79 m. ago Monty Don's 'genius' method to ripen tomatoes fast uses one simple kitchen item

Monty Don has shared a clever hack to ripen tomatoes indoors using just one simple kitchen item - and it's perfect for those who have been left with green fruit

Politics

2 h. ago How Mpox revealed an epidemic of untreated HIV in Sierra Leone – as Trump’s aid cuts begin to bite

The impact of the US slashing foreign aid on the country’s Mpox response has likely been huge, activists on the ground tell Rachel Schraer

Politics

2 h. ago Wanted: bakes to make use of a glut of homemade jam | Kitchen aide

Give cakes and cookies a fruity boost, lend breakfast a sweet lift – and save the rest to jar up as Christmas giftsI have a lot of jam made with all kinds of berries – are there any bakes that would use some of it up? Anne-Lies, Gouda, the Netherlands“Jam is at the heart of many great British puddings and cakes, so there are never too many jars in my house!” says Emily Cuddeford, co-founder of Edinburgh’s Twelve Triangles bakery. Her first thought, though, would be to tip a jar of the sweet stuff into a buttered ceramic baking dish and top it with sponge: “Make a classic, equal-parts mix scaled to your dish by creaming, say, 180g butter and 180g sugar, slowly beating in an egg and a dash of vanilla or lemon zest, and finishing with 180g self-raising flour.” Spoon that on top of the jam and bake at 190C (170C fan)/375F/gas 5 until the sponge “bounces back” and a skewer comes out clean. Serve warm with cream or custard, and job’s a good ’un.You’ll also want jam to fill or top cakes. “...

Politics

3 h. ago Sex work and abuse: the women trapped in Malawi’s growing refugee camp

With the US no longer accepting refugees, Dzaleka’s residents have no prospect of relocation. Three women tell us what life is like in a camp designed for 10,000 people but which now holds more than 58,000• Photographs by Amos Gumulira for the GuardianTears stream down Francine’s* face as she pulls her glove off. Her right hand is covered by a pale, mottled burn scar. Her fingers are stiff and unnaturally bent. Francine turned to sex work to survive soon after she arrived alone at Malawi’s Dzaleka refugee camp in 2015, having travelled there from Burundi.On Christmas Eve in 2022, a client refused to pay. When she blocked the doorway, he grabbed a boiling-hot saucepan of beans and threw it at her, scalding her hand and chest. Continue reading...

Events

4 h. ago Households 'save on electric' with kitchen device that can 'cook roast in 50 minutes'

The cooking tool is on offer in a double discount deal at Yimbly

Society

5 h. ago The Great British Bake Off cast: who is still in GBBO tent? Full cast of series 16

Remind yourself of which bakers are still in the GBBO tent 🥪🍰🍞

Politics

5 h. ago Man spots charity shop bargain while stuck in traffic jam and turns car around to 'grab it'

Reseller and bargain hunter Marco Bolo had to pull over after spotting an intriguing item in the window of a Salvation Army charity shop whilst he was in a traffic jam

Economics

6 h. ago Starmer to chair cabinet meeting as tensions grow after resignation of top aide — UK politics live

Labour MPs talking openly about replacing PM as poll suggests just 26% of Labour members have favourable view of him as party leaderPeople on the new full state pension are set for a rise of over £500 a year from next April following the latest official earnings data, PA Media reports. PA says:Under the triple lock guarantee, the state pension increases every April in line with whichever is the highest of total earnings growth in the year from May to July of the previous year, CPI (Consumer Prices Index) inflation in September of the previous year, or 2.5%.The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed a rise in total wage growth including bonuses to 4.7% in the quarter to July, up from 4.6% in the three months to June. Continue reading...

Politics

9 h. ago Thomasina Miers’ recipes for cod with courgettes, green olives and lemon, and a blackberry and almond slice

A fragrant parcel of baked fish seasoned with herbs and lemon, all rounded off with a fruity, nutty dessertThere is something so simple but so delicious about a parcel of fish. Like unwrapping an edible present, the smell hits you before anything else, which in this case is fennel, thyme and lemon. It is a delicate way to cook fish, so the sauce needs to have some character, and basil, olives and lemon with a slick of olive oil make a beautiful, late-summer seasoning. Round off the feast with a blackberry and crisp almond pastry slice that tastes all the better if you forage your own fruit. Continue reading...

Society

10 h. ago Home Bargains slashes £54 homeware set that 'brightens your kitchen' to £30

The bargain retailer has discounted a three-piece set that's 'stylish' and 'sleek'

Economics

14 h. ago I had clumps of hair ripped from my scalp and was left with black eyes and a broken finger. The police were horrified when they found me. My attacker? My own 16

Juliet Armitage, a 53-year-old lawyer and mother of three, was cowering in her kitchen when she heard the wail of police sirens.

Events

14 h. ago The resignation of Keir Starmer's aide proves what ministers have told me all week: Downing Street is falling apart, says DAN HODGES

Paul Ovenden wasn't well known outside Westminster. But his resignation underlines what ministers have been saying all week: Downing Street is falling apart.

Politics

14 h. ago Starmer goes into meltdown! Another disastrous day for Labour sees a key aide quit and PM admit he DID know about Epstein emails as unrest mounts

Downing Street was in meltdown as Keir Starmer lurched into a fresh crisis. The PM struggled to explain why he kept backing Peter Mandelson in another disastrous day.

Events

16 h. ago Trump announces he will send national guard to Memphis, with Chicago ‘probably next’ – live

US president says deployment will be like the one in Washington DC and also adds St Louis to list of citiesTrump to send national guard to Memphis and Chicago ‘probably next’Secretary of state Marco Rubio will travel to Qatar on Tuesday, the Washington Post is reporting, after holding talks with Benjamin Netanyahu today in Israel.As my colleague Julian Borger writes: “Part of [Rubio’s] mission on this two-day visit is to convey Donald Trump’s irritation at the Israeli missile strike on Doha that was aimed at Hamas leadership but killed their aides and a Qatari security officer.Common sense dictates that drone technology should be harnessed to scan every elevated structure with a line of sight to a target.If drones can enable the early detection and prevention of assassination attempts, why not use them? Better to have vigilant eyes in the sky than to remain blind to would-be assassins. Continue reading...

Politics

17 h. ago Gov. Stein requests $13.5B more from Congress for Hurricane Helene recovery

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein has requested $13.5 billion more from Congress for Hurricane Helene recovery aid

Politics

19 h. ago Conflict, aid cuts and equality backlash causing ‘stagnation and regression’ of women’s rights – UN

Report calls on governments to commit to renewed action at general assembly in New York, saying ‘a different path is still possible’Hard-won progress on women’s access to healthcare, rights and employment is being put at risk from global conflict, cuts to aid spending, and a backlash against gender equality, according to a UN equality watchdog.A woman’s chance of dying in pregnancy or childbirth is more than a third lower than it was 25 years ago, UN Women said in its annual report, while girls are more likely to complete school than ever before. It also found that rates of intimate partner violence were 2.5 times lower in countries that had introduced comprehensive measures on violence. Continue reading...

Events

22 h. ago Top Starmer aide quits Government after ‘appalling’ remarks about Diane Abbott

A No 10 spokesperson condemned comments made by Paul Ovenden in a series of messages in 2017.

Politics

23 h. ago How you can learn to cook with Jamie Oliver for just over £200

Culinary enthusiasts or even newbies to the kitchen who want to learn more about cooking might be thrilled to learn they could share a hob with Jamie Oliver. 

Society

24 h. ago Senior Keir Starmer aide resigns over 'explicit messages about Diane Abbott'

The remarks were reportedly made about veteran Labour MP Diane Abbott.

Politics

24 h. ago Top Starmer aide quits over sexually explicit Diane Abbott messages

Paul Ovenden has quit his top Downing Street role after the messages he shared about Diane Abbott emerged

Politics