16 h. ago Thatched cottage is destroyed in just eight minutes after fire rips through its roof

The blaze took over Bob and Paula Hessian's home, which dates back to the 17th century, on the evening of April 5 in Weston-on-the-Green, Oxfordshire.

Events

39 h. ago ‘A maverick’: pope defies doctors’ orders with another surprise public outing

Dressed down pontiff visits St Peter’s Basilica, and is expected to appear at Easter Sunday mass Lorena Araujo Piñeiro, a restorer, was putting the finishing touches on the restoration of the 17th-century tomb of Pope Urban VIII, a dark bronze and gold monument in St Peter’s Basilica when she noticed a man wearing a striped poncho-like top, black trousers and no shoes, being pushed in a wheelchair towards her.“It was around noon and the basilica was practically empty,” said Piñeiro. “I struggled to recognise who it was I thought he was a simple pilgrim. It was as if he’d just got out of bed.” Continue reading...

Politics

39 h. ago ‘Maverick’ pope defies doctors’ orders with another surprise public outing

Dressed-down pontiff visits St Peter’s Basilica, and is expected to appear at Easter Sunday massLorena Araujo Piñeiro was putting the finishing touches to the restoration of the 17th-century tomb of Pope Urban VIII, a dark bronze and gold monument in St Peter’s Basilica, when she noticed a man wearing a striped poncho-like top, black trousers and no shoes, being pushed in a wheelchair towards her.“It was around noon and the basilica was practically empty,” said Piñeiro, a restorer. “I struggled to recognise who it was I thought he was a simple pilgrim. It was as if he’d just got out of bed.” Continue reading...

Politics

39 h. ago ‘He continues to be a maverick’: Francis keeps pushing the limits of papacy

Pope’s surprise public outings after serious illness show he is saying ‘I’m here, and I’m in charge’, a Vatican expert saysLorena Araujo Piñeiro was putting the finishing touches to the restoration of the 17th-century tomb of Pope Urban VIII, a dark bronze and gold monument in St Peter’s Basilica, when she noticed a man wearing a striped poncho-like top, black trousers and no shoes, being pushed in a wheelchair towards her.“It was around noon and the basilica was practically empty,” said Piñeiro, a restorer. “I struggled to recognise who it was I thought he was a simple pilgrim. It was as if he’d just got out of bed.” Continue reading...

Politics

41 h. ago Omaze drops new £5m 17th century Cotswolds home that's just wow!

The lucky winner of the Omaze Million Pound House Draw, will get the keys to a quintessential five-bedroom property, complete with period features and a heated outdoor pool, all nestled within the stunning Cotswolds countryside

Economics

43 h. ago Yellow fever: Health emergency declared as 17th century disease kills 34 and warning issued

People who are not vaccinated against the disease will be banned from travelling to certain areas of Colombia after the government declared a national health emergency for yellow fever

Events

5 d. ago Beautiful UK seaside village with 17th century charm and upmarket vibe

If you want to visit a quintessential British seaside town while also skipping the crowds, then take a trip to this quiet medieval town that offers gorgeous coastal views and unique charms

Politics

9 d. ago Academic freedom in the US is under threat – universities of the world, unite! | Andrew Graham

We cannot be neutral with respect to fake news, misinformation or outright liesIn western academia, everything began with philosophy. Ever since, especially since the Enlightenment and the scientific revolution of the 17th century, there has been a long, centrifugal process, with discipline after discipline making its distinctive contribution and marking out its methods and its domain of inquiry. Raphael’s painting The School of Athens displays this perfectly, with the two great philosophers Plato and Aristotle in the centre. Yet even here, Raphael points at the specialisation of knowledge that is about to explode. Plato points upwards, symbolising his interest in the timelessness of metaphysics. Aristotle gestures downwards, emphasising his interest in the empirical.Today, at university, students and researchers focus on a single sub-branch of, say, modal logic, labour economics or organic chemistry. Knowledge has accumulated and fragmented. Renaissance men (or women) are almost no...

Events

1 week ago Is scurvy common in modern times? As Robbie Williams reveals diagnosis of 'pirate disease'

Robbie Williams has revealed his diagnosis of the '17th Century pirate disease'- but how did he manage that in our day and age?

Politics

1 week ago Robbie Williams has to overhaul diet after getting '17th century pirate disease'

Robbie says that he found the return of his depression particularly hard to deal with when he thought he had his mental health under control.

Events

1 week ago Robbie Williams hit by '17th century pirate disease' and forced to overhaul diet

Exclusive: Superstar Robbie Williams opens up to the Mirror ahead of his huge new tour in a wide-ranging interview covering mental health, family life and Oasis

Events

1 week ago As a white Afrikaner, I can claim asylum in Trump’s America. What an absurdity | Max du Preez

We are not victims, there is no genocide. This rhetoric shows that the US administration doesn’t understand my thriving countryI am a blue-blood Afrikaner, at least in terms of ancestry: both my grandfathers were young Boer soldiers in the Anglo-Boer war and I am directly related to the president of the old Transvaal Republic, Paul Kruger. I am a descendant of Dutch, French and German settlers who were brought to the southern tip of Africa in the 17th century. Unlike other colonial societies in Africa, my ancestors never left.They occupied the whole country, displacing and oppressing the Indigenous inhabitants. Eventually, their concept of white supremacy developed into a formal state policy, apartheid. The UN classified this as a crime against humanity. Miraculously, my country has been a thriving democracy and open society ever since the formal end of apartheid in 1994.Max du Preez was the founding editor of Vrye Weekblad, an anti-apartheid, Afrikaans weekly newspaper Continue rea...

Events

3 w. ago Henry Gibbs painting looted by Nazis to be returned to Jewish art dealer’s family

Samuel Hartveld’s great-grandchildren to welcome back stolen 17th-century painting that was sold to Tate BritainA 17th-century painting by Henry Gibbs that was looted by the Nazis and has been in the Tate collection in the UK for the past 31 years is to be returned to the descendants of a Jewish art collector.Aeneas and his Family Fleeing Burning Troy was stolen by the Nazis from a gallery in Antwerp, Belgium, after its owner, Samuel Hartveld, was forced to flee in May 1940, eight months after the start of the second world war. Continue reading...

Economics

3 w. ago 17th century painting looted by Nazis to be returned by Tate Britain

A 17th-century painting looted by Nazis from the home of a Jewish Belgian art collector is being returned to his family by Tate Britain.

Politics

4 w. ago I travelled 2,000 miles from Italy to the tip of Spain – on horseback

I had to brave wolves, bitter weather and mountain passes during my epic journey, but it was transformativeBefore riding a horse across the Ligurian Alps in north-west Italy, I had never heard the phrase “in bocca al lupo” (into the wolf’s mouth). An idiom of good luck, in the same vein as saying “break a leg” to a performer, the words passed the lips of almost every stranger I met. As we travelled through these little-known mountains, the message began to take on a whole other meaning: a call to embrace the unknown, wolves and all.I was on an ambitious journey – from Siena in Tuscany roughly 2,000 miles to the north-west tip of Spain at Finisterre, which literally means “the end of the earth”. I thought that a perfect place to finish. The idea came while working in London as a stable boy and (out of work) actor. Restless and desperate for a sense of purpose, I came across a copy of Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes’s 17th-century picaresque adventure. It lit my imagination and a que...

Politics

4 w. ago Scottish estate dating back to 1600s with 'lovely grounds' reopens for spring

A fascinating Scottish estate dating back to the 17th century has reopened its doors to the public.

Politics