4 d. ago ‘He made the dust fly!’ Mick Jagger and others on 100 years of Clifton Chenier, the king of zydeco

Whether playing the Royal Albert Hall or a rooster fight, Chenier’s scorching Creole blues blew minds. As a tribute album is released, starry admirers and family members remember one of history’s great live performers‘Clifton Chenier was one of the most influential musicians to come out of Louisiana,” Mick Jagger tells me. “He turned so many people on to the wonderful, free spirited dance music of zydeco. He was a true original, a trailblazer.” Jagger acknowledges that while no music style can be attributed to one artist, “there is not a zydeco band who has not followed the template Chenier created”.Jagger is not engaging in hyperbole here: Clifton Chenier’s swaggering, accordion-driven sound introduced the Creole music of rural Louisiana to the world – now known as zydeco, the name derived either from the Creole pronunciation of haricots, or possibly a west African word for music-making. Created by the US’s poorest communities, zydeco is very much dance music, and concerts were onc...

Politics

6 d. ago Lochore Meadows: Tributes to ‘much loved, caring’ teen who died paddleboarding on Scottish loch

Police have released a family statement after a teenage boy died at Lochore Meadows in Fife on the weekend.

Events

9 d. ago Do better on fake images, Esther Rantzen’s daughter tells social media firms

The Childline founder and broadcaster’s family said they felt compelled to release birthday pictures to show online images were fake.

Politics

1 week ago Family files for release in lawsuit considered first involving children challenging arrests at court

A mother and her two young kids are fighting for their release from a Texas immigration detention center

Society

1 week ago Abortions in the US are on the rise three years after Roe v Wade was overturned

A growing number of abortions happen through telehealth – including for women in states with strict bansThree years after the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade, erasing the national right to abortion and paving the way for more than a dozen states to ban the procedure, the number of abortions performed in the US is still on the rise – including in some states that ban the procedure.US abortion providers performed 1.14m abortions in 2024, according to new data released on Monday by #WeCount, a Society of Family Planning project that has tracked abortion provision since 2022. That’s the highest number on record in recent years. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Greg Monks family and friends to release balloons ahead of funeral this week

The 38-year-old tragically died after going missing hours into a stag do in the party resort of Albufeira in the Algarve.

Politics

2 w. ago Mahmoud Khalil reunites with family after more than 100 days in Ice detention

Columbia graduate and legal US resident was targeted by White House for speaking out against the Israeli war in GazaMahmoud Khalil – the Palestinian rights activist, Columbia University graduate and legal permanent resident of the US who had been held by federal immigration authorities for more than three months – has been reunited with his wife and infant son.Khalil, the most high-profile student to be targeted by the Trump administration for speaking out against Israel’s war on Gaza, arrived in New Jersey on Saturday at about 1pm – two hours later than expected after his flight was first rerouted to Philadelphia. Khalil greeted reporters and cheering supporters as he emerged from security at Newark airport accompanied by his wife, Dr Noor Abdalla, and son in a stroller, as well as his legal team and the New York Democratic representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Happy Birthday to The Prince of Wales! King Charles leads tributes with unseen portrait of William on his 43rd birthday

The Royal Family has released a new portrait of husband Prince William to celebrate his 43rd birthday today.

Politics

2 w. ago Man fatally shot in broad daylight outside busy Costco store

The victim’s identity has not yet been released, but the Met Police confirmed his family is being supported by specialist officers.

Events

2 w. ago I tried a £20k 70 year old whisky from 'underrated' Scotch distillery and it was incredible

A family-owned Scotch whisky distillery has announced the release of its oldest ever expression. Rosalind Erskine visited to try a dram.

Economics

2 w. ago Heartbroken friends and family of Greg Monks to hold balloon release in his memory

A balloon release will be held in memory of Greg Monks, whose body was discovered on June 4 in Portugal after he disappeared on stag-do.

Politics

2 w. ago Heartbreaking update on how TikTok star Emilie Kiser's toddler drowned in pool

Trigg Kiser, 3, died after a tragic accident in the back garden of his family home. A newly released account from his father Brady Kiser has shed further light on what happened

Events

2 w. ago Elio review – Pixar’s goofy, giddy guide to the galaxy offers charm and vulnerability

Spielbergian twists and an aggressive, deal-oriented alien are among the familiar beats of the Inside Out animator’s latest, about a lonely boy who finds friendship in spaceThere are some sweet retro-Spielbergian thrills in Pixar’s amiable new family animation, whose release was delayed a year due to the strikes; it also has some touches of Douglas Adams as well as John Lasseter’s Toy Stories. There are co-director credits for Pixar stalwarts Adrian Molina (who was the co-director and co-screenwriter of Coco) and feature first-timer Madeline Sharafian, and Pixar will be hoping for a handsome return here to match the success of its recent box office champ Inside Out 2.Elio may well indeed do the business. It has charm, likability and that potent ingredient: childhood loneliness and vulnerability. Its opening act is set aboard a military base where an ambitious young officer has postponed or even abandoned her dream of being astronaut to look after her orphaned nephew. But once the fi...

Politics

2 w. ago Elio review – Pixar’s goofy, giddy guide to the galaxy offers charm and vulnerability | film of the week

Spielbergian twists and an aggressive, deal-oriented alien are among the familiar beats of the Inside Out animator’s latest, about a lonely boy who finds friendship in spaceThere are some sweet retro-Spielbergian thrills in Pixar’s amiable new family animation, whose release was delayed a year due to the strikes; it also has some touches of Douglas Adams as well as John Lasseter’s Toy Stories. There are co-director credits for Pixar stalwarts Adrian Molina (who was the co-director and co-screenwriter of Coco) and feature first-timer Madeline Sharafian, and Pixar will be hoping for a handsome return here to match the success of its recent box office champ Inside Out 2.Elio may well indeed do the business. It has charm, likability and that potent ingredient: childhood loneliness and vulnerability. Its opening act is set aboard a military base where an ambitious young officer has postponed or even abandoned her dream of being astronaut to look after her orphaned nephew. But once the fi...

Politics

2 w. ago British father had been booked on doomed Air India plane but changed flights

Businessman Owen Jackson was scheduled to jet back to UK on flight that crashed killing 241 on board but ended up extending business trip

Politics

2 w. ago British father was booked on doomed Air India plane but had to change flights

Businessman Owen Jackson was scheduled to jet back to UK on flight that crashed killing 241 on board but ended up extending business trip

Politics

3 w. ago First Air India crash funeral held as Brit mum victim released to family

Elcina Alpesh Makwana, 41, was one of at least 270 people who were killed in the Air India crash. Her body was released to her family and she has now been buried

Events

3 w. ago Heartbreak as first funeral held for Brit mum who died in Air India crash

Mum-of-two Elcina Alpesh Makwana, 41, who lived in Hounslow, London, has become the first British victim of the Air India plane crash to be laid to rest.

Events

3 w. ago First Air India crash funeral held as Brit mum first victim released to family

Mum-of-two Elcina Alpesh Makwana, 41, who lived in Hounslow, London, has been the first British victim of the Air India plane crash to have her funeral after her body was returned to her family

Events

3 w. ago 'Sweet and gentle' mother from London first British Air India crash victim released to family

A funeral was held for Elcina Alpesh Makwan on Sunday — just three days after the aviation disaster which killed 270 people

Events