63 h. ago Competitive Itoje willing to learn from Mount Rushmore of Lions captains

Maro Itoje has listened to Martin Johnson and Sam Warburton as he prepares his ‘tough men’ for AustraliaDo you know what really stuck out as Maro Itoje sat chatting in the O2 Arena after the British & Irish Lions squad announcement? His biceps. This year’s Lions jersey is tight enough on the shoulders and sufficiently short on the arms to make their already well-muscled captain look like Popeye on steroids. Say what you like about the Lions squad but they have chosen a strong leader.It has worked for them in the past. Who can forget the pipe‑smoking Willie John McBride and his classic response – “Do you think there will be many of them?” – when an angry hotel manager in South Africa threatened to call the police to arrest a number of 1974 Lions who had been enthusiastically “rearranging” the furniture. Legend also has it that Ian McGeechan picked the hulking Martin Johnson as his skipper in 1997 partly because of the intimidating effect he might have on the Springboks – and the ...

Politics

5 d. ago Lawyers for members of Canada's 2018 world juniors team suggest assault accuser wanted 'wild night'

An attorney for one of five hockey players charged with sexual assault suggested the accuser was the one to bring up calling other players into a hotel room in June 2018 because she wanted to have a “wild night.”

Events

9 d. ago 'Mafia' squatters invade luxury Tenerife resort as criminals 'profit from the rooms'

Callao Sport Hotel in the popular tourist hotspot of Costa Adeje in Tenerife, has been under the iron thumb of squatters since February this year, after 12 bold invaders broke in

Events

2 w. ago Liberal crusade that made Francis the most controversial Pope of modern times... and sparked pandemonium among conservatives

When Jorge Mario Bergoglio was 12, he developed a crush on a girl called Amalia. Their parents disapproved, but Jorge went ahead and proposed anyway.

Events

2 w. ago How romantic rejection at 12 forged the most controversial Pope of modern times

When Jorge Mario Bergoglio was 12, he developed a crush on a girl called Amalia. Their parents disapproved, but Jorge went ahead and proposed anyway.

Politics

3 w. ago Hotel chains should not ‘sanitise’ China abuses in Xinjiang, Uyghur rights group says in new report

International hotel chains showing sanitised image of the Xinjiang region are serving Beijing’s propaganda, says rights group

Events

3 w. ago Uyghur rights group calls on hotel chains not to ‘sanitise’ China abuses in Xinjiang

Growth in international hotels coincides with government effort to push region as a tourism destination Almost 200 international hotels are operating or planning to open in Xinjiang, despite calls from human rights groups for global corporations not to help “sanitise” the Chinese government’s human rights abuses in the region, a report has said.The report by the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) identified 115 operational hotels which the organisation said “benefit from a presence in the Uyghur region”. At least another 74 were in various stages of construction or planning, the report said. The UHRP said some of the hotels also had exposure or links of concern to forced labour and labour transfer programmes. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Sick thug dumped cat's litter tray over partner and strangled her in hotel room

Craig Bainbridge, 37, punched his partner and called her names before pinning her to the bed of their hotel room and chocking her until she passed out in the first of two 'abhorrent' attacks

Politics