79 m. ago ‘Artefacts were just sitting in suitcases in people’s homes’: the London museum preserving Somali culture

The UK’s first dedicated space for Somali heritage has built its collection from 15 years of donations. Culture House’s founders explain the power of giving a permanent home to a community’s heritage and hopesYou could probably walk right past Culture House without noticing it. Tucked away, just off the bustle of London’s Uxbridge Road, the building’s muted colours, simple sign and arched doorway give little away. Step inside, though, and you’ll soon be enticed by what is the UK’s first permanent exhibition and cultural space dedicated to Somali heritage.Officially opened last May, Culture House features a collection of over 150 artefacts, a rotating exhibition, poetry workshops and a digital archive. It has quickly developed a reputation as a hub for the UK’s Somali community, while drawing in curious visitors from outside the diaspora too. Non-profit group the Anti-Tribalism Movement, who lead the project, say the aim is to “celebrate, preserve and connect” Somali culture and comm...

Culture

79 m. ago Blame migrants, or blame the rich? That’s the populist divide in Britain’s politics now | Gaby Hinsliff

Taxing the ultra-rich may be a vote winner, but it’s just as important to shift the conversation away from Reform’s immigration doom loopThe long, hot summer of discontent is finally over. Parliament returned this week if not exactly with a rush of back to school energy, then at least with the sense that the government is now back to fill what was becoming an increasingly dangerous August vacuum.When exhausted ministers retreated to lick their wounds over the summer, Nigel Farage saw his chance and took it, filling the slow news days with encouragement of protesters over asylum seeker accommodation. He was rewarded by polling showing voters now see immigration – the terrain on which Reform UK is palpably desperate to fight an election, because it’s terrain on which Labour can never go far enough to please some supporters without horrifying half the rest – and not a broken economy as Britain’s biggest problem, an impression arguably only reinforced when the government’s first announc...

Politics

79 m. ago José Pizarro’s recipe for chilled cherry and tempranillo soup

Fresh cherries are a late-summer joy, but this taste of Spain can be enjoyed year-roundCherries are a big deal in Extremadura, where I’m from, especially in the Valle del Jerte to the north, where the picotas are some of the best in all of Spain: sweet, dark, no stalk and full of flavour. At home, we usually just eat them by the handful, fresh and cold, so when I started cooking with them, my family looked at me as if I’d gone mad. But they always end up saying yes after the first spoonful. This chilled cherry and tempranillo soup is one of those dishes: a bit unexpected, but it always gets a smile. Continue reading...

Politics

80 m. ago I'm a phonics expert and these are the simple actions every parent should do

If your child is a baby or toddler and yet to start school, you can still prepare them at home for what's to come. Phonics expert Ann Sullivan shares her top tips for encouraging a love of books in your little one

Politics

80 m. ago Four simple steps older children can take to help them read more fluently

Now the children are back at school, phonics expert Ann Sullivan reveals how you can boost their reading confidence at home

Politics

1 hour ago Beautiful UK destination is 'best place in world to watch the leaves turn' in September

The pretty village is home to a magical tree garden where you can explore 2,500 different types of trees and shrubs from all over the world

Politics

2 h. ago Death to the American dream? Poll finds most agree hard work no longer guarantees economic gain

A majority of Americans say the prior generation had an easier time buying a home, starting a business or being a full-time parent

Economics

2 h. ago ‘What reconciliation? What forgiveness?’: Syria’s deadly reckoning

Over a few brutal days in March, as sectarian violence and revenge killings tore through parts of Syria, two friends from different communities tried to find a way to surviveOn the night of 6 March, Munir, his wife and their two sons, both in their 20s, got no sleep. They huddled together in a small bedroom in their apartment as government troops and militiamen entered their neighbourhood of Qusour in the coastal city of Baniyas and went from house to house. The fighters seemed to be moving through the streets with little coordination. One house might get raided by five separate groups, while others were left untouched. “There was no plan,” Munir said, “just violence and looting.”The first question the fighters were asking when they stormed into an apartment was: “Are you a Sunni or an Alawite?” The answer decided the fate of the residents. Sunnis were spared – although in some cases their apartments were looted. When the raiders found an Alawite home, some stole what they...

Events

2 h. ago Where Man City stand with homegrown transfer rules ahead of UEFA and Premier League squad deadlines

The transfer window is over for Manchester City but the deadline for submitting squads to UEFA and the Premier League is looming

Sport

4 h. ago Pat Cummins no certainty for first Ashes Test due to ongoing back issue

Australia captain to miss home white-ball series against IndiaMitchell Starc retires from T20Is as squad named to tour New ZealandPat Cummins is no certainty to captain Australia in the first Ashes Test as he deals with stress in his back.The star quick will miss the upcoming T20 tour of New Zealand and back-to-back home white-ball series against India due to lumbar bone stress.Ahead of finals sign up for our free weekly AFL newsletter Continue reading...

Politics

4 h. ago Pat Cummins faces race to be fit for first Ashes Test due to ongoing back issue

Australia captain to miss home white-ball series against IndiaMitchell Starc retires from T20Is as squad named to tour New ZealandPat Cummins is no certainty to captain Australia in the first Ashes Test as he deals with stress in his back.The star quick will miss the upcoming T20 tour of New Zealand and back-to-back home white-ball series against India due to lumbar bone stress.Ahead of finals sign up for our free weekly AFL newsletter Continue reading...

Politics

4 h. ago Brit 'mum on the run' who was jailed after boasting about claiming UK benefits in Thailand returns home without son after being freed from hellish prison

Ellis Matthews, 32, was deported by Thai authorities after spending more than three months locked up in an overcrowded and squalid immigration prison with her son Cairo, 4.

Events

5 h. ago The village at war over £300K townhouses for asylum seekers: Furious residents 'were kept in the dark about new arrivals' and fear homes were purposely built for migrants

Residents in a sleepy Suffolk village say the decision to house legal migrants in four brand-new houses worth £270,000 has brought simmering tensions to the surface.

Events

5 h. ago Fresh appeal for information on murder of schoolboy, 10, who failed to return home for his dinner 53 years ago and was found burned in a sack

Brian McDermott disappeared from Ormeau Park on Sunday, September 2, 1973, and never made it home for his dinner.

Events

5 h. ago Olivia Attwood shrugs off Ibiza antics as she returns home, Bradley Dack 'fumes'

Olivia Attwood has tried to laugh off her Ibiza antics with a joke post after her time with Pete Wicks on the party island came in for scrutiny and left her husband fuming

Politics

5 h. ago The families who were given a £10,000 discount on their new homes... as long as they help BUILD them

Thrilled new home owners have been given a £10,000 discount on the price of their properties in return for helping building them.

Society

6 h. ago Girl becomes orphan after dad kills mum and then himself in tragic murder

The teenager returned home in Katy, Texas, to find her parents dead and family members have told police the couple - a 48-year-old woman and a 47-year-old man - had experienced marital trouble

Events

7 h. ago Stark warning issued as burden placed on teachers has ‘never been higher’

The Government should set out a long-term plan for education like the one it has for the NHS, the ASCL said

Events

7 h. ago More than 700,000 GCSE students without specialist physics teachers as government urged to address shortage

The Institute of Physics (IOP) has called for urgent action to tackle the shortage in physics teachers

Politics

7 h. ago What to know about Guatemalan migrant children and efforts to send them home

The Trump administration has tried to deport Guatemalan children living in U.S. shelters or foster care

Society