40 m. ago ‘Chipmunks were obsessed with my mics’: the man who recorded a tree for a year

Joshua Bonnetta spent 8,760 hours recording a pine – then honed it down into a four-hour album full of creatures, cracking branches and quite possibly the sound of leaves growingWhat does a landscape sound like when it’s not being listened to? This philosophical question was a catalyst for film-maker and artist Joshua Bonnetta, who has distilled a year of recordings from a single tree in upstate New York – that’s 8,760 hours – into a four-hour album, The Pines. As Robert Macfarlane writes in his accompanying essay, The Pines is a reminder of the natural world’s “sheer, miraculous busyness”, its “froth of signals and noise”. It is rich with poetic meaning, and resonant amid the climate emergency.“It started as a personal thing,” Bonnetta explains from his studio in Munich, where he relocated from the US in 2022. For over 20 years he has made sonic records of places as private mementos, but recent experiments with long-form field recording led him to push himself “to document this pla...

Politics

53 m. ago Gmail users warned over 'extremely sophisticated' new scam that's hard to spot

Everyone with a Gmail account is 'at risk' and billions have been told to follow four important rules to keep safe

Events

55 m. ago Neurologist reveals how heat affects the brain after NHS issues 'be safe' warning ahead of 29C temperatures

A neurologist has issued advice to Brits ahead of a "mini heatwave" this week to help protect brain health

Events

60 m. ago Plane crew put woman in chokehold as she tries to follow pilot into cockpit from toilet

A female business class passenger was tackled to the ground by a male flight attendant after she appeared to attempt to follow the plane's pilot into the cockpit

Politics

1 hour ago Lions legend picks surprise Welshman in his squad after Gatland singled him out

Andy Farrell picks his Lions squad next week, with one coaching legend having offered up his own selection

Politics

1 hour ago Wedding kiss restrictions branded ‘bizarre’ by humanist leader at inquiry

The Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry’s worship and life events impact hearings began on Tuesday.

Politics

1 hour ago If Starmer is willing to help Trump host a lucrative golf tournament, will he caddy for him too? | Marina Hyde

The prime minister is apparently pursuing ways to land the 2028 Open for the president. With friends like that, POTUS surely won’t be carrying his own clubsAt what point does realpolitik tip over into nakedly facilitating conflict of interest/corruption? I only ask in the strictest hypothetical terms after reading that Keir Starmer’s government has been exploring whether golf bosses could host the 2028 Open championship at Donald Trump’s Turnberry resort in Ayrshire. Sorry, but no. It’s almost as if the prime minister is compiling material for a seminal 2025 business manual. Call it The Art of the Kneel. Perhaps Starmer could ask the Treasury to “explore” buying a load of Trump meme coins.According to reports, Donald Trump has frequently mentioned in his phone calls with the prime minister that he’d prefer it if the Open returned to Turnberry. As so often with this particular caller, the reply to this should simply be, “And I’d prefer to be talking to Mickey Mouse, but we’re all mak...

Politics

1 hour ago Council Tax fraud rises as more people falsely claim single person discount to save money

Most people do not consider falsely claiming the single person’s discount as Council Tax fraud.

Economics

2 h. ago Coroner criticises NHS for not treating menopause with enough importance after teacher killed herself following its onset

Jacqueline Potter, 54, drove her car into the path of a HGV on overnight leave from a mental health unit.

Events

2 h. ago Man accused of setting fire to Quran denies racially aggravated public order offence

Martin Frost pleaded not guilty to the single charge

Events

2 h. ago Resistance emerges to newest NHS antibiotic amid 'global health threat'

Health officials have warned that bacteria have already become resistant to one of the newest antibiotics on the NHS

Events

4 h. ago Anas Sarwar calls for John Swinney to enforce transgender toilet ban with 'no delay'

The Scottish Labour leader wants Scottish bodies to immediately enforce interim guidance from the equalities watchdog

Events

4 h. ago My mum died in A&E last month – and the place was like a war zone | Zoe Williams

Amid the debate about trans people on hospital wards we have lost sight of dignity, respect and the horrifying reality of a health service in meltdownAnother morning, another absolutely bananas conversation about transgender people, without any trans people involved, following the supreme court ruling that permits the exclusion from single-sex spaces of anyone not born into that sex. On BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Emma Barnett was asking care minister Stephen Kinnock about wards in hospitals, and came out with the immortal line: “Do you think it’s right for trans people to be segregated from other patients, as an interim measure, or for the future?”Great save, that “for the future” – because if you’re going to interpret this ruling as a requirement to exclude trans people, what does that mean in practice? Trans women on men’s wards, trans men on women’s wards? This delivers dignity and respect to precisely no one; so, sure, “segregate” away, and it would have to be for ever, beca...

Events

5 h. ago ‘Trump wanted to break us’, says Carney as Liberals triumph in Canadian election

Party written off months ago completes remarkable comeback after US president’s threats boosted campaignResults trackerJoy for Liberals: follow the election results liveMark Carney used his victory speech to claim Donald Trump wanted to “break us” as he led Canada’s Liberal party to a fourth term in office, in a race that was upended by threats and aggression from the US president.The Liberal triumph capped a miraculous political resurrection and marked a landmark victory for Carney, the former central banker and political novice who only recently succeeded Justin Trudeau as prime minister. Results early on Tuesday suggested the Liberals fell just short of a majority government and would therefore need the support of political rivals to govern. Continue reading...

Politics

5 h. ago UK’s first trans judge appeals to European court of human rights over supreme court ruling

Victoria McCloud brings action against UK for infringement of her human rights after ruling on biological sexBritain’s first transgender judge is taking the UK to the European court of human rights over the supreme court’s ruling on biological sex.The UK supreme court ruled earlier this month that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act referred only to a biological woman and to biological sex, with subsequent guidance from the equality watchdog amounting to a blanket ban on trans people using toilets and other services of the gender they identify as. Continue reading...

Events

5 h. ago Starform expert's top tips to help punters batter bookies at Punchestown Festival day one

The Punchestown Festival starts on Tuesday and one horse has been singled out to give the Brits the best chance of prize money on the opening day in Ireland

Culture

5 h. ago UK’s first trans judge appeals to European court over supreme court ruling

Victoria McCloud brings action against UK for infringement of her human rights after ruling on biological sexBritain’s first transgender judge is taking the UK to the European court of human rights over the supreme court’s ruling on biological sex.The UK supreme court ruled earlier this month that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act referred only to a biological woman and to biological sex, with subsequent guidance from the equalities watchdog amounting to a blanket ban on trans people using toilets and other services of the gender they identify as. Continue reading...

Events

6 h. ago Consider Yourself Kissed by Jessica Stanley review – a delightfully grounded romance

This irresistible love story braids the personal and the political – from Brexit to who gets to use the spare room as an officeThere are not many romantic novels that include Brexit, Boris Johnson’s ICU stay and the “Edstone”. Then again, not many political novels begin with a classic meet-cute. Jessica Stanley’s UK debut, Consider Yourself Kissed, is – to misquote Dorothy L Sayers – either a political story with romantic interludes, or a romance novel with political interludes. It is also the kind of book that, for a certain kind of reader, will immediately become a treasure.That meet-cute, then: Coralie, a young Australian copywriter, and Adam, a single dad, swap homes for a single night. Adam looks like a shorter, younger Colin Firth; Coralie waits in vain for him to tell her that she looks “like Lizzy Bennet, a known fact at school”. Coralie considers Adam’s neat bookcase of political biographies, including – to her joy – those of Australian politicians. Adam cons...

Politics

7 h. ago HSBC sounds alarm on trade war; Trump to soften blow of automotive tariffs – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsThe architect of BP’s failed green energy agenda will leave the embattled oil company within months as it continues its retreat from low-carbon investments following this morning’s sharp fall in profits (see last post).The oil company said Giulia Chierchia, the executive in charge of BP’s sustainability ventures, would step back from her role from 1 June 2025 to “pursue other opportunities” outside the company. She will not be replaced. Continue reading...

Events

8 h. ago NHS leaving some patients with rare diseases to ‘fall through the cracks’, damning report finds

People with certain diseases are being left behind, report finds

Science