.These...

Events

44 h. ago Blush 'so easy to blend' on fine lines, mature shoppers 'throw out' powder and cream

"Love this blush. Powder is sometimes too cakey but a couple drops of this blush gives you a natural, dewy, fresh-looking glow"

Politics

47 h. ago Cop30 live: current climate pathway ‘a death sentence for many’, says UN secretary

António Guterres uses speech at Belem summit to urge countries to find compromises in final hours of negotiationsInside the halls of Cop30 you see people from all around the world, and it can be easy to forget that there are many people who remain unrepresented.On Thursday morning, Magne Tony was standing with compatriots from French Guiana outside the entrance to the conference centre, trying to push pieces of paper into the hands of arriving delegates and observers headed: “Our Amazon is dying”.The main problem is that France are in 9,000 kilometres from Amazonia, from South America, and they’re taking decisions. [But] they don’t really know what is the problem really. They’re taking the decisions from their own mind and the problem is that they’re far from reality.That’s why we decided to alert the people in the world about [our] problems: water coming up, getting enough to eat, more heat – in some parts of French Guiana, people don’t have water.These crises, a consequence of Wes...

Society

49 h. ago Cook well and breathe easy this winter with Cosori and Levoit’s Black Friday deals

Two brands, one big home upgrade

Economics

51 h. ago The two extraordinary young activists making me feel optimistic at Cop30

In today’s newsletter: Despite valid criticisms, the summits are filled with smart, passionate people dedicating their lives to fighting the climate crisis• Don’t get Down to Earth delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereIt is easy to criticise the UN climate conferences. But unless you’ve been, there’s one wonderful, almost miraculous, thing that you may not be aware of: it is a beautiful gathering of humanity, people from virtually every country on Earth, all thrown together in common cause.What’s more, many are incredibly smart, passionate and dedicating their lives to fighting the climate crisis. The more of them you meet, the more your hope grows that global heating can be defeated.Trump’s anti-climate agenda could result in 1.3m more deaths globally, analysis findsTropical cyclone Fina intensifies to category two and could hit NT coast on FridayEngland’s Beth Mead: ‘If we don’t adapt to climate change, football becomes a privilege, not a right‘ Continue reading...

Politics

51 h. ago Commentary classics: McLean, Parrott and a week of unbridled content joy | Max Rushden

When you work in the game it is easy to get cynical but this week I’ve been consuming all the #limbs I can findFor the second time in a week, I’m welling up. This time in a cafe on Northcote High Street in Melbourne at 9am. I punched the air when Kieran Tierney curled that one in. But Kenny McLean. From the halfway line. As the ball sails over Peter Schmeichel my hands involuntarily shoot to the sky. What a moment. The commentary is amazing. Before long I’m watching it on a loop. The unwritten rule of not talking over each other goes out of the window. In fact it’s better. You want the comms to feel like you feel.On BBC Scotland, Liam McLeod, Steven Thompson and James McFadden absolutely nail it. McLeod: “They’ve given it away.” Thompson: “SHOOT SHOOT.” McLeod: “He’s gonna shoot.” (McFadden is grinning wildly.) Thompson: “OH HE’S DONE HIM, HE’S DONE HIM, HE’S DONE HIM.” McLeod: “HAS THAT GONE IN? OOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOO THAT’S UNBELIEVABLE ” The fixed camera set on Thompson an...

Politics

51 h. ago Boris Becker: ‘Whoever says a prison life is easy is lying – it’s a real punishment’

Former Wimbledon champion on how taking accountability for his crimes allowed for rehabilitation, watching Novak Djokovic from his cell and the new era of brotherhood in the sport“I heard the screaming and I didn’t know what it was,” Boris Becker says as he remembers staring into the dark in Wandsworth prison, just over two miles from Wimbledon’s Centre Court where he won the first of his three men’s singles titles at the age of 17 in 1985. “Were people trying to kill themselves or harm themselves? Or couldn’t they deal with their loneliness? Or are they just making crazy noises because they have lost their minds already?”Becker had been sentenced to a two-and-a-half-year jail term. Amid his insolvency, he was found guilty of not declaring all his assets so that additional funds could be distributed to his creditors. The judge confirmed that his money was used, instead, to meet his “commitments to his children and other dependents, medical and professional fees, and other expenses”....

Events