16 h. ago Parents, please don’t stop reading to your children – a great picture book could change their life | Sally Rippin

Picture books help children to develop their imaginations, find empathy for others and take pride in what makes them unique – all of which make for good adultsVote now for the best Australian children’s picture bookChildren are made readers on the laps of their parents.” – Emilie BuchwaldI can’t think of a better way to start the year than having one of my books chosen in the Guardian’s readers’ poll for the best Australian picture books of all time. Come Over to My House, co-written with musician Eliza Hull and illustrated by Daniel Gray-Barnett, is a rhyming picture book that explores the home lives of children and parents who are d/Deaf or disabled. I am so proud to have been a part of creating this book, and so thrilled to see it on this list among so many extraordinary titles.Sally Rippin is an award-winning children’s author and the outgoing Australian children’s laureate for 2024-25. The next laureate will be announced on 10 February Continue reading...

Society

18 h. ago Man Utd's 'new third kit' for 2026/27 features unusual badge change as 'strip leaked'

A design for Manchester United's third kit for next season has been 'leaked' online and it features a badge that has been the subject of much debate among fans

Politics

57 h. ago Lottery results and numbers: Lotto and Thunderball draw tonight, January 24, 2026

THE NATIONAL Lottery results are in and it's time to find out who has won a life-changing amount of money tonight (January 24, 2026). Could tonight's £3.8million jackpot see you handing in your notice, jetting off to the Bahamas or driving a new Porsche off a garage forecourt? You can find out by checking your...

Politics

3 d. ago Beckhams' feud deepens as Brooklyn's 'deadline' blows scandal wide open

As Brooklyn Beckham looks to establish himself beyond 'Brand Beckham', the Mirror takes a look at the 2026 deadline which could change everything for the warring family

Events

3 d. ago Then and now: what has changed since the opening Premier League games?

This weekend’s fixtures are the reverse of a first round that saw Arsenal win at Old Trafford and Sunderland start with a bangStart-of-season shape: Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago A knock at the door: fear of ICE is transforming daily life in America | Abdul Wahid Gulrani

Does a society truly become safer when part of its population learns to live in constant fear?On 15 June 2025, the Trump administration issued an official statement directing US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to begin what it described as “the largest mass deportation operation in American history”. Major cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago and New York were identified as primary targets. The stated goal was to keep communities “safe and free from illegal alien crime, conflict, and chaos”. Federal agents rapidly became a part of many residents’ everyday lives.No stable state can protect its borders, public order and the legitimate interests of its citizens without immigration law and effective enforcement mechanisms.Abdul Wahid Gulrani is a political sociologist from Afghanistan, whose work focuses on migration, gender and national security. He is currently engaged in teaching and research at Georgetown University and The George Washington University Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Harry Styles fans confused by change in singer as star announces 2026 world tour

Harry Styles is back with new music and an upcoming tour — and a new accent?

Politics

4 d. ago The pub that changed me: ‘As soon as I got behind the bar, I panicked’

What could be better than working at the Friendship Inn with my best friend, Ned? Almost anything else, as it turned outI adored pubs. They were my natural home. And now, thanks to my best friend, Ned, I’d got a job at the Friendship Inn in Prestwich. It was the mid-1980s, and I was in my early 20s, preparing for the first shift. What could be better than working in a pub called the Friendship alongside my bezzy? And I understood drink – you left Guinness to stand, aimed for half an inch of head on a pint of bitter, and if someone asked for water with a whisky you didn’t fill the glass. Easy-peasy. As soon as I got behind the bar I panicked. There were perhaps half a dozen people waiting to order, but it looked like a sea of thousands. The bar was particularly tricky because it was shaped like the bow of a ship. Every time I went to one side, customers started calling from the other. I couldn’t remember the faces. Nor the drinks they ordered. I took a funny turn. The faces became tw...

Politics

4 d. ago WTF: What the future of travel looks like for the year ahead

From off-radar cities to trips built around one perfect moment, the way we travel in 2026 is changing. Here’s how

Politics

5 d. ago F1 ticket and hotel deals to see Grand Prix races at Monaco, Spain, Italy, Silverstone, Singapore and more in 2026

THE spectacular sights and sounds of a Formula 1 race – nothing comes close to the thrill of a live Grand Prix.  For motorsport fans around the world, the pilgrimage to Silverstone is a hallowed tradition.  F1 races in 2026 * Prices correct at time of writing but are subject to change. But a growing...

Sport

5 d. ago How climate change is threatening the future of Winter Olympics

The 2026 Winter Olympics will rely on millions of cubic metres of artificial snow

Events

5 d. ago The pub that changed me: ‘I was snowed in there for four days’

We had a mass snowball fight and a disco, and I slept in a room full of drunk men with wet socks. It was fun, but in future snowstorms I won’t be rushing to the pubIn all my years of reporting, nothing seems to fascinate people more than the four days I spent snowed in at Britain’s highest pub last year. It was early January and the Met Office had issued severe warnings for snow. It dawned on me that people were about to live out a British fantasy of being snowed in at their local pub. I knew where I needed to be: The Tan Hill Inn, high up in the wilderness on the very northern edge of the Yorkshire Dales national park. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Silent Witness season 29 start date confirmed as BBC announce major change for 2026

Emilia Fox and David Caves are returning for the new series of Silent Witness with one big difference

Politics

6 d. ago The pub that changed me: ‘Shattering grief took me there for the first time’

I was 23 and one of my closest friends had just died. Our friendship group all but moved into the Bard’s back room, insulated from time and gossip, doing our best to comfort one anotherThe Crown Bard in Rhyl had always been there, on the main road on the way out of town. Despite living a five-minute walk away, I don’t remember ever going there in my teens, but I must’ve passed it thousands of times. Local wisdom dictated it was where the rugby lads drank, while the pub directly opposite was where you’d find the football crowd. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago VARs will intervene on second yellows and corners after football law changes

Players to have eight seconds to take goal-kicksIfab focused on limiting disruption of playFootball’s law-making body has backed plans to extend the use of the video assistant referee system, allowing it to intervene on second yellow cards and the awarding of corners, provided the process “does not slow the flow of play”.With the speed of the game in mind, the International Football Association Board (Ifab) also expanded the “countdown principle”, where goalkeepers have eight seconds to release the ball from their hands, to include the taking of goal-kicks and throw-ins. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Clocks going forward 2026 and there's one big change we all need to know

The winter gloom won't last much longer with longer evenings now just weeks away

Events

6 d. ago I am in Iran watching the protests and desperate for change. But I don’t believe the regime will fall | Anonymous

I wish I were wrong, but all I see is a paranoid state digging inIran is caught in yet another round of widespread civil unrest. These lines are written amid an internet blackout and I didn’t know if I’d be able to send them out. Ever since the 2009 post-election uprising, sporadic outbursts of public anger have become somewhat the order of the day, mostly silenced – brutally for a while – only to fester and uncork again on another occasion.The street protest is not the sole medium through which opposition has tried to convey its dissent. Iranians have tried everything – be it the very narrow and funnelled channel of elections between the limited choices offered by the state, or on social media, in universities and at public events. The demand for meaningful change is repeated through different means, again and again, yet to no avail. Ever since the 2000s, the Iranian state heeds little in the way of democratic demands. And when there has been a narrow crack in the state bulwark, th...

Events

7 d. ago Antarctic penguins have radically shifted their breeding season – seemingly in response to climate change

Changing temperatures may be behind change in behaviour, which experts fear threatens three species’ survivalPenguins in Antarctica have radically shifted their breeding season, apparently as a response to climate change, research has found.Dramatic shifts in behaviour were revealed by a decade-long study led by Penguin Watch at the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University, with some penguins’ breeding period moving forward by more than three weeks. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago The pub that changed me: ‘It had some nefarious characters – but with lovely shoes’

The Glory was a haven for outlandish self-expression and the early stomping ground for many of the UK’s most infamous drag queens. It made me ready for lifeIn a packed pub, revellers chat, sip lager and look at their phones. Suddenly a side door crashes open, and in walks drag sensation John Sizzle, dressed as a hair-raisingly accurate Diana, Princess of Wales. She saunters demurely to a halo, fashioned from tinsel and coat hangers and stuck to the wall, stands under it, and starts lip-syncing to Beyoncé’s Halo. The crowd erupts. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago When is Easter 2026 and why does the date change every year?

The Easter weekend celebrations bring a four-day break, but it can be confusing to know when the holiday falls

Politics