19 h. ago ‘Alicante cuisine epitomises the Mediterranean’: a gastronomic journey in south

The Alicante region is renowned for its rice and seafood dishes. Less well known is that its restaurant scene has a wealth of talented female chefs, a rarity in SpainI’m on a quest in buzzy, beachy Alicante on the Costa Blanca to investigate the rice dishes the Valencian province is famed for, as well as explore the vast palm grove of nearby Elche. I start with a pilgrimage to a restaurant featured in my book on tapas, Andaluz, a mere 25 years ago. Mesón de Labradores in the pedestrianised old town is now engulfed by Italian eateries (so more pizza and pasta than paella) but it remains a comforting outpost of tradition and honest food.Here I catch up with Timothy Denny, a British chef who relocated to Spain, gained an alicantina girlfriend and became a master of dishes from the region. Over a fideuá de mariscos (seafood noodles, €20), we chew over local gastronomy. “For me, Alicante epitomises the Mediterranean – for rice, seafood and artichokes,” he says. “But there are curiosities...

Politics

21 h. ago The dangerous rise of Buddhist extremism: ‘Attaining nirvana can wait’

Still largely viewed as a peaceful philosophy, across much of south-east Asia, the religion has been weaponised to serve nationalist goalsIn the summer of 2023, I arrived in Dharamshala, an Indian town celebrated as the home of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader. The place hadn’t changed much since my last visit almost two decades ago. The roads were still a patchwork of uneven asphalt and dirt, and Tibetan monks in maroon robes filled the streets. Despite the relentless hum of traffic, Dharamshala had a rare stillness. The hills seemed to absorb the noise. Prayer flags flickered in the breeze, each rustle a reminder of something enduring.But beneath the surface, the Buddhism practised across Asia has shifted. While still widely followed as a peaceful, nonviolent philosophy, it has been weaponised, in some quarters, in the service of nationalism, and in support of governments embracing a global trend toward majoritarianism and autocracy. Continue reading...

Politics

27 h. ago Our pick of upcoming South East London festivities in December

Our pick of upcoming South East London festivities in December  Southwark News

Politics

32 h. ago Man charged with murdering woman in south east London estate

Man charged with murdering woman in south east London estate  News Shopper

Events

38 h. ago South Korean rapist jailed for life over online blackmail ring that shocked country

Kim raped or assaulted 16 victims, including 14 minors, and recorded videos of his crimes

Events

40 h. ago Man, 62, dies in hospital after fight on residential south east London road

Man, 62, dies in hospital after fight on residential south east London road  This Is Local London

Events

45 h. ago Popeyes set to open 100th restaurant in south east London with loads of freebies

Popeyes set to open 100th restaurant in south east London with loads of freebies  This Is Local London

Politics

51 h. ago 2.6 million people in London and South East to be hit by stealth income tax with Reeves Budget raid

The Chancellor is set to continue the income tax thresholds freeze, first introduced in 2022 by Rishi Sunak, until 2029/30

Economics

60 h. ago London exhibition to explore mental health and social bonds in ‘polarised’ times

Artworks to go on display in January at Bethlem Museum of the Mind, in the world’s oldest psychiatric hospitalFrom images of empty community rooms and a colourful canvas crammed with caricatures to a baby linked by an umbilical-like cord to a seated stranger, artworks on the subject of mental health are to go on display in an exhibition that examines social bonds against the backdrop of today’s polarised times.Artists have long drawn on their own experiences of mental ill health. Staged at the Bethlem Museum of the Mind, in the world’s oldest psychiatric hospital, in south-east London, Kindred will explore the power of communities to make people feel comforted as well as isolated. Continue reading...

Politics

69 h. ago The south east London restaurant finalists in Asian Food & Drink Awards

The south east London restaurant finalists in Asian Food & Drink Awards  News Shopper

Society

3 d. ago Police appeal for witnesses after man hit by car dies on major south east London road

Police appeal for witnesses after man hit by car dies on major south east London road  News Shopper

Events

3 d. ago Suspect bailed after man hit by car dies on major south east London road

Suspect bailed after man hit by car dies on major south east London road  News Shopper

Events

4 d. ago 'My raffle with mega south east London prizes to raise money for suicide charity'

'My raffle with mega south east London prizes to raise money for suicide charity'  News Shopper

Events

5 d. ago Biafran separatist leader sentenced to life on terrorism charges by Nigerian court

Judge says Nnamdi Kanu used his Indigenous People of Biafra group to incite attacks on security officials and civiliansThe Biafran separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu has been sentenced to life in prison on terrorism-related charges by a court in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.Judge James Omotosho said prosecutors had shown that Kanu, who also holds British citizenship, had used his Indigenous People of Biafra group (Ipob) to incite attacks on security officials and civilians in south-east Nigeria and during anti-police protests in Lagos. Continue reading...

Events

5 d. ago Nigerian court convicts Biafran separatist leader on terrorism charges

Judge says Nnamdi Kanu used his Indigenous People of Biafra group to incite attacks on security officials and civiliansA Nigerian court has convicted the Biafran separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu on terrorism-related charges.Judge James Omotosho said prosecutors had shown that Kanu, who also holds British citizenship, had used his Indigenous People of Biafra group (IPOB) to incite attacks on security officials and civilians in south-east Nigeria. Continue reading...

Events

5 d. ago Huge London transport project gets green light as Rachel Reeves backs £1.7bn DLR extension to Thamesmead

Rachel Reeves to back £1.7bn rail link - the first to the south-east London area earmarked as a new town

Economics

5 d. ago South Korean ferry carrying 267 people runs aground because helmsman ‘had been looking at his phone’

Passengers and crew brought safely ashore after vessel crashes on uninhabited island

Politics

6 d. ago Chancellor gives green light for DLR extension to Thamesmead in homes and jobs boost for London

Rachel Reeves to back £1.7bn rail link - the first to the south-east London area earmarked as a new town

Society

6 d. ago ‘He used to say things like “Hitler was right”’: Farage faces more allegations of racist behaviour at school

A former friend and others who were at Dulwich college with the now Reform UK leader speak of his behaviour‘Deeply shocking’: Nigel Farage faces fresh claims of racism and antisemitism at schoolIt had been a fun sleep-over at Nigel Farage’s house and Jean-Pierre Lihou, a teenager with an appetite, was delighted with his schoolfriend’s mother’s hospitality. “I remember the fantastic cooked English breakfast, as opposed to what you get at a boarding house on a morning,” Lihou recalled. “I was a boarder and he was a day boy,” he said of their education at Dulwich college in south-east London.Farage was a great mimic, and funny with it, Lihou said. But, over time, he found that there was a darker side to his 14-year-old friend. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago Tropical cyclone Fina intensifies to category two and could hit NT coast on Friday

If it makes impact on Friday, it would be the earliest cyclone of the season to make landfall in Australia since 1973Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter hereIf tropical cyclone Fina crosses the Northern Territory coast on Friday, it could equal the earliest cyclone to make landfall in Australia.Fina intensified to category two storm on Wednesday night, the Bureau of Meteorology said, and was moving east about 370km north-east of Darwin before making an expected turn south on Thursday. Continue reading...

Events