44 h. ago ‘All around us was the low hum of contented diners’: readers’ favourite places to eat in Europe

Opulent omelettes, plump scallops and a ‘confessional’ fondue are among our tipsters’ happy culinary memories, from Athens to the AlgarveSarajevo has to be one of the most underrated cities in Europe. A real east-west cultural melting pot with recent raw history, it’s also one of the best places for Bosnian burek, delicious rolls of filled filo pastry that are served up cheap and quick in the cities numerous buregdžinica. You typically get a choice of three fillings: spicy potato, meat, or spinach and cheese, and you can order by weight (go for 500 grams for full satisfaction, about £5). A dollop of yoghurt perfectly complements this most addictive of staples, best washed down with a pivo (beer).Matt Lunt Continue reading...

Politics

66 h. ago The 2026 World Cup, heralded as a uniter, is facing divisive road blocks

And on-again, off-again trade war and threats from the US toward both of its co-hosts leave fans and teams in a tough positionThe cover of the bid book for the 2026 World Cup submitted to Fifa by the United States, Mexico and Canada in April of 2017 has not aged well.“UNITY,” the front page bellowed in a huge font. Continue reading...

Politics

66 h. ago Aviation watchdog to look at rules on ‘resilience’ after Heathrow closure

CAA said it would consider whether it should take ‘further steps’ under Heathrow’s licence as part of a reviewBritain’s aviation watchdog will review the rules on “resilience” after the closure of Heathrow caused by a blaze at an electricity substation.Europe’s largest airport was closed in the early hours of Friday morning after the blaze at the Hayes substation in west London hit electricity supplies. No planes were allowed to take off or land, causing diversions which affected about 1,300 flights and roughly 250,000 passengers. Some flights resumed on Friday evening. Continue reading...

Politics

66 h. ago Aviation watchdog to look at ‘resilience’ rules after Heathrow closure

CAA says it will consider whether to take further steps under Heathrow’s licence as part of reviewBritain’s aviation watchdog will review the rules on “resilience” after Heathrow was closed because of a fire at an electricity substation.Europe’s largest airport was closed in the early hours of Friday last week after the blaze at the Hayes substation in west London hit electricity supplies. No planes were allowed to take off or land, causing diversions which affected about 1,300 flights and roughly 250,000 passengers. Some flights resumed on Friday evening. Continue reading...

Politics

68 h. ago Where tourists seldom tread, part 16: a trio of small historic cities

From Swansea, with its sweeping bay and artistic soul, to Doncaster’s Roman heritage and Carlisle’s literary past, this selection proves size doesn’t matterWhere tourists seldom tread, parts 1-15Whenever this town-focused series includes a city, prideful hollering ensues. The English distinction – not tied to a cathedral, a certain form of local government, nor population size – is whimsical, even if signed off by royalty. This selection of destinations is not about alpha cities. The smallest is ancient; the other two newly minted. None merit bypassing. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Scientist reveals the real reason we yawn and why Brits should never hold one in

WARNING, EXPECT TO YAWN: We've lost count the amount of times we yawned reading the The Sleep Geek's expertise explaining how the act even strengthens social connections

Politics

3 d. ago London’s Design Museum takes a deep dive into our love affair with swimming

From art deco lidos to 1980s Speedos, the curator of a new exhibition on swimming and style talks about the inspiration behind it‘The first thing to say is that I’m a terrible swimmer,” says Amber Butchart, curator of a new exhibition on swimming that opens at the Design Museum in London this week. Growing up, school swimming lessons were “horrible, traumatic” – the cold water, the humiliation, the scrutiny from teenage boys. But something shifted when she moved to Margate 10 years ago and discovered the joy of swimming in the resort’s huge tidal pool, which was built in the 1930s. “This sounds quite pretentious, but it’s this idea of becoming one with the horizon,” says Butchart. “It’s almost like an existential feeling of the vastness of the world and being physically a part of that when you’re immersed in water. It’s transformational.”Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style explores our enduring love affair with swimming, from Britain’s lido boom of the 1920s and 30s to the Merma...

Politics

4 d. ago UKHSA warning as 'priority pathogen' watch list reveals 24 'danger' viruses with biggest risk to public health

Bird flu and coronaviruses are diseases in the 'deadly' virus families that health officials warn have pandemic potential

Events

4 d. ago Walking in solitude and sunshine in Sicily: a newly restored pilgrim’s trail

A path in the Madonie natural park once used by itinerant friars takes present-day hikers on mountain trails through a terrain rich in wildlifeDespite walking for three days, we’ve seen no one. Not a single hiker, dog walker or shepherd. Instead, golden eagles have circled lazily overhead, stags have boldly held our gaze, and rare blue butterflies have flitted around our booted feet. The silence here is deep and dense, broken only by birdsong.This is the Madonie national park, also known as the Sicilian Alps, home to many of the island’s highest mountains and rarest plants. It’s a landscape of 200 million-year-old rocks, rich in fossils. Of raptors and the tiniest of songbirds. Of wild boar, fallow deer and porcupines. Of cyclamen and crocuses. Of the largest holly trees on the planet, and of 65 varieties of orchid. A landscape that is void of tourists, ramblers and Sicilians. For anyone in search of wilderness, solitude and sunshine, I can’t think of a better place. Continue readin...

Politics

5 d. ago Four dangerous viruses which could spark another pandemic revealed by UK scientists

UKHSA has revealed the most dangerous pathogens for Britain as one scientist warns a measles-like virus would ‘pose a threat far worse than Covid’ and be ‘impossible to control’

Events

5 d. ago Time Travel is Dangerous review – likable mockumentary is Back to the Future meets Bargain Hunt

Real-life vintage shop owners Ruth Syratt and Megan Stevenson raid the past for sellable trinkets in this charmingly funny, quintessentially British comedyHere is a very silly and very likable British mockumentary, one that – like Ruth and Megan, the two real-life Muswell Hill vintage-shop mavens at its centre – lovingly mixes and matches multifarious styles. Director and co-writer Chris Reading adopts a little The Office deadpan, some Shaun of the Dead bathos, a heap of Terry Gilliam, and even shoplifts a shot from Wes Anderson. If the resulting low-budget assemblage still bears these nametags and has the odd stray thread showing, it also has a persistent charm of its own.The ChaChaCha vintage emporium (which really exists) is limping along until owners Ruth (Ruth Syratt) and Megan (Megan Stevenson) stumble on a time machine in the form of a souped-up bumper car – and thus an infinite supply of merchandise from whichever epoch they desire. It transpires the gizmo was invented by Ra...

Politics

6 d. ago ‘Bold but significant risk’: Fifa pulling out all the stops to sell Club World Cup

With ticket sales slow and concerns over burnout, football’s governing body is battling to win hearts and mindsThis week president Donald Trump convened a prayer meeting in the Oval Office. Gathered around the Resolute desk, constructed from the timbers of a British naval vessel, a series of pastors laid their hands on the president’s thinning hair and prayed for his success. The only other item on the desk? The enormous intricate bauble that will serve as the trophy for Fifa’s Club World Cup.That Trump should like the look of an object lacquered in 24-carat gold plating, and designed by the New York jewellers Tiffany & Co, is not perhaps a huge surprise. But its prominent position on the world’s most consequential desktop will surely also have been welcomed by the president of Fifa, Gianni Infantino, who left the trophy with Trump this month on his visit to the White House, a week after Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago Heathrow airport reopens but ‘huge impact’ on travel expected for days – live updates

Planes begin to land at airport but airlines said the closure would continue to have a “huge impact” on passengers in the coming daysHeathrow airport says “flights have resumed at Heathrow following yesterday’s power outage” and the airport is now “fully operational”.It added that and that hundreds of additional staff have been drafted in to help clear the backlog of flights.We can confirm that Heathrow is open and fully operational today. Teams across the airport continue to do everything they can to support passengers impacted by yesterday’s outage at an off-airport power substation.We have hundreds of additional colleagues on hand in our terminals and we have added flights to today’s schedule to facilitate an extra 10,000 passengers travelling through the airport.Given the importance of Heathrow I am surprised that the whole airport had to be shut for a day.I mean, you could understand disruption whilst you change over to alternate systems and so on, but such a complete failure o...

Society

7 d. 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

7 d. ago ‘I found a Moroccan city with more charm than Marrakech and an unusual local delicacy’

EXCLUSIVE: We discovered authentic cuisine and hands-on culinary experiences on a foodie-focused trip to the vibrant Moroccan city of Fez – here's what to do and where to stay

Politics

8 d. ago On the hoof: readers’ favourite horse riding breaks in Europe

From guided rides for beginners to adventurous multi-day treks, our tipsters share their top horseback holidays from Spain to SardiniaSierra Trails, run by Dallas Love and her brother, Mordecai, based in Bubión, two hours’ drive from Málaga, offers exceptional village-to-village rides in the Sierra Nevada. Dallas paired us with well-schooled Spanish horses that we rode across varied terrain, stopping to picnic under trees and staying in lovely family-run hotels. After a long day riding, soaking in a hot bath, followed by amazing meals with wine (vegetarians no problem!) was a treat. Five nights’ accommodation with four full days riding, including pick up from Málaga airport, was €1,465. Rucha Eldridge Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Scientist bluntly blasts Musk’s hope to go to Mars in the coming years: It’s not going to happen

A NASA advisor says billionaire’s ambitious timelines for Martian travel does not adding up with reality

Politics

9 d. ago Holiday hotspots in Spain to be battered by Storm Martinho’s 70mph winds after deadly floods

The Canary Islands government warned against unnecessary travel ahead of Storm Martinho’s arrival on Thursday

Events

1 week ago Storm Martinho: Warnings for rain, wind and travel chaos in Spain after deadly Storm Laurence floods

The Canary Islands government has warned against unnecessary travel ahead of Storm Martinho’s arrival on Thursday

Events

1 week ago The shocking things 286 days in space does to a human body: As rescued NASA astronauts stun the world with their frail and gaunt appearance, how their bodies have been ravaged by the void

Shocking before-and-after images of NASA's stranded astronauts show the terrifying damage that months spent in the harsh conditions in space will do to you.

Events