78 m. ago ‘I wish the stones here could talk’: an epic hike through Kosovo’s Accursed mountains

A trek along the Kosovo section of the Via Dinarica offers majestic Balkan scenery, magical stories and sobering reminders of this area’s recent historyThere are stone bunkers shrouded in the mist on the hillside to my right, just shy of the ridgeline marking the Albanian-Kosovo border. To my left, the view is not just clear but startlingly beautiful.I’m able to see back down to the tiny mountain hamlet of Gacaferi, where I’d slept the previous night, to look across the deep greenery of Deçan Gorge beyond, over dense pine forests and grasslands that pop with pink and yellow wildflowers, and gaze all the way to the 2,461m summit of Çfërla and the rugged peaks of western Kosovo’s Accursed mountains. Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago I watched a musical about William Wallace over a pint in Scotland

Musical Ballad Lines has secured a London run.

Politics

2 h. ago Talks to nationalise key Ardrossan ferry port at 'critical' stage

Transport Secretary agrees to need for faster progress after MSP describes it as “glacial”

Politics

2 h. ago In Yemen as in Gaza, bombs and starvation are stealing the lives of our children | Elham Al

As a mother living in Sana’a, I’ve seen how war devastates hopes, dreams and futures, and I share the desperation of Gaza’s mothers“Mom, why are they bombing us?” my oldest daughter asked me in 2019, as the Saudi coalition committed crimes with US weapons. Why? This is the eternal question.When the western-backed, Saudi-led military campaign began in March 2015, I started compiling a mental list of all the ways the war was scorching the concept of childhood in Yemen. How war takes parents away from their children, and our children away from us. How war, not time alone, ages our children. Continue reading...

Events

3 h. ago Sánchez: Europe’s response to war in Gaza has been a ‘failure’

Spanish prime minister says double standards over Gaza and Ukraine threaten to undermine the west’s global standing‘You need solidarity and consistency’: Pedro Sánchez on the EU, Trump and fighting the far right Europe and the west’s double standards over the wars in Ukraine and Gaza threaten to undermine its global standing, the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has warned, describing the response to Israel’s assault on the Palestinian territory as one of the darkest episodes of international relations in the 21st century.In an interview with the Guardian before talks with UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, in London on Wednesday, the socialist leader also said the US under Donald Trump was trying to end the post-second world war, rules-based global order it had originally created. Continue reading...

Events

3 h. ago RFK Jr. writes about restoring ‘public trust’ at the CDC. Its former directors say he’s ‘endangering every American’s health’

‘We are worried about the wide-ranging impact that all these decisions will have on America’s health security,’ the former CDC directors said about Secretary Kennedy’s shakeup at the Health and Human Services Department

Politics

3 h. ago Russell Grant's horoscopes as Libra told to stand their ground and be courageous

Today's horoscopes, brought to you by Russell Grant.

Politics

3 h. ago Man United 'preparing bid' to sign ideal Premier League midfielder for Ruben Amorim in January

Latest Manchester United transfer news and gossip with an update on the future of Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton

Politics

6 h. ago Cardi B cleared in civil suit that claimed she spat at and scratched a security guard

A jury has ruled in favor of Cardi B in lawsuit where a security guard accused her of assault during the rapper's first pregnancy

Events

6 h. ago QUENTIN LETTS: His jagged, gapped teeth had shades of Hannibal Lecter. Better watch out

The new supremo is Zack Polanski, 42, a smooth-talking vegan and ex-Lib Dem hypnotherapist who used to tell women they could think their way to a bigger bust.

Politics

7 h. ago Venus Williams offers update on tennis future after US Open doubles defeat

The 45-year-old Williams and partner Leylah Fernandez were beaten by top seeds Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova to end their tournament run

Politics

7 h. ago Kim Jong Un makes rare trip outside North Korea with 'future leader' daughter

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has made a rare visit outside of his secretive country to attend the China's largest ever military parade in Beijing, to mark "Victory Day."

Politics

7 h. ago Cardi B wins case filed by security guard who claimed rapper assaulted her

A jury has ruled in favor of Cardi B in a lawsuit where a security guard accused her of assault during the rapper's first pregnancy

Events

7 h. ago LAURA CRAIK: Following in her mother's fictional footsteps, meet the new chief at U.S. Vogue...

When Anna Wintour announced that she was stepping down as editor-in-chief of Vogue after 37 years, talk immediately turned to who could possibly replace her. We finally have the answer.

Politics

8 h. ago Energy company uses gas network to transport hydrogen in first test of its kind

SGN’s Live Transmission System (LTS) Futures trial was launched in Scotland this week.

Science

9 h. ago Stuart Armstrong in Aberdeen transfer talks as ex Celtic star in line for stunning SPFL return

The Scotland international is a free agent after leaving Sheffield Wednesday at the end of last season

Politics

9 h. ago Stuart Armstrong seals Aberdeen transfer as ex Celtic star makes stunning SPFL return

The Scotland international is a free agent after leaving Sheffield Wednesday at the end of last season

Politics

9 h. ago They want to talk to somebody. That ‘somebody’ ends up being AI

What is it like to get your mental health treatment from an unlicensed chatbot? Users tell Io Dodds how A.I. helped them through difficult times — but also how it can go catastrophically wrong

Politics

9 h. ago Trump announces Space Command HQ will switch to Alabama from Colorado

President says national security operations in space will be based in state he won comfortably, reversing Biden decisionDonald Trump made his first public appearance in a week on Tuesday to announce that the US Space Command (Spacecom) headquarters, which is tasked with leading national security operations in space, would be in the Republican stronghold of Alabama.Flanked by Republican senators and members of Congress at a White House news conference, Trump said Huntsville, Alabama, would be the new location of the space command. The move reverses a Biden administration decision to put the facility at its current temporary headquarters in Democratic-leaning Colorado. Continue reading...

Politics

9 h. ago Kobbie Mainoo targeted by SIX clubs on transfer deadline day including three in Premier League

Kobbie Mainoo's future looks uncertain at Manchester United after being dropped by Ruben Amorim and the England midfielder had plenty of interest from elsewhere on deadline day after requesting a loan move

Events