35 m. ago Showing his true colours? What Union Jack dress row family REALLY think of stepfather who thrust girl into spotlight and triggered political storm

Courtney Wright was prevented by Bilton School in Rugby, Warwickshire, from wearing the Union Jack dress and the resulting row was even discussed in Parliament.

Politics

40 m. ago Tour de France 2025: stage 15 from Muret to Carcassonne – live

Rolling updates from 169km ride in south-east FranceStage-by-stage guide | And you can drop Tom a mailWe’re about an hour away from the peloton rolling out of Muret and then it’ll be another 10 minutes to KM0 where the racing will get underway.General classification Continue reading...

Society

63 m. ago Lions add Gregor Brown to squad with Joe McCarthy an injury doubt for second Test

Ireland lock withdrawn with foot problem in first TestOwen Farrell likely to start against First Nations & Pasifika XVThe Ireland lock Joe McCarthy is a doubt for the British & Irish Lions’ second Test against the Wallabies due to a foot injury. Andy Farrell has called up Scotland’s Gregor Brown to bolster his second-row ranks as a result, taking an already bloated squad to 45 players.McCarthy was taken off after 43 minutes of the Lions’ 27-19 victory over Australia in Brisbane on Saturday and Farrell confirmed his early withdrawal was down to injury. “It’s plantar fasciitis,” said Farrell. “It was niggling away at him there. We got him off. Hopefully we got him off in time.” Continue reading...

Events

64 m. ago An explosive Grand Canyon wildfire brings terror, loss and tough questions: ‘It came like a freight train’

The decision to let a small blaze burn – before it suddenly erupted – has drawn scrutiny. Now those who love the remote North Rim are reckoning with the destruction When lightning struck on 4 July along the remote North Rim of Grand Canyon national park, sparking a small wildfire in a patch of dry forest, few predicted the terror and loss that lay ahead.Fire managers decided that conditions seemed ideal to let the blaze burn at a low intensity – a practice known as “control and contain” that helps clear out excess fuels and decreases the chance of a more catastrophic wildfire in the future. Rains from previous weeks had left the forest floor moist and weather forecasts indicated the summer monsoon season would arrive soon. Continue reading...

Events

64 m. ago Dining across the divide: ‘He talked about cancel culture going too far – Gregg Wallace came up’

A Tory and a Labour voter struggle to find common ground over woke culture and second-home ownershipBen, 45, DorsetOccupation Sustainability lead in the construction industry Continue reading...

Politics

64 m. ago To defeat Trump, the left must learn from him | Austin Sarat

Six months into his second term, the president has been disastrous for democracy – but extraordinarily politically adeptIn the first six months of his second term as president, Donald Trump has dominated the national political conversation, implemented an aggressive agenda of constitutional reform, scrambled longstanding American alliances, and helped alter US political culture.Pro-democracy forces have been left with their heads spinning. They (and I) have spent too much time simply denouncing or pathologizing him and far too little time learning from him.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

64 m. ago Atlanta journalist fights deportation from Ice jail despite dropped charges: ‘I’m seeing what absolute power can do’

A Salvadorian reporter with an audience of millions, Mario Guevara was arrested while livestreaming a protest against Trump in June – and is still struggling for freedomProsecutors dropped the last remaining charges against Atlanta-area journalist Mario Guevara last week after he was arrested while livestreaming a protest in June. But the influential Salvadorian reporter remains penned up in a south Georgia detention center, fending off a deportation case, jail house extortionists and despair, people familiar with his situation told the Guardian.Donald Trump’s administration has been extreme in unprecedented ways to undocumented immigrants. But Guevara’s treatment is a special case. Shuttled between five jail cells in Georgia since his arrest while covering the “No Kings Day” protests, the 20-plus-years veteran journalist’s sin was to document the undocumented and the way Trump’s agents have been hunting them down. Continue reading...

Events

64 m. ago ‘A disaster for all of us’: US scientists describe impact of Trump cuts

President’s assault on science –particularly climate science – has led to unprecedented funding cuts and staff layoffs“Our ability to respond to climate change, the biggest existential threat facing humanity, is totally adrift,” said Sally Johnson, an Earth scientist who has spent the past two decades helping collect, store and distribute data at Nasa (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and Noaa (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).Donald Trump’s assault on science – but particularly climate science – has led to unprecedented funding cuts and staff layoffs across federally funded agencies and programs, threatening to derail research tackling the most pressing issues facing Americans and humanity more broadly. A generation of scientific talent is also on the brink of being lost, with unprecedented political interference at what were previously evidence-driven agencies jeopardizing the future of US industries and economic growth. Continue reading...

Politics

98 m. ago More than 1,000 people killed in south Syria clashes with ‘tense calm’ now in place in Sweida – Middle East crisis live

Syria struggling to contain sectarian clashes between Bedouin and Druze fightersIsrael wants the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to replace a system coordinated by the UN and international aid groups. Along with the US, it accuses Hamas of stealing aid, without offering evidence.Critics have argued that the GHF is a tool for the Israeli and US governments to politicise humanitarian aid and to distribute it in ways that will depopulate sectors of Gaza in apparent violation of international law. Continue reading...

Events

1 hour ago Tour de France 2025 live: Stage 15 route and updates with breakaway specialists and sprinters set to do battle

Stage 15 of the Tour de France sees the route flatten out - but will the sprinters have recovered enough to contest the finish?

Society

2 h. ago I'm an Only Fools And Horses superfan and Sir David Jason was a family friend

The BBC sitcom (pictured) about two south-east London market trader brothers, won its away into the nation's hearts as soon as it hit our screens in 1981.

Politics

2 h. ago ‘Too loud’, ‘too messy’, ‘too much’ why should women be expected to shrink and shut up?

As Lena Dunham’s new show reminds us, whether they’re at work or on a date, women are expected to tone it down if they want to get on. What if they refuse to play ball?‘I can be a bit much,” a friend said to me. A group of us were in a cafe discussing the first date she had scheduled for later that day, and she was worried about how she might come across. It wasn’t the first time I had heard a woman label herself as “too much”, “intense” or “a lot”. I expect even the most feminist of women have found themselves wondering, like the newly single Jessica (Megan Stalter) in Lena Dunham’s new Netflix show, Too Much, whether they would be better off if they just toned it down.Thanks to the lingering presence of “weirdly archaic feminine ideals”, says the author Amy Key, many women still believe that being “a contained, neat person” will make them more desirable on a date, or at work, or in social situations. “That is linked to the idea of the space that you occupy too,” she adds, whether ...

Politics

2 h. ago This is how we do it: ‘We broke up and started having the most amazing sex’

After splitting, Fred and Hester decided to sleep with other people – and still be intimate with each other once in a while. Now back together, they’ve never been happier• How do you do it? Share the story of your sex life, anonymouslyHaving a break has been great for our sex life Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago Mystery of Brit 'sleep artist' who draws pictures at night and sells them for millions

EXCLUSIVE: Lee Hadwin from Wales has been drawing intricate pictures in his sleep ever since he was a child - but now the mystery of his talent will be probed by Ghostbusters creator, Dan Aykroyd

Politics

2 h. ago 'I've read over 100 books so far in 2025 — these are the five I couldn't put down'

I've read dozens of books this year, from romances and thrillers to short stories and sci-fi, but these five kept me turning the pages late into the night

Politics

3 h. ago ‘I’ve never asked for the approval of conservative white bigots’: Reneé Rapp on pop stardom, problem fans, and speaking her mind

She made her name in Mean Girls and Sex Lives of College Girls, but it’s her lack of a filter off screen that sent her viral. Ahead of her new album, she talks fame, gossip and Trump’s America – and doesn’t hold back“I looove to lie,” sighs Reneé Rapp happily, sounding like a kid who has just discovered a new favourite toy. She’s talking about using creative licence in her songs, and how she realised, while working on her second album, that she didn’t have to stick to the truth of her own experience 100% of the time. But for a journalist, the admission – and her apparent glee about it – demands a follow-up: has she lied at all in the last 40 minutes?I expect Rapp, 25, to wave away the question. Instead she pauses, seeming to give it real thought. “Have I lied? You know, I don’t think so,” she eventually concludes. Continue reading...

Events

3 h. ago Amad's honest verdict on Marcus Rashford's Manchester United exit

Man United's outcast forward Marcus Rashford is inching closer to joining Barcelona on loan for the 2025/2026 season.

Politics

3 h. ago Leaked document shows boat slashing failed to stop migrants reaching UK

Coastguard log raises new concerns over safety and viability of flagship policy to intercept dinghies crossing ChannelNew concerns about the safety and viability of the flagship UK-French policy to intercept migrant dinghies at sea have emerged after a coastguard log leaked to the Guardian revealed a recent boat-slashing incident that failed to stop people reaching the UK.Despite the government’s pledge to stop overcrowded dinghies crossing the Channel, the number of people arriving in the UK on small boats this year has increased by about 50% compared with the same period last year, with more than 21,000 crossing so far in 2025. Continue reading...

Events

3 h. ago ‘Tense calm’ in Sweida after withdrawal of Bedouin fighters – Middle East crisis live

Syria struggling to contain sectarian clashes between Bedouin and Druze fightersThe Reuters news agency has spoken to residents who say there is a “tense calm” in Sweida after the Islamist-led government declared that Bedouin fighters had withdrawn from the predominantly Druze city.Kenan Azzam, a dentist, told Reuters residents were still, however, struggling with a lack of water and electricity. Continue reading...

Events

4 h. ago ‘Aretha Franklin hits notes that bring me to shivering tears of ecstasy’: Mick Hucknall’s honest playlist

The Simply Red singer gets emotional over Aretha and wakes up to Ravi Shankar. But which record healed his broken teenage heart?The first single I bought One of the first albums I bought was Sticky Fingers by the Rolling Stones; the first single was The Last Time. I was about 11 when my dad bought me my first record player, and I wore it out by listening to it so much.The first song I fell in love with My first love was an unrequited crush. I heard Let’s Stay Together by Al Green on the radio, went out and bought it, and played it over and over to heal the pain of teenage rejection. Continue reading...

Events