54 m. ago Tim Dowling: let my tortoise’s humiliating mishap be a lesson to him

A freak thunderstorm soaks the middle one on his way to our house (he’s come to raid the fridge), but the real drama is the toppled tortoise After an hour’s work on a hot morning I leave my office shed and return to the kitchen for a coffee. Halfway there I find the tortoise lying on his back on the path. He can’t have been there for more than an hour, as he wasn’t there when I came out.“What happened to you?” I say, setting him on his feet. But it’s pretty obvious what happened: he tried to exit the garden bed by climbing over the border of diagonally laid bricks and overbalanced. It’s an obstacle he surmounts without difficulty between five and 10 times a day in the warmer months, but occasionally – perhaps once every four years – he puts a foot wrong. So far, I have always been there to turn him back over. Continue reading...

Politics

54 m. ago Was the Black Lives Matter rebellion all for nothing? It may feel like that, but I have seen reasons for hope | Jason Okundaye

It is easy to look back at 2020 and feel aggrieved, even fooled. But in the British city where slaver Edward Colston’s statue was pulled down, I found cause for optimismIt has been five years since George Floyd, a Black man who lived in Minneapolis, was murdered by Derek Chauvin, a white police officer. The killing, captured in a distressing 10-minute video that quickly flooded social media timelines, sparked something that felt like an international revolution: protests took place across the world, forcing countries and cities to reckon with their present and historical treatment of Black people.In Britain, protests reached fever pitch when activists in Bristol toppled a statue of Edward Colston, the slave trader and deputy governor of the Royal African Company, and hurled it into the harbour. Bristol, once a major slave-trading port, had maintained a veneration of Colston that was increasingly divisive. The statue in particular had been a key focus of tensions: attempts to add a s...

Politics

54 m. ago Skins cast 17 years on from Hollywood fame and Only Fans career change to near fatal crash

Skins was an iconic E4 series which explored the raw and messy lives of teenagers growing up in the UK - but where are the cast now?

Events

54 m. ago Thousands of Brits due £90 refund after changes to major debt rule

The Insolvency Service has written to thousands of people who could be due the refund

Economics

1 hour ago Japanese artist Takashi Murakami opens exhibit in Ohio museum with more than 100 works

Famed Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami has created artworks, luxury goods with fashion houses like Louis Vuitton, album covers and an exclusive merchandising collection with Major League Baseball

Culture

1 hour ago From matcha lattes to Dubai chocolate – how supermarkets fight to cope with TikTok trends

Food fads were once dictated by restaurants, now it is viral videos influencing stores what to stock and quicklyTikTok’s algorithm is one of the great mysteries of the modern age. What it deems to be interesting is fed to millions of users, giving it huge cultural sway, from fashion to music and politics. It is also increasingly influencing what we eat.Supermarkets were once the trendsetters, studying popular items on restaurant menus and recreating them on their shelves. Now the big shops are the ones being influenced, says Zoe Simons, a brand development chef at Waitrose. Continue reading...

Politics

1 hour ago 'This rammed, sweaty hell makes it obvious holiday hotspots need to change'

Apply the breaks? Canary Islands protests show it’s time for a rethink about the impact of overtourism, as does a trip for travel editor Nigel Thompson to Santorini

Politics

1 hour ago Two players to miss Fulham vs Man City as Pep Guardiola provides major injury boost

A look at the latest injury situation at Manchester City ahead of their trip to Fulham

Sport

1 hour ago A major Cardiff building is set to remain closed for three years

The city centre building has been shut since October 2023 and there is an update on its future

Politics

2 h. ago I found crystal blue waters and fairy tale village just one hour from UK

The whole trip cost me just £200, an incredible bargain considering how much there is to do there

Politics

2 h. ago "Beast!"Top Scots golf caddie heckled at court after filthy texts to schoolgirl

Daniel Mulvey, 35, who met his 14 year old victim in the street after a TRNSMT concert in Glasgow and later said he would have sex with her was given 150 hours community service at the city's sheriff court today.

Events

2 h. ago Full list of Cardiff roads shut as thousands descend on city for major rugby event

The Investec Champions Cup Final between Northampton Saints and Union Bordeaux Bègles is due to take place at the Principality Stadium

Transport

3 h. ago Ukraine war briefing: Multiple injuries as Russia attacks Kyiv with drones and missiles

Explosions heard across capital and fires ignited while Russia and Ukraine begin largest prisoner swap of war. What we know on day 1,186See all our Ukraine war coverage Kyiv came under heavy drone and missile attack by Russian forces overnight into Saturday, triggering fires and injuring at least eight people, the Ukrainian capital’s mayor said. Explosions and machine-gun fire were heard throughout the city and many Kyiv residents took shelter in underground subway stations. Debris fell in at least four districts, said the Kyiv military administration, with six people requiring medical care. Pictures posted online showed smoke billowing from the top of one block of flats and flames leaping from part of another as emergency crews trained water on it.Russia and Ukraine on Friday began a major, complicated exchange of military prisoners of war and civilians, write Peter Beaumont and Pjotr Sauer. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president, said the first phase brought home 390 Ukrainians,...

Events

3 h. ago Businessman who drove his Bentley while high on cocaine avoids jail after blaming new wife of 24 hours who walked out on him with £200,000

Steve Wynne, 50, had been snorting cocaine before police stopped his black 198mph Continental GT which was veering across white lines in the millionaire village of Alderley Edge, Cheshire.

Economics

4 h. ago Trump wields the knife as he orders shock purge at crucial agency that's pivotal for Americans' safety

Donald Trump is ordering a major overhaul of the National Security Council that will shrink its size by over 100 staffers.

Politics

4 h. ago Labour Party under growing pressure to ditch its winter fuel payments policy after nearly 80 per cent of voters say it needs to change

The findings will pile pressure on Sir Keir Starmer to climb down over the cuts to the payments, worth up to £300 a year for vulnerable pensioners.

Events

4 h. ago Tiny island 3.5 hours from UK named Amalfi Coast 'dupe' with crystal blue sea

The Amalfi Coast may look beautiful online, but with over-tourism resulting in eye-watering hotel prices, constant traffic and never-ending crowds - you may want to check out this stunning dupe

Politics

5 h. ago Tiny European city once named 'poorest' rivalling major tourist hotspot

A tiny European city that was once one of the 'poorest' on the continent is well worth having on your radar according to travel insiders who've compared it to tourist hotspots

Politics

6 h. ago Poland presidential debate puts Ukraine and Europe centre stage

Rafał Trzaskowski, from the governing pro-EU coalition, faces Eurosceptic populist rightwing historian Karol Nawrocki ahead of run-offPolish presidential candidates offered different visions of Poland and its relations with Ukraine in a televised debate ahead of next week’s run-off, which remains on a knife-edge.During a head-to-head debate lasting two hours, the centrist Warsaw mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, from prime minister Donald Tusk’s governing pro-European coalition, faced the Eurosceptic historian Karol Nawrocki, backed by the populist rightwing Law and Justice party (PiS). Continue reading...

Politics

6 h. ago NHS plan to open 'calm and welcoming' mental health A&Es across England to ease pressure on 'chaotic' major hospitals

Around 250,000 people went to A&E last year due to a mental health crisis - with around a quarter facing a wait of 12 hours or longer.

Events