36 m. ago Israel used drones to 'spray irritant substance' over Greta Thunberg's 'freedom flotilla' before boarding and detaining the activists

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) said the ship was surrounded and sprayed with a 'white irritant substance' shortly before the IDF descended overnight

Politics

44 m. ago Leading Scots UFO and paranormal expert set for talk on 'disappearing monsters'

Leading UFO and paranormal expert Ron Halliday is to deliver a talk on Scotland's 'disappearing monsters' this week. We take a look at some of Scotland's revered mythical creatures - including vampires, werewolves and the kelpies.

Events

2 h. ago Saul review – probing, dark and engrossing staging of Handel’s oratorio

Glyndebourne, SussexBarrie Kosky’s remarkable 2015 production returns to the summer festival with Christopher Purves and Iestyn Davies superb in the lead rolesThe Glyndebourne season continues with a revival by Donna Stirrup of Barrie Kosky’s 2015 staging of Handel’s Saul, widely regarded as one of the festival’s finest achievements and the production that cemented Kosky’s reputation in the UK as a director of remarkable originality. This is the first time I’ve seen it, having missed both its opening run and the 2018 revival, and it strikes me as an example of Kosky’s work at its finest: probing, insightful, sometimes witty, sometimes dark, always utterly engrossing.Premiered in 1739, Saul has often been compared to King Lear. There is much of Shakespeare in this portrait by Handel and his librettist, Charles Jennens, of the Old Testament king whose mind slowly disintegrates under the challenges presented to him politically and privately by David after the death of Goliath. Continue...

Politics

2 h. ago Urgent recall of paracetamol pills due to contamination concern

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said the manufacturer is recalling specific batches

Politics

2 h. ago Thomas Tuchel shares England players' dressing room talk post 'failure' Andorra win

England laboured to a 1-0 win in their World Cup qualifier against Andorra on Saturday evening

Sport

3 h. ago U.S., Chinese delegates in London to talk trade, rare earths

U.S., Chinese delegates in London to talk trade, rare earths  upi.com

Politics

3 h. ago Mythica: Stormbound review – new chunk of swords and sorcery tale ripe for avid franchise audience

The sixth instalment in this low-budget series has a meagre plot and shonky visual effects but the director and cast clearly care about the franchise’s audienceThis low-budget but reasonably competent swords and sorcery yarn is the sixth instalment in a series of Mythica films that goes back to 2014. It seems they were first bankrolled partly by crowdfunding, and then presumably kept going by the production’s low overheads and straight-to-retail distribution to an audience that clearly grooves to quasi-Tolkienian, Dungeons and Dragons-style quests featuring a motley band (there is usually an elf or dwarf). If you like your necromancy tales spiked with huge chunks of nattering as the characters endeavour to bulk out the running time with lots of banter and exposition, this may be just the ticket. Don’t worry too much about not having seen the other five films because this is reasonably watchable, especially as so much time is devoted to filling newbies in on the backstory via dialogu...

Events

3 h. ago What's new beautiful? The expert's guide to this week's best beauty

From the dry shampoo with benefits, to the A-lister approved makeup range and the latest in neurocosmetics, Rose Beer introduces June’s need-to-know beauty arrivals

Politics

3 h. ago The festival beauty essentials you need for Glastonbury, Download and more

From dry shampoo to SPF and cordless hair tools, don’t forget these little luxuries

Politics

3 h. ago Good Anger by Sam Parker: Why a healthy dose of RAGE keeps the spark alive

From reinvigorating your marriage to coping with insults, a new book says anger can be more productive than destructive.

Society

5 h. ago 'I ate 4,000 calories a day and couldn't fit in chairs – now I've lost 9 stone and found love'

Tomas Marks, 25, says he was 'constantly out of breath' and battling crippling anxiety due to his size - but after losing more than 9 stone, he's found a 'truly wonderful' girlfriend

Politics

6 h. ago The truth about 'Sephora kids' taking over TikTok: Children as young as 7 are using dozens of products on their faces

Scientists from Northwestern University found that children as young as seven are using over a dozen products on their skin every day.

Politics

6 h. ago NHS tells Tesco shoppers to 'keep an eye out' in health alert

Tesco shoppers may spot the NHS logo on a common household product

Events

7 h. ago ‘They think it’s cheating’: Why people won't praise Mounjaro and Ozempic weight loss

Imagine you finally get to your goal weight... and no one wants to talk about it. According to one study, this is the case with Mounjaro and Ozempic-induced weight loss

Politics

7 h. ago The Way We Talk review – sensitive drama explores deafness via three friends’ infectious warmth

Each character uses a different method of communication in Adam Wong’s drama, which benefits from the chemistry of its lead performersAn incisive film-maker with a keen eye for contemporary youth culture, Hong Kong director Adam Wong has returned with another sensitive ensemble drama. The film follows three twentysomething friends as they navigate various degrees of deafness. Alan, played by first-time deaf actor Marco Ng, is a cochlear implant (CI) user. He is also an ambassador for the surgery, which can help restore sound perception for those with hearing loss. Wolf (Neo Yau), his childhood friend, is a staunch user and supporter of sign language, which at one point was prohibited in local deaf schools; such institutions prioritised speech training, then believed to work better for hearing-impaired students. Sophie (Chung Suet Ying) is at a crossroads: she is a CI user who cannot sign, but yearns to learn.It would, of course, be simplistic to portray these different forms of comm...

Events

9 h. ago Family entertainment: Circus Vegas New production is now on tour in Scotland – get a seat in the big top

Roll up for Circus Vegas – daring new show is set to tour across Scotland and you won’t want to miss it.

Society

9 h. ago Boots shoppers bag £40 box that gets £115 worth of Laura Mercier, No7 and more free

The high street chain has slashed the price of luxury products, including Laura Mercier and Liz Earle, as part of the beauty deal

Economics

11 h. ago Teenage girls’ TikTok skincare regimes offer little to no benefit, research shows

With number of young girls sharing videos rising, study says following instructions can irritate skin and lead to allergiesSkincare regimes demonstrated by young influencers on TikTok offer little to no benefit, researchers have found, adding that on the contrary they raise the risk of skin irritations and lifelong allergies in children.The team behind the study say there has been a rise in young girls sharing videos of complex skincare routines with moisturisers, toners, acne treatments and anti-ageing products. Continue reading...

Technology

11 h. ago Apple heads into annual showcase reeling from AI missteps, tech upheaval and Trump's trade war

After stumbling out of the starting gate in Big Tech’s pivotal race to create artificial intelligence, Apple will try to regain its footing Monday with its annual showcase for the next generation of software powering the iPhone and other popular products

Politics

11 h. ago Whatever happened to Billy Bibbit? The extraordinary life of actor Brad Dourif

He was Oscar-nominated for his unforgettable work alongside Jack Nicholson, in one of the greatest films of all time. It was the start of his career as the ultimate character actor. He discusses David Lynch, Ian McKellen and the joy of playing a murderous dollBrad Dourif knew it was time to retire from acting when he stopped feeling well, anything about the parts he was being offered. “I got to a place where if somebody offered me something, all I felt was an empty: oh.” It had started in 2013, after a production of Tennessee Williams’s The Two-Character Play. That had been an extraordinary experience, with his co-star Amanda Plummer “by far the best actor I’ve ever worked with”, but left him wondering if there was anything he still wanted to do professionally. Acting no longer got him excited; it just left him tired. “It became clear to me after a while that I just really didn’t want to work any more.”We speak over video call from his home in upstate New York, where he lives with C...

Politics