1 hour ago Dear Nicola, When I look at what you have done to my homeland, I feel like weeping. Now you're nothing more than a two bit celeb with a book to flog: JAN MOIR

She was the first woman to enter Bute House as First Minister and 'won all eight of the elections I contested as SNP leader'. Now, everybody wants a piece of Nicola, and no wonder.

Politics

3 h. ago Fuzzy hats and a ban on swearing: the New Zealand town that bonds over curling

Scottish goldminers first brought the sport to Central Otago and the traditions live on as farmers sweep stones and catch up on the iceOn a July evening in Alexandra, a small town in New Zealand’s South Island, the temperature is a chilly 3C. While most of the town is in quiet darkness, at Ice Inline Molyneux Park, the lights are on and the banter is abundant. It’s a social curling night, and the shouts of “sweeeep!” can be heard from the car park. Players from teams with names such as the “Plonkers”, “Too Dam Cold” and “Doome and Broom” gather on the outdoor ice rink, sweeping furiously as 11kg curling stones move across the ice.L-R: A collection of enamel badges from curling competitions and tournaments. Curling stones ready to be put away after a Thursday night social curling game in Alexandra. Continue reading...

Politics

3 h. ago Bid to reach world's first plastic pollution treaty ends in failure after 10

The consequence of the failed talks is devastating, as it leaves no clear path for nations to collectively address the mountains of plastic that are filling landfills.

Events

4 h. ago Experts say Brits could be sitting on a goldmine if they have three specific old toys

Collectors could be in for making a few hundreds or thousands as some of our nostalgia faves such as Care Bears or Beanie Babies (remember those?) have shot up in value

Politics

6 h. ago Concessions review – moviegoer melancholy for Michael Madsen’s final film

Madsen cameos as a stuntman visiting a smalltown movie theatre on its last day before closing down in this amiable, bittersweet story for cinephilesThe late Michael Madsen makes his final, posthumous appearance as a boozy stuntman called Rex Fuel in this laidback ensemble film from feature first-timer Mas Bouzidi, a piece of moviegoing melancholy developed from the director’s short of the same title. Bouzidi gives us the time-honoured scenario of a smalltown movie theatre’s last day before closing down, resonantly named the Royal Alamo and showing for its last stand a couple of films on 35mm. The place has been stricken, of course, by the prevalence of digital streaming, although the wistful mood doesn’t seem too different from Bogdanovich’s The Last Picture Show from 1971, when Netflix wasn’t a problem.The Royal Alamo is now a bittersweet place of memories whose spirit is perhaps epitomised by the two guys listlessly working at the concessions stand, and bickering amusingly like Ke...

Culture

7 h. ago The Memory Blocks review – playful and purposeful exploration of developmental disorders

Andrew Kötting’s complex docu-essay about his daughter Eden, who has Joubert syndrome, refuses conventional grammarArtist and film-maker Andrew Kötting returns to the themes of consciousness and memory (both individual and collective) in this playful and ruminative docu-essay, in which he is again working with his daughter Eden; she is at once his subject and his collaborator.Eden was born in 1988 with the genetic disorder Joubert syndrome; she draws and paints and often appears in Kötting’s films. I have in the past wondered aloud if Kötting might tackle the challenges of being with Eden more straightforwardly. But perhaps that was obtuse of me; it could be that it is only this complex, layered, tonally elusive approach which refuses the conventional grammar of clinical concern does justice to the idea of seeing the world as Eden sees it. Continue reading...

Politics

8 h. ago Putin to 'take poo suitcase' to meeting with Donald Trump for one weird reason

Vladimir Putin will be meeting with US President Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky later today, and it has been claimed his bodyguards will be collecting his poo

Politics

9 h. ago Stay in an old sweet shop in one of Wales' most visited towns

The two-bedroom property has an open-plan living space, a patio and a warm welcome to your furry friends

Politics

10 h. ago Football Daily | A new Premier League season rolls off the assembly line with subplots galore

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!Will Liverpool canter to another title? Have Manchester City rediscovered their mojo? Have Arsenal finally found the missing pieces of the jigsaw? Will Chelsea’s midsummer Copa Gianni endeavours catch up with them? Can any or all of the three promoted sides make a decent fist of not going straight back down this time? Will Fulham finish 11th or 12th? How adverse an effect will being the father of twins going through the terrible twos have on the form of Jarrod Bowen? Some early clues to the answers of these and many other questions will be provided this weekend as the latest beautifully packaged model of the Premier League rolls off the assembly line, kicking off with tonight’s ding-dong between Liverpool and what’s left of a Bournemouth carcass that has been feasted upon by a wake of vultures during the transfer window. A club so resilient and resourceful that at one point they exhibited the massed ranks of their lame and halt Davi...

Politics

11 h. ago Microsoft launches inquiry into claims Israel used its tech for mass surveillance of Palestinians

Company says use of its cloud technology to store millions of intercepted calls would breach terms of serviceMicrosoft has launched an “urgent” external inquiry into allegations Israel’s military surveillance agency has used the company’s technology to facilitate the mass surveillance of Palestinians.The company said on Friday the formal review was in response to a Guardian investigation that revealed how the Unit 8200 spy agency has relied on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform to store a vast collection of everyday Palestinian mobile phone calls. Continue reading...

Politics

11 h. ago Will Putin protect his dirty secrets in Alaska? Russian leader's bodyguards 'collect his excrement on foreign trips to stop Western spies gathering data on his health'

The Russian President, has not been known for his globetrotting since launching an assault in Ukraine which has since seen the International Criminal Court issue an arrest warrant against him.

Politics

11 h. ago The spice linked to low blood sugar and gum disease prevention

That piece of pumpkin pie just got sweeter

Events

12 h. ago The 'lost' Vera Lynn tracks you've never heard: WWII Forces' Sweetheart's audition recordings to be released 90 years on

The late singer's first records were found when Dame Vera's daughter donated her mother's record collection to the British Library after she moved out of her home in East Sussex.

Events

12 h. ago Blockbuster, board games and boredom: why everyone’s parenting like it’s 1999

Nostalgic millennial parents are increasingly keen to replicate their own childhoods. But were the 90s as blissful as we remember?When I look back on my 1990s childhood, it’s hard not to feel nostalgic. We roamed for miles without supervision, riding our bikes, building dens and swimming in streams. After school, we did crafts or played board games and, though the internet existed, my parents would boot me off to use the landline. Media was tangible – tapes, CDs, VHS – and often consumed as a family. I still recall the thrill of going to the video shop to choose a film.It’s normal to feel like this, especially once you have babies of your own, and the social media algorithms know it. In the three years since I had my son and started writing the Guardian’s Republic of Parenthood column, I’ve noticed a huge upswing of interest in “90s parenting” and, this year, the trend seems to have exploded. Former 90s kids are in the thick of it, trying to work out how to parent our own children. ...

Politics

13 h. ago Shoplifting should be known as 'shop theft' to avoid trivialising the crime, ministers agree as offending soars by a fifth in one year

In a letter to ministers, peers warned the 'outdated' word was 'trivialising the severity of the offence' and called for it to be phased out in legislation and guidance.

Politics

14 h. ago Dad purchases £6 coat from charity shop and is blown away when he checks pockets

A father-son duo have shared their delight after coming away with the bargain of a lifetime from a charity shop - and what's even better is that it had a surprise inside the pocket waiting for them

Economics

14 h. ago 'I hounded JD Vance out of Cotswolds for Daily Star with cake and parking row'

When reporter Claudia Trotman heard JD Vance was heading to her native Cotswolds, she said: 'Not on my watch' - so then she set out to give him a piece of her mind

Politics

14 h. ago Glasgow crime: Busy kebab shop egged and two schoolgirls, aged 14, charged after alleged 'assault'

Two 14 year old girls have been charged.

Events

14 h. ago Iceland offering £1 reward scheme for customers who report a shoplifter

Grocery chain employees will verify the incident and the reward will be adding to the shopper’s loyalty cardThe grocery chain Iceland is offering customers who shop a thief a £1 reward on their loyalty card.The frozen food specialist said that anyone who spots a suspected shoplifter in its stores should inform the nearest Iceland employee who will verify the incident before adding the reward to the individual’s loyalty card for immediate use. Continue reading...

Economics

14 h. ago Ten of the best pieces to shop from the new Topshop collection

From oversized knits and Joni jeans to slinky silk dresses, here are some of the best pieces from the brand new Topshop drop

Politics