56 m. ago Coldplay draws 200,000 fans as Hong Kong bets big on concert tourism boost

The British band were the first major international act to perform at the newly-opened Kai Tak Sports Park

Politics

64 m. ago Pope Francis hailed as ‘unflinching global champion’ on climate crisis

Officials and campaigners from around world pay tribute to pontiff who put environment at heart of his papacyPope Francis, groundbreaking Jesuit pontiff, dies aged 88He declared destroying the environment a sin, warned that humanity was turning the glorious creation of God into a “polluted wasteland full of debris, desolation and filth”, and located the cause of the climate crisis in people’s “selfish and boundless thirst for power”.The messages Pope Francis delivered on the climate and environmental crises were forceful and direct. He called the leaders of fossil fuel companies into the Vatican to hold them to account; declared a global climate emergency, in 2019; and in his final months, held a conference on “the economics of the common good”. Continue reading...

Events

64 m. ago 5 Emmerdale spoilers as Cain tracks down Nate and Sarah makes a major decision

Viewers are in for a whirlwind of a week in the Dales

Politics

64 m. ago Manchester United are seeing a major improvement in their problem position under Ruben Amorim

One of the key areas in the Man United team that needed addressing under Ruben Amorim was on the left wing.

Politics

68 m. ago Cardinals to meet in Rome in preparation for funeral of Pope Francis

Funeral should be held between the fourth and sixth days after the pope’s death, with heads of state and royalty expected to attendCardinals will meet on Tuesday to decide the date for Pope Francis’s funeral, starting a process that will culminate in the election of a new Catholic leader.The pope, the head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, died at his home in the Vatican on Monday aged 88 after suffering a stroke. He had been recovering from double pneumonia that saw him hospitalised for five weeks. Continue reading...

Politics

1 hour ago From 'conclave' to 'white smoke,' a glossary of terms used in a papal transition

A change in popes is a complicated process, with centuries-old rituals involving the transition in leadership for both the spiritual head of the global Catholic Church and the Vatican’s head of state

Events

1 hour ago Pope Francis' conservative critics had a unique way to oppose him: a retired pontiff

Every pope has his critics

Culture

2 h. ago Pope Francis latest: Cardinals gather to discuss funeral plans after Vatican confirms the cause of death

A statement released by the Holy See said his death was confirmed using an echocardiogram

Economics

2 h. ago Coronation Street offers major Debbie Webster update as Ronnie Bailey plots move in new spoilers

It was previously confirmed that the show will take on a huge health storyline that will eventually lead to a permanent exit from the ITV soap for the character

Politics

2 h. ago ‘You can let go now’: inside the hospital where staff treat fear of death as well as physical pain

In a Danish palliative care unit, the alternative to assisted dying is not striving to cure, offering relief and comfort to patients and their families• This article is nominated for the 2025 edition of the European Press Prize in the Distinguished Reporting category. Originally published in Danish by PolitikenRené Damgaard, 67, lies in a hospital bed in the palliative care unit at Hvidovre hospital outside Copenhagen. It’s the first evening of May, and the window is open, letting mild air and the sound of a blackbird singing into the room.“This is the kind of weather you love the most. When you usually stand and fish at the sandbank,” says his niece, 53-year-old Mette Damgaard. She is leaning over the bed, her face very close to his. She has been sitting like this for a long time. Continue reading...

Events

2 h. ago ‘A signal of simplicity’: Pope Francis’s funeral will be his final humble gesture

One of pontiff’s last acts was to simplify papal rites, stripping away elaborate rituals and scaling back processionLatest updates: tributes paid after Pope Francis dies aged 88When the late Pope Francis stepped on to the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica to give his first speech as leader of the Catholic church in March 2013, he cast away formality by dressing in simple white robes instead of the regal ermine-trimmed cape usually worn by newly elected pontiffs.The next day, Francis – a name chosen in honour of Francis of Assisi, the Italian saint who renounced a life of luxury to help the poor – returned to the Rome hotel in which he had stayed before the conclave to pick up his luggage and pay his bill. He substituted a plush apostolic apartment for a simple room within the Vatican walls and, unlike his predecessors, did not spend his summers in Castel Gandolfo, an opulent 12th-century fortress close to Rome. Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago It turns out you’re never too old to go Interrailing around Europe | Phil Mongredien

Having missed out in my youth, I thought that was that – until I took a revelatory trip with my sons. We’re going again this yearYouth might not be wasted on the young, but for the longest time I thought Interrailing was. When I was a student, as the 1980s became the 1990s, many of my friends took the opportunity to discover Europe by train and they all returned with amazing stories of discovery. But for long-forgotten reasons, it was something I was always going to do but never actually got round to. And then suddenly I was in my late 20s and reluctantly resigned myself to never doing it, having been reliably informed by so many people that it was an opportunity only open to those under the age of 26.Fast forward a few decades to spring 2023 and I’m trying to decide where to take my teenage children for our first holiday in five years – a gap caused largely, but not wholly, by the pandemic. My most memorable childhood holiday had come in 1981 when, over the course of a few days, my...

Events

2 h. ago Australians start voting in general elections as pope's death overshadows campaigning

Australians have begun voting at general elections as campaigning is overshadowed by the death of Pope Francis

Politics

2 h. ago Humanitarian agencies reject Israel’s claim Gaza medic killings caused by ‘professional failures’

Army announces results of its investigation, saying it had found ‘professional failures’

Events

3 h. ago Pedro Pascal says he’s ‘in active denial’ after huge The Last of Us twist

Spoilers follow for season two, episode two...

Politics

4 h. ago How Pope Francis changed the Catholic church, and what happens next – podcast

Just hours after wishing the world a happy Easter, the 267th head of the Roman Catholic church passed away. What was his legacy and who will take his place? Catherine Pepinster reportsPope Francis was working until the end. On Easter Sunday, the 88-year-old head of the Catholic church offered an Easter greeting to the crowds in St Peter’s Square who had gathered for mass. By the next morning, after months battling pneumonia and bronchitis, he had passed away.From the beginning, the first Latin American pope wanted his papacy to be different. Catherine Pepinster, the former editor of the Tablet, says one of his first notable actions was to go to a prison, rather than a church, to wash people’s feet in the traditional Maundy Thursday rite. It was typical of a pontiff who refused many of the luxuries of his predecessors – from giving up an apartment in the papal palace to only wearing simple leather shoes. Continue reading...

Politics

4 h. ago Weeping mourners come together at vigils across the globe for Pope Francis in the wake of his death aged 88

Thousands of mourners have tonight gathered for a Rosary prayer vigil in front of St Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, to commemorate the life of Pope Francis, who died at the age of 88. 

Events

4 h. ago Recap: The senior Catholic candidates who 'could undo Pope Francis's progressive legacy' if elected

MAILONLINE BLOG: Follow live updates and reaction as the Vatican announces the death of Pope Francis at the age of 88.

Politics

5 h. ago Marjorie Taylor Greene slammed for 'evil' tweet after Pope Francis' death

Republican congresswoman and conspiracy spouter Marjorie Taylor Greene is not known for her classy comments, but her latest X post has caused outrage across the globe

Events

5 h. ago Mahmoud Khalil’s wife Noor Abdalla gives birth as Ice denies his request to attend

Palestinian activist, held in Louisiana detention facility, only allowed to call in as wife delivered their first childNoor Abdalla, the wife of detained Columbia university graduate and Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, has announced the birth of their son.In a statement released on Monday evening, Abdalla wrote: “I welcomed our son into the world earlier today without Mahmoud by my side. Despite our request for ICE to allow Mahmoud to attend the birth, they denied his temporary release to meet our son. This was a purposeful decision by ICE to make me, Mahmoud, and our son suffer.” Continue reading...

Politics