71 m. ago Four dead in flood horror while victims face huge cleanup and urgent snake warning

As emergency serivices continue to search for people in need, many on Australia's east coast are coming to terms with the damage to their homes after record floods

Events

88 m. ago Russell Mael: ‘Describe myself in three words? One handsome dude’

The Sparks singer on shoplifting red liquorice as a child, a head-to-head with Godzilla, and underselling his life storyBorn in California, Russell Mael, 76, and his brother, Ron, first recorded under the names the Urban Renewal Project and Halfnelson, before becoming Sparks in 1972. Two years later, they relocated to London and had a hit with their song This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us. More recently, they composed a radio opera, The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman, collaborated with Franz Ferdinand in supergroup FFS, and released a film, Annette, which won five César awards in 2022. Their 28th studio album is Mad! and their tour comes to the UK in June. Mael lives in California.What was your most embarrassing moment? Signing away the rights to my life story to a major motion-picture company for a sum that I have since been told was way below the market rate. Continue reading...

Politics

1 hour ago ‘You feel useful to society’: Italy’s busybody pensioners go professional

Once seen as a nuisance by construction workers, ‘umarell’ in Villasanta are now offically monitoring public worksAmong his circle of friends, Roberto Cremona says there are one or two umarell – a word coined to describe retired Italian men who spend their time peering through the mesh fencing of construction works, casting judgment and offering up unsolicited advice.“When we meet for coffee, they often say: ‘Did you see that construction site over there? They’re doing this or that wrong, we could do a better job’. These characters are everywhere,” Cremona adds. Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago Weather: London to be battered by bank holiday downpours after record spring sunshine

While temperatures may peak at 21C, it will feel several degrees cooler

Politics

4 h. ago A historic corner of Stockport is now home to the town's first beer hall

There's plans underway to extend the Stockport venue further and open a rooftop bar in the future too

Politics

4 h. ago The seaside town near Greater Manchester named among UK’s top summer destinations

Enjoy a walk on a huge beach, tuck into ice creams or hire out a beach hut

Politics

4 h. ago Man Utd suffer second Liam Delap transfer blow as Premier League rivals enter talks

Liam Delap has begun speaking to Premier League sides ahead of a £30million transfer away from Ipswich Town this summer - and Everton boss David Moyes has confirmed their interest

Politics

4 h. ago NSW floods: estimated 10,000 properties damaged after deadly flooding as communities face ‘mammoth task’

SES warns the ‘worst impacts that people feel are often after the event’ as areas reel from ‘devastating’ floodsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAn estimated 10,000 properties may have been damaged in record-breaking flooding in New South Wales and thousands remain isolated, as communities begin to clean up after “devastating” impacts.Flood waters have begun to subside in some areas and weather conditions have improved on the mid-north coast, where severe weather warnings were cancelled on Friday night.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

Events

5 h. ago Was the Black Lives Matter rebellion all for nothing? It may feel like that, but I have seen reasons for hope | Jason Okundaye

It is easy to look back at 2020 and feel aggrieved, even fooled. But in the British city where slaver Edward Colston’s statue was pulled down, I found cause for optimismIt has been five years since George Floyd, a Black man who lived in Minneapolis, was murdered by Derek Chauvin, a white police officer. The killing, captured in a distressing 10-minute video that quickly flooded social media timelines, sparked something that felt like an international revolution: protests took place across the world, forcing countries and cities to reckon with their present and historical treatment of Black people.In Britain, protests reached fever pitch when activists in Bristol toppled a statue of Edward Colston, the slave trader and deputy governor of the Royal African Company, and hurled it into the harbour. Bristol, once a major slave-trading port, had maintained a veneration of Colston that was increasingly divisive. The statue in particular had been a key focus of tensions: attempts to add a s...

Politics

5 h. ago Seaside town named one of best in the UK is loved by families who visit

Southwold's pristine beach makes it a hit for both families and those looking to dip their toes in the sea. Pier beach is flanked by a promenade that stretches all the way to the harbour

Politics

8 h. ago Tiny UK seaside village predicted to be huge staycation spot this summer

With scenic coastal walks, a beautiful beach and sublime setting, visitors can enjoy the village’s natural splendour while feasting on award-winning meals that consistently receive rave reviews

Politics

9 h. ago Tiny island 3.5 hours from UK named Amalfi Coast 'dupe' with crystal blue sea

The Amalfi Coast may look beautiful online, but with over-tourism resulting in eye-watering hotel prices, constant traffic and never-ending crowds - you may want to check out this stunning dupe

Politics

10 h. ago UK's 'worst' seaside town abandoned by Butlin's with no sign it ever existed

It's hard to believe this rundown seaside town, that was recently ranked one of the worst in the UK, used to be the proud owner of a huge Billy Butlin's resort

Politics

11 h. ago Female pensioner, 70, dies after fall from Shetland cliff as rescue boats and helicopter launched

The body of an elderly woman has been recovered from the water off the coast of Scotland after she suffererd a fatal fall from a cliff. Rescue boats and a helicopter were launched as part of the search

Events

11 h. ago Moment biker riding with dog strapped to her is pulled over by shocked police officer

A motorcyclist was fined after police spotted her riding with a dog secured to her chest on May 17 in Alexandra Headland.

Events

16 h. ago Moment infamous Titan sub is plunged into darkness at the bottom of the ocean floor in terrifying test dive before it imploded near Titanic shipwreck

Dramatic new video has revealed a troubled test dive of the Titan submersible off the coast of the Bahamas in April 2019, four years before it imploded while diving to the wreck of the Titanic.

Events

16 h. ago Devastated Titan sub wife blames 'ego and arrogance' for husband and son's deaths

Christine Dawood calls for full regulation of submersibles ahead of US Coast Guard report into the Titan disaster which killed her loved ones

Events

16 h. ago Badenoch urges Prime Minister to visit fishermen affected by EU trade deal

The Conservative leader visited Bridlington in East Yorkshire on Friday and met fishermen from the town.

Politics

16 h. ago Arsenal’s comeback queens face ultimate Barcelona test in Champions League final

New chapter in Arsenal’s storied history awaits as they aim to end continental drought in a sold-out Lisbon finalAfter 18 years, Arsenal are back in the biggest game in women’s European football with a dream to end their long wait for continental glory. They face the holders, the favourites and the much-revered Barcelona, who are aiming to win the Champions League for a third consecutive season on a picture-perfect weekend in Lisbon.Strolling along tree-lined paths through the Portuguese capital’s sun-kissed Parque Eduardo VII, as a group of Barcelona fans cross paths with two Arsenal supporters wearing full red-and-white kit and exchange a few friendly quips about Saturday’s final, it is hard not to feel a pang of sympathy for the 3,467 attendees who saw Arsenal lift the Uefa Women’s Cup – as it was known in 2007 – in the somewhat less glamorous surroundings of Boreham Wood FC’s Meadow Park. In those days, the competition concluded with a two-legged home-and-away final. Arsenal fol...

Sport

16 h. ago The Guardian view on billionaire Britain: tax wealth fairly or face democratic unravelling | Editorial

Without bold reform which makes the rich pull their weight, rising inequality risks eroding public trust and fracturing social stabilityBritain for the last decade has experienced a bleak paradox: rising child poverty alongside a dramatic increase in billionaire wealth. This inequality has been tolerated partly because greed has been rehabilitated as virtue. The Billionaire Britain report, published this week by the Equality Trust, reveals what many instinctively feel but few in parliament will admit: the UK economy has become a machine for the upward redistribution of wealth.Using Sunday Times Rich List data, the report found that the 50 wealthiest UK families now own more than the poorest half of the population combined. Their opulence is no accident. It’s largely built on the labour and consumption of those 34 million other Britons. The gains of society are being hoarded by those least in need. There’s a lexicon that sells it all as “entrepreneurial spirit” and bus...

Economics