18 h. ago Man passed details on minister to police posing as Russian spies, UK court told

Howard Phillips gave information on then defence secretary Grant Shapps for ‘easy money’, prosecutor saysA retired man passed on the personal details of the then defence secretary, Grant Shapps, to two undercover police officers, believing them to be Russian intelligence operatives, for “easy money”, a court has heard.Howard Phillips, 65, was struggling financially and in the process of applying for a job at UK Border Force when he was approached by the undercover officers, who were posing as Russian agents called Dima and Sasha, Winchester crown court heard. Continue reading...

Politics

38 h. ago How The Salt Path dissolved into allegations of lies, theft and betrayal

The bestselling memoir was hailed as a moving true story of love resilience and the healing power of nature. But now its author Raynor Winn faces extraordinary allegations – raising doubts over whether the heartwarming journey was too good to be true after all, writes Maira Butt

Politics

48 h. ago Life Cycle of a Moth by Rowe Irvin review – captivating story of maternal love and male violence

A daughter is brought up isolated from the world in this tender debut novel from an exciting talentIn the woodland, beyond the fence, inside the old forester’s hut, Maya and Daughter live in a world of rituals. The fence is secured with “Keep-Safes” – fingernails, Daughter’s first teeth, the umbilical cord that once joined them – to protect them from intruders. While their days are filled with chores, setting traps for rabbits and gathering firewood, every night they play a game they call “This-and-That”, in which they take it in turns to choose an activity – hair-brushing, dancing, copying – before saying their “sorrys and thank yous” in the bed they share.From the beginning of British author Rowe Irvin’s captivating debut novel, it is clear that Maya has created this life for herself and her daughter – who calls her mother “Myma” – as a refuge from the brutality of the world beyond the fence’s perimeter. Irvin’s tale switches between two narrative strands: present-day chapters nar...

Events

66 h. ago France and UK expected to announce joint plan on small boat crossings

Starmer and Macron could set out plans for a ‘one in, one out’ returns scheme for asylum seekersUK politics live – latest updatesKeir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron are expected to announce plans for French police to do more to block small boats crossing the Channel at a summit in London this week, but a wider deal on returning asylum seekers is still up in the air.While details remain limited, with French officials still believed to be finalising what action the country can take with boats that are already in shallow waters, an announcement on new plans is expected on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Politics

68 h. ago Super Happy Forever review – glowing love story in reverse with echoes of Before Sunrise

In this beautifully acted film, a man returns to the Japanese seaside town where he met and fell in love with his wifeFor the first 40 minutes, this film’s title feels like a poke in the eye. There is nothing remotely happy about twentysomething Sano (Hiroki Sano). His wife has just died suddenly in her sleep, and Sano is visiting the sleepy Japanese seaside town where they met five years ago. He is rude and sullen, and obsessive about finding a red baseball cap he lost on that first visit. In the pain and anger of his grief, everyone sounds vapid and dumb, their words meaningless blah-blah-blah.It’s hard to see where the happy fits in, until the film flips back in time. In the same hotel five years ago, Sano first claps eyes on his wife Nagi (Nairu Yamamoto) in a chance meeting in the hotel lobby. Yamamoto gives the performance of the film as aspiring photographer Nagi: funny, scatty and earnest. She plays it so naturally, so true to life, that Nagi feels like someone you might hav...

Politics

4 d. ago Secrets about Prince William and Kate Middleton's St Andrews love story revealed as royal author says the future Princess of Wales was 'very shy'

Vice Chancellor Brian Lang told the audience in 2005 that St Andrews prides itself on being 'Britain's top matchmaking university' and that one in ten students would go on to marry.

Politics

5 d. ago BREAKING Birmingham school evacuated after receiving 'bomb threat' message

Police were scrambled to the scene after a school received a bomb threat via email, but officers now believe there was no credible threat

Events

5 d. ago Birmingham school evacuated after receiving 'bomb threat' message

Police were scrambled to the scene after a school received a bomb threat via email, but officers now believe there was no credible threat

Events

6 d. ago CCTV image released as police step up Piccadilly Gardens investigation

Officers believe the man pictured could have key information

Events

6 d. ago Murderer is jailed for ten years for 'revenge' plot on prison guard who delayed sending him to hospital when he swallowed seven bags of cocaine

Robert Paterson, 45, planned the attack on believing the officer at HMP Edinburgh had put his life at risk.

Events

6 d. ago Zendaya shines in 'really amazing' tennis thriller to watch during Wimbledon fortnight

Challengers was released in 2024 and tells the story of a love triangle between an injured tennis star-turned coach, her world champion husband and her tennis-playing ex-boyfriend

Politics

9 d. ago Scottish pub with mysterious 17th century love story sold for new development plans

The Stag Inn in Falkland, Fife, near Falkland Palace, features a rare lintel carved with the initials IL and EF and a heart.

Politics

9 d. ago Arsenal could face battle with Spurs to sign £67.5m Eberechi Eze

Arsenal officials met Eze’s agents to discuss termsCrystal Palace insisting on release clause being metArsenal have held initial talks with representatives of Eberechi Eze and could battle with Tottenham for the Crystal Palace forward.It is understood Mikel Arteta has identified Eze as a potential addition who could add creativity and depth to his squad after they finished as Premier League runners-up for a third successive season. Arsenal officials are believed to have met Eze’s agents on Saturday to discuss personal terms and other details but have yet to open talks with Palace over the England international. Continue reading...

Economics

9 d. ago ‘Joyous and uplifting’: why Chungking Express is my feelgood movie

The next in our series of writers on their go-to comfort watches looks back at Wong Kar-Wai’s unusual and profound romantic comedyChinese auteur Wong Kar-Wai is not a director you’d immediately seek out for a cosy feelgood experience. His films delve into loneliness, yearning and doomed love affairs, carried along by a melancholy undercurrent. Chungking Express, the story of two Hong Kong cops reeling from being dumped by their respective partners, doesn’t deviate from these obsessions of his but the quirky romantic comedy also manages to be his most joyous and uplifting offering.The film has a playful energy and is brimming with offbeat humour. Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Takeshi Kaneshiro play the heartbroken policemen, both deep in denial over the end of their relationships. We watch them cope in very different ways with their heartache. Kaneshiro’s Cop 223 pines outside his ex’s flat, buys cans of pineapple because they were her favorite food and goes on jogs so his body has no wate...

Politics

1 week ago Taylor Swift belts out ‘Love Story’ with Travis Kelce and George Kittle following NFL event

Watch as Taylor Swift belts out “Love Story” with boyfriend Travis Kelce and George Kittle after an NFL event.

Politics

1 week ago Travis Kelce and George Kittle belt out 'Love Story' with Taylor Swift in fresh clip that sends fans into meltdown

Taylor Swift stole the headlines from her boyfriend Travis Kelce's 'Tight End University' event in Nashville this week, but the singer also shared a cool moment with another tight end.

Politics

1 week ago The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood audiobook review – a puzzle waiting to be decoded

Romance, sci-fi and family drama are thrillingly combined in this Booker-winning novel, shared between three narratorsIt’s 25 years since the publication of The Blind Assassin, Margaret Atwood’s intricately plotted, multi-narrative novel which led to her first Booker prize win. Blending romance, pulpy sci-fi and family drama, it opens with octogenarian Iris Chase Griffen recalling the moment she was told her sister, Laura, had driven off a bridge. The police inform her that two people witnessed Laura deliberately swerve off the road. Though Iris believes this to be true, she insists to the officers that it was an accident.We go on to hear about Iris’s privileged upbringing and marriage of convenience to Richard Griffen, the wealthy owner of a button factory, and her estrangement from her granddaughter with whom she hopes to reconcile. The book also contains excerpts from Laura’s posthumously published novel which features clandestine romantic encounters between an unnamed man – seem...

Politics

2 w. ago Inside London raids targeting ‘people smuggling gang' as four arrested

Met Police, Home Office and NCA storm homes and cafes believed to be used by smuggling gang who advertised illegal crossings to the UK on social media

Events

2 w. ago Dad slammed by cops after leaving young son to die in hot car to get hair cut

Scott Gardner left his 18-month-old for three hours while he ran errands and went to a bar before finally noticing the little boy wasn't breathing - two hours after officers believe he had died

Events

2 w. ago Inside dawn raids targeting 'London people smuggling gang' as four arrested

The Met Police, Home Office and NCA visited cafes in Walthamstow, Chingford and Dagenham believed to be used by members of the smuggling gang who advertised illegal crossings to the UK on social media

Events