40 m. ago 'Nintendo Switch 2 launch inspired me to dust off my old console

Changing the handheld controller has made a huge difference to my Switch playing experience

Politics

2 h. ago My unexpected Pride icon: Fast & Furious is my favourite camp classic

Any film where cast members talk about chosen family and Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson busts a cast off his broken arm by flexing his biceps has a place in the gay canonI am a 42-year-old lesbian who can’t drive. And, since I’m baring all, I will add that I loathe people who drive extremely fast in obnoxiously large cars. Which, unfortunately, seems to be every third person in the US. In short, I’d wager I’m probably not the target audience for the Fast & Furious films.I’m sure I don’t need to explain the blockbuster franchise to you: the first instalment came out in 2001 and the series has generated billions. But if you are somehow unfamiliar with them, the basic premise is that a ragtag team of misfits and street racers travel around the world, driving cars fast and furiously, beating up baddies. Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago Rachel Reeves seized her moment – whatever the future brings, Labour’s economic course is now set | Martin Kettle

The chancellor is no mere technocrat: her spending review revealed a visceral commitment to social and economic mobilityThe consensus has long been that the 2025 spending review would be a defining moment for Keir Starmer’s government. For once, the consensus proved spot-on. The government’s main priorities were set out on Wednesday in a blizzard of Commons announcements from Rachel Reeves, some economically substantive, others more for show. The upshot is that the shape of the British state, as Labour intends it, is now decided until the eve of the next election.There are further crossroads still to come, some of them major, as the years covered by the review unroll. Taxes are likely to rise, probably as soon as the autumn budget, to pay for Reeves’s big ticket boosts on Wednesday for defence, health and housing. Council tax could rise too, with possibly dramatic results. The review’s emphasis on capital spending means current spending could be squeezed again, perhaps heralding pay...

Economics

2 h. ago Rachel Roddy’s salad of hazelnuts, gorgonzola and honey dressing | A kitchen in Rome

Some dishes make a lasting impression, and this week two memorable creations from Rome and London meet to inspire a nutty salad of creamy gorgonzola and mixed leavesRecently, I listened to the Italian chefs Niko Romito and Salvatore Tassa in conversation about Italian food culture, and in particular the role of the trattoria. During the warm conversation, Romito, who is one of Italy’s most visionary chefs and whose Ristorante Reale in Abruzzo has three Michelin stars, spoke about the first time he ate at Tassa’s Nu’ Trattoria Italiana dal 1960 in Acuto, which is in the province of Frosinone about an hour south of Rome. Romito recalled the homely atmosphere and Tassa as an old-school host: welcoming, communicative and the conduit (which didn’t sound pretentious when he said it) between local traditions, producers and those who came to eat. But Romito also described a dish of onions, simply braised, but of such goodness that he couldn’t stop thinking about and imagining them. In fact,...

Politics

3 h. ago 'Sam Allardyce wanted to kick my door down': IAN LADYMAN tells Mark Clattenburg about extraordinary run

The Mail's Football Editor revealed he had a tense phone call with 'Big' Sam Allardyce during the former Bolton, Newcastle and West Ham boss's early days at Notts County in the late nineties.

Politics

3 h. ago Trump's brutal message to actors who boycotted his Kennedy Center appearance as president and Melania attend Les Miserables

Donald Trump entered the Kennedy Center Wednesday with Melania at his side and struck a defiant tone when asked about cast members from Les Miserables boycotting his appearance.

Politics

8 h. ago Revealed: 'Fatal blow' that destroys Blake Lively case and means she may be days away from giving up

When Blake heard that a judge had dismissed Justin Baldoni's $400 million defamation lawsuit against her, she reportedly 'cried with relief.' Well, Lively better keep those tissue boxes close.

Events

8 h. ago Bitter family rift at the heart of Ed Sheeran's Emerald Isle roots: How Suffolk

While the singer, 34, was born and raised in Suffolk his father John hails from Belfast , and the bitter fall out inspired Ed's song Nancy Mulligan, which reached 13 in the UK charts in 2017.

Politics

9 h. ago Ex Oasis drummer Zak Starkey will Definitely Maybe cry at Liam and Noel Gallagher reunion, and could rejoin The Who after sacking

Former Oasis sticksman Zak Starkey won't attend the reunion tour in case he cries. Drummer could have rejoined the Gallaghers but for misplaced loyalty to The Who who ended up firing him twice anyway. However, he could yet rejoin Roger Daltrey's band for Farewell tour.

Politics

11 h. ago BBC is showing Bargain Hunt and Homes Under the Hammer repeats instead of Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter's doubles match... again

The British tennis pair played their quarter-final of the Queen's Club Championships earlier today, but the footage was not even available on the BBC website for the majority of the match.

Politics

11 h. ago Beach Boys' Brian Wilson's relationship with 'stern' psychotherapist who was once in will

The story of Brian Wilson and Eugene Landy inspired a Hollywood movie – with Wilson opening up about the affects of the manipulation before his death after a battle with a neurocognative disorder

Science

12 h. ago AP PHOTOS: Beach Boys visionary leader and summer's poet laureate Brian Wilson

Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys’ visionary and fragile leader whose genius for melody, arrangements and wide-eyed self-expression inspired “Good Vibrations,” “California Girls” and other summertime anthems and made him one of the world’s most influential recording artists, has died at 82.

Politics

12 h. ago Thomas Tuchel makes England guarantee as he reveals what's missing from Three Lions

England boss Thomas Tuchel insists his side will definitely qualify for the World Cup as he bids to turn around their fortunes after a worrying June international break

Events

13 h. ago How Sonay Kartal’s rise is pushing British women’s tennis to new heights

Sonay Kartal fell to a 6-1, 6-3 defeat at the hands of world No. 15 Amanda Anisimova, but has plenty of positives to take from an historic week in women’s tennis

Politics

13 h. ago Top 750 WTA players to receive protected ranking for fertility procedures

Players can get special ranking for three tournamentsSloane Stephens: ‘It will empower this generation’Tennis players who choose to take time off in order to undergo fertility protection procedures, such as egg or embryo freezing, will be permitted to receive a protected ranking according to new rules announced by the Women’s Tennis Association.Players ranked inside the top 750 on the WTA who undergo fertility procedures will be eligible to receive a Special Entry Ranking (SER) allowing them to enter up to three tournaments. The SER will be calculated using their average ranking during a 12-week period before and during their absence and can be used up to WTA 500 events. Continue reading...

Sport

13 h. ago Emma Raducanu keen to explore doubles partnership with Katie Boulter

It was just the third doubles match in Raducanu’s career and only the second time she paired up with Boulter.

Politics

13 h. ago Twelve of Brian Wilson’s greatest songs – from surf to psychedelia and beyond

Elaborating classic pop and doo-wop into divinely beautiful and inimitable hitmaking, these are some of the late musician’s most unmistakable masterpiecesBrian Wilson, visionary creative spirit for the Beach Boys, dies aged 82Although co-written with Gary Usher, this reflective hymn to isolation was pure Brian autobiography, conceived as the pressures of pop success loomed. “I had a room I thought of as my kingdom,” Wilson said, “somewhere you could lock out the world.” The domain in question was the Wilson family’s music room where Brian slept “right beside the piano”. Part-inspired by the Charms’ 1956 doo-wop hit Ivory Tower, which the Wilson brothers sang themselves to sleep with, In My Room sonically recreates Brian’s feelings of sanctuary by blending his brothers’ sweet-sad harmonies with finger cymbals, harp glissandi and Santo & Johnny-style Sleep Walk guitar. Soothing yet eerie, the song spoke to the nation of 60s teenagers whose only refuge was their bedroom, and whose ...

Politics

14 h. ago Beach Boys icon Brian Wilson dead at 82: Musician passes away after battle with dementia

Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson, one of the most acclaimed and influential songwriters of the 20th century, has died aged 82.

Events

14 h. ago Raducanu and Boulter laugh off Queen’s doubles defeat with singles to come

British pair lose 6-2, 7-5 to Routliffe and KichenokSonay Kartal beaten 6-1, 6-3 by Amanda AnisimovaWith a place in the semi-finals on her debut at Queen’s hanging in the balance, Emma Raducanu flitted towards the net in an attempt to pluck a floating ball out of the air. She has effortlessly dispatched similar balls thousands of times, but on game point while a set down, her forehand drive volley landed closer to the back fence than the court.Normally, she would react with frustration to such an easy miss on an important point. This, however, was only doubles. As she turned away and comically planted her palm on her face, she could not hide her smile. Katie Boulter, her doubles partner, laughed out loud. Continue reading...

Politics

14 h. ago BBC snub Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter as repeat leaves TV viewers fuming

Emma Raducanu and British No.1 Katie Boulter were competing in the women's doubles at Queen's on Wednesday - but their quarter-final showdown was not broadcast on the BBC

Politics