14 m. ago Strictly Come Dancing's Dr Ranj credits show for helping him confront secret anxiety battle

EXCLUSIVE: Dr Ranj Singh has been a familiar face on our TV screens for years, but behind the smile, the former Strictly Come Dancing star has spent years quietly battling anxiety

Events

42 m. ago World’s landscapes may soon be ‘devoid of wild animals’, says nature photographer

Margot Raggett, whose latest compilation shows animals scrubbed from natural habitats, calls for rethink on UK accelerated housebuildingMargot Raggett has spent the past decade raising money for conservation efforts around the world but, right now, she feels nervous about the future. “It does feel like we’ve taken a backward step,” she said.The wildlife photographer has raised £1.2m for the cause in the past 10 years through her Remembering Wildlife series, an annual, not-for-profit picture book featuring images of animals from the world’s top nature photographers. The first edition was published in 2015, when the Paris climate agreement was being drafted but, in the years since, efforts to tackle the climate crisis have been rolled back. Continue reading...

Culture

95 m. ago Gaza’s children needed a ceasefire – now they desperately need the aid that will keep them alive | Alison Griffin

The youngest and most vulnerable have suffered extreme mental and physical trauma. We can help – but we must be granted immediate accessAlison Griffin is head of conflict and humanitarian campaigns at Save the Children UKIn the last few days, we have seen celebrations alongside cautious optimism about a future for Gaza without bombs and bullets. This much needed pause in hostilities is providing children with the chance to sleep without the fear of drones above their heads, airstrikes on nearby buildings or fires breaking out in their tents. Families in Gaza are slowly returning to their neighbourhoods and trying to salvage what they can of their lives from the rubble.But crucially, what they are still not currently getting is full and sustainable access to aid supplies and vital services. This is about fundamental basic rights for children in the occupied Palestinian territory, which we have been demanding and advocating for since 1953.Alison Griffin is head of conflict and humanit...

Society

3 h. ago The six things a physio wishes people over 60 would stop doing

Keep yourself fit and healthy by addressing these common habits and thought processes

Politics

4 h. ago ‘A glimpse of genius’: what do unpublished stories found in Harper Lee’s apartment tell us about the To Kill a Mockingbird author?

When she died, the writer left behind a cache of notebooks and manuscripts. Her biographer reveals what they tell us about her unlikely rise to literary stardomWhen To Kill a Mockingbird was published in the summer of 1960, it seemed to have sprung from nowhere, like an Alabamian Athena: a perfectly formed novel from an unknown southern writer without any evident precedent or antecedent. The book somehow managed to be both urgently of its time and instantly timeless, addressing the era’s most turbulent issues, from the civil rights movement to the sexual revolution, while also speaking in the register of the eternal, from the moral awakening of children and the abiding love of families to the frictions between the self and society.But no writer is without influences and aspirations: Harper Lee had, of course, come from somewhere and worked tremendously hard to become someone. It was only because she did not like talking about herself that her origins seemed so mysterious, and i...

Events

4 h. ago ‘It’s like a nuclear bomb has hit’: shocked Palestinians return home to desolation

Families are going back to Gaza City and surrounds to find their neighbourhoods obliterated, with many forced to camp in the ruinsWhen the Gaza ceasefire took effect a week ago, tens of thousands of Palestinians began to move from the sprawling camps in the south back to their homes in Gaza City and the surrounding area.For most, it was a shocking and bitter homecoming. Continue reading...

Events

5 h. ago Cost of living: Families are priced out of London, Assembly told

Cost of living: Families are priced out of London, Assembly told  BBC

Economics

5 h. ago Which star signs needs to speak up about how they really feel this week?

Your stars for this week by Jemima Cainer

Politics

5 h. ago Shows such as Stranger Things and Yellowjackets have become bloated. I’m all for the one

Fans who moan when a show is axed after its first season should be careful what they wish for. If only my TV obsession had ended a long time agoIt’s an all-too-familiar feeling. The second series of your favourite TV show has just begun streaming and your mind is full of hopeful expectation. Season one ended sooo perfectly: future plotlines were teased tantalisingly and a main character had – cliffhanger! – been offed (or had they?) In the months since the finale, you were perusing Reddit threads with other hardcores to find some Easter egg clues illuminating what would happen next.And then season two’s premiere is a damp squib. It feels like the entire writers’ room has been fired and replaced by artificial intelligence. Cut to the second episode, and your favourite cast member has done something that you and Reddit user Fishy2345 agree is totally out of character. By episode five, it’s clear that the showrunners have had collective amnesia around the storylines aggressively signpo...

Politics

7 h. ago 25 things to do with kids in Manchester this October half term and Halloween 2025

There's lots of spooky fun for families over the school break

Politics

7 h. ago 'It's about getting more money for the council': How people feel about huge parking changes in city

We went to one of the busiest places in Cardiff for parked cars but surprisingly didn't come across many people in favour of new council plans to charge heavier vehicles more to park there

Politics

7 h. ago M&S has launched the perfect festive skirt that makes shoppers 'feel confident'

The Metallic Gold Pleated Midi Skirt from Marks and Spencer costs £46 and is expected to be a hit for those looking for the ultimate festive party outfit

Politics

8 h. ago Meghan Markle makes shock confession about Royal Family dress code that made her uncomfortable

The Duchess revealed one of the major issues she had with her wardrobe during her time as a royal - and went so far as to say that it made her feel 'inauthentic'

Politics

12 h. ago Starmer and Zelensky hail ‘productive’ call with Europe after Trump meeting

The Ukrainian leader had lunch with the US president, a day after Mr Trump spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Politics

14 h. ago Ancient preserved heads give up their secrets as Māori tattoos see resurgence

New research examines how traditional artists worked as revitalisation efforts see tā moko – Māori tattooing – become more visible in New ZealandIn New Zealand’s national museum, master Māori tattoo artists painstakingly apply ink to the faces of eight men and women as a large crowd watches on.Thin lines spiral over the men’s cheeks, dipping towards the jaw and up over the forehead, while lines curl around the women’s chins – each mark telling the story of its wearer’s identity, lineage and experience. Surrounding them are their families, who sing and grip their hands as they lay still under the needle and weight of the sacred – and usually private – ceremony. Continue reading...

Politics

15 h. ago Trump heaps praise on Zelensky's 'beautiful' black attire as he sizes up friends and foes for 'central casting'

During a highly anticipated meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky, President Donald Trump made a comment that was surprisingly focused not on policy or diplomacy.

Politics

17 h. ago Trump falsely claims no other US president has ever solved a war

Trump is meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

Politics

17 h. ago Trump hesitant about giving Tomahawks to Ukraine, saying ‘hopefully they won’t need it’ – live

Ukrainian president repeats call for weapons but US president insists they’re ‘not easy for us to give you’ and says ‘Putin wants to end the war’‘The key to success is in the sky’: the Ukrainian defenders struggling to stem Russia’s air assaultFirst came the sound of drones. Then a boom that rattled windows. Shortly after that, two columns of black smoke rose over the Shebelinka gas processing plant in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. Towering flames threatened storage tanks. Continue reading...

Politics

17 h. ago Trump and Zelensky laugh off calls to build tunnel linking Alaska to RUSSIA

Asked about the suggestion in his sit-down with the Ukrainian leader on Friday, Trump chuckled while Zelensky said bluntly: 'I'm not happy with this idea'

Politics

18 h. ago Trump tells Zelenskyy that Putin 'should have won war in a week' as Ukraine a 'little bit lucky'

Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House today as they discussed the war with Russia with hope of a long-range missile system coming to Ukraine

Politics