5 h. ago When I left India, Ireland welcomed me in. I won’t let bigotry destroy the country we love | Cauvery Madhavan

People from the Indian community, and others, are facing violence that was once unthinkable. We must not give in to the racistsI grew up twice. The first time in India, where I was born, and the second time in Ireland. One nation birthed me, the other swaddled my very soul. I was 24 years old when I arrived in Ireland in 1986, one of a handful of “aliens” in Sligo town. The only Irish people I had known until then were nuns, formidable women all, who ran many convent schools in India. I obviously didn’t impress them as I was deemed unmarriageable because of my consistently untidy needlework – at the age of 10. But I held no grudges, leaving India a little over a decade later, fortified by a wonderful education.Ireland in the 1980s shocked me in more ways than one. Yes, the 40 shades of green, the 21 types of rain, the 32 words for field and the 100,000 welcomes – they were all quite real. But also palpable was a society still stifled by religion. Married people had no right to divor...

Politics

5 d. ago 'I visited Wales on solo trip and loved it but one problem really puts me off'

The man opened up about his first visit to Wales and how it was the "best time" of his life. He made friends in the area which helped him fall in love with our country

Politics

1 week ago Taylor Swift’s romantic travails were the soundtrack to mine. What does her engagement mean for fans’ love lives? | Hollie Richardson

The singer’s breakups were anthems for emotionally bruised youth. Now she’s happy, I look forward to hearing yet more poundingly relatable lyrics – based on real, lasting love• Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce announce engagement on social mediaTaylor Swift wrote today’s headlines when she was only 17 with her country hit Love Story: “Baby, just say yes!” Now, at 35, she has announced her engagement to Travis Kelce, her American football player partner of two years, who got down on one knee and popped the question. “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married,” she captioned the subsequently staged engagement photos of them in a rose garden. It’s gaudy, it’s cringe, it’s gleefully too much – some even say it makes the Bezos wedding look classy. But it’s perfect and it made me cry.When the pop star who has soundtracked your entire adult love life gets engaged, it’s discombobulating. Especially when they are similar in age. Over two decades, Swift has gifted a song for ...

Politics

2 w. ago Vienna announced as host city for Eurovision song contest 2026

Final of 70th edition of competition to be held on 16 May at the Wiener Stadthalle, Austria’s largest indoor arenaVienna has been chosen to host the Eurovision song contest 2026, the world’s biggest live televised music event, Austria’s public broadcaster announced, with the final set for 16 May.Austria’s JJ won this year’s competition, held in Basel in Switzerland, with his song Wasted Love, which blends techno beats with operatic vocals – making his home country the 2026 host. Continue reading...

Culture

3 w. ago Why it is good to see Edinburgh Book Festival embracing the BookTok generation

BookTok has become a mainstay of bookshops across the country - and it is bringing a love of reading to a new generation.

Culture

4 w. ago ‘The Home Office is forcing me to leave the UK and a job I love to go to a country I’ve never called home’

Shady El Farra, a 28-year-old Egyptian national, worked at British Airways after studying in the UK and is fighting to be allowed to make Britain his home

Society

last month Bolsonaro supporters pray for Trump rescue as coup plot trial verdict nears

Far-right ex-president’s devotees pin hopes on pressure campaign but tariffs and sanctions appear likely to failEach morning, Edite Costa steps out of her bungalow on Brasília’s sun-baked savannah, stands beneath a mango tree and lifts her hands to the sky in prayer. “I ask God to work so that not just Trump but all Americans come to help us rip out the evil that has taken hold of the country I love,” said the 66-year-old Baptist, who is a fervent supporter of Brazil’s far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro.Bolsonaro could face decades in jail for allegedly leading a murderous conspiracy to seize power after his leftwing rival Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva beat him in the 2022 presidential election. But Costa believes her populist leader can still be saved – if her prayers are answered and Donald Trump intervenes. Continue reading...

Events