36 h. ago The Finest Hotel in Kabul by Lyse Doucet review – a monument to Afghan resilience

A sweeping social history of Afghanistan is seen through the lens of Kabul’s InterContinental hotel, where staff endured the horrific realities of life in a war zoneSo catastrophic has the last half century of Afghan history been that it is easy to forget how rich the country’s culture once was. The Mughals always regarded it as a much more refined place than India and looked to it as the source of the region’s greatest poets and artists, calligraphers and miniaturists, architects and tile makers. As recently as the early 1970s, at the height of the hippy trail, as Afghanistan filled with travellers “high on weed and low on cash”, Kabul was still known as the Paris of the east. Memoirs of the time describe a world of miniskirts, jazz clubs, bowling alleys and ice-cream parlours. This world was linked to a poor but extremely beautiful rural hinterland where life revolved around the vine harvest and the annual arrival of nomad caravans from the Wakhan corridor.A quick flick throu...

Politics

66 h. ago Kim Jong Un orders North Koreans to check women for 'bourgeois' breast implants... and warns those with 'un

Authorities in the city of Sariwon have been ordered to conduct physical examinations of women suspected to have undergone breast augmentation surgery.

Events

5 d. ago Shooting of girl, 9, as she ate ice cream was linked to £4bn cocaine plot

The misguided bullet remains lodged in her brain to this day.

Economics

6 d. ago Keir Starmer's 'North Korean' digital ID card plans in tatters as two million Brits sign petition

A petition urging the Government to not implement digital ID cards has garnered over 1.5 million signatures in just a day after Sir Keir Starmer announced the plans on Friday

Politics

6 d. ago Ice cream vans being frozen out in the UK with three major factors hitting trade

The number of operating ice cream vans in the UK is dropping with the traditional feature of British summertime under threat from rising bills and supermarket competition

Events

7 d. ago Major household brand launches mince pie ice cream in time for Christmas

A MAJOR household brand has launched mince pie ice cream just in time for the Christmas season. It's sent shoppers into a festive frenzy as they eagerly anticipate a unique twist on a beloved Christmas treat. Ahead of the winter season, Mr Kipling is extending its ice-cream range with a limited-edition mince pie flavour. The...

Politics

1 week ago North Korean restaurant opens in Moscow – but you'll need your passport to dine

As North Korea's ties with Russia continues to blossom, a new restaurant showing the beauty of North Korean food has been opened, but punters can only enter on strict conditions

Politics

1 week ago Kim Jong Un says he has 'fond memories' of Trump and is open to future talks with the US

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says he has 'fond memories' of US President Donald Trump and is open to future talks with the United States - if he can keep his nukes.

Politics

2 w. ago When even Ben & Jerry’s can’t speak out, it’s clear: the era of corporate responsibility is over | Austin Sarat

Jerry himself has left the ice-cream company, alleging its views have been silenced. He’s yet another casualty of corporate kowtowingWhen the history of this era is written, there will be much to say about the behavior of large corporations. And none of it will be good.As the Trump administration has ramped up its assault on American democracy, many corporations have chosen to look the other way or to curry favor with the president. They have fired employees who were too outspoken in their criticism of Donald Trump – ABC’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talkshow, after Kimmel’s remarks about Maga’s reaction to the killing of Charlie Kirk, is the latest example.Austin Sarat, William Nelson Cromwell professor of jurisprudence and political science at Amherst College, is the author or editor of more than 100 books, including Gruesome Spectacles: Botched Executions and America’s Death Penalty Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Japan considering participation of North Korean athletes in 2026 Asian Games

North Korean athletes could participate in Asian Games next year alongside 45 member countries

Sport

2 w. ago Ben and Jerry's fans are just realising they've been 'storing ice cream wrong'

A viral hack has received the backing of Ben and Jerry's bosses, who explain the best way to store ice cream in the freezer

Sport

2 w. ago This Greek island retreat taught me how to holiday in style as a single parent

Kid’s club holidays conjure up water slides, blue bubble-gum ice cream on tap, and screaming, but not at The Peligoni Club on the Greek Island of Zakynthos, where, says Charlotte Cripps, the vibe is a cross between ‘White Lotus’ and ‘Motherland’

Politics

2 w. ago Perfume fans are 'obsessed' with 'dreamy' new citrus scent at Cult Beauty

'Think: crème brûlée ice cream melting in an orange grove at golden hour. Irresistibly sweet, yet so refined. Feels like sunshine and comfort'

Politics

2 w. ago Transatlantic whisky sour with star shaped S’more served at Trump’s banquet

The grand dinner in St George’s Hall includes a menu of organic Norfolk chicken and a vanilla ice cream bombe.

Politics

2 w. ago Council scrooges plan ban on ice cream vans playing jingles for more than 12 seconds

Changes are being considered after traders complained of 'illegal or unauthorised' sellers. But some now fear the council's proposals go too far.

Politics

2 w. ago North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un bans conversations about hamburgers, ice cream and Karaoke

Tour guides welcoming holidaymakers to North Korea 's new Wonsan beach-side are advising using certain words that are popular in the West.

Politics

3 w. ago Top 20 small 'home wins' from finding the last ice cream to fresh bedsheets

A poll of 2,000 adults found 45 per cent appreciate fresh sheets on the bed and 36 per cent love nothing more than getting a parcel delivered earlier than expected

Politics

3 w. ago Voices: Chill out, dudes – Ben and Jerry’s are getting their just desserts

After years of boardroom battles with Unilever, the founders of the world-beating ice-cream brand now want to take back control and re-establish a link with progressive, hippy culture – so why did they sell it for $300m in the first place, asks James Moore

Politics

3 w. ago Ben & Jerry’s founders call for the brand to be ‘freed’ from its owners

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield say it is ‘not the Ben & Jerry’s’ they founded after being ‘silenced’ by Unilever over matters of social justiceThe co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s have called for the ice-cream brand to be made independent and excluded from current owner Unilever’s plans to list its ice-cream business on the stock market.Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield say The Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC), a new division of Unilever that is set to be separately listed in November and includes the brand founded by the pair in 1978 alongside Magnum, Cornetto and Wall’s, “must free Ben & Jerry’s” in an open letter to prospective investors and the group’s board. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Ben & Jerry’s asks to ‘free’ itself from owner so it can ‘honour its mission’

Founder Ben Cohen says the company’s ‘voice has been muted’ and vows not to ‘be silent anymore’

Events