Is omicron becoming the common cold? History and biology may have the answer…
Rolling down my sleeve after my Covid booster, I pull up a pew alongside my fellow vaccinees in the after-jab ‘chill out’ room where you loiter while…
‘Think twice about buying your children a pet for Christmas – you might regret it like I do’
After a contactless drop off and full examination they were both confirmed female (phew) and we discovered Doris’s sister had been living up to her name – nibbling…
How to harness the surprising power of sleep’s ‘twilight zone’
It’s happened to most of us at one time or another. You’re lying in bed, dozing off, and suddenly your mind conjures an unexpected thought or image,…
The truth about IQ – and why it’s just as complicated as rocket science
Finally, Shania Twain may have been vindicated. Twenty-four long years after the unofficial poet laureate of Canada made clear just how unimpressed she was by rocket scientists…
How to care for poinsettia plants: tips on how often to water and where to display them
Poinsettias are one house plant that I’ve always struggled with. They have a fuddy-duddy image, and they’re massively overused, their rosettes of red bleeding to green all…
The hidden planning permission you need to build in your garden in 2021
You never know who might report you or why, so it is worth checking with your local planning department before you start work, especially if the scheme is expensive….
Lifelong Tories abandon Boris ahead of North Shropshire by-election
In Boris Johnson’s two years as prime minister never has an election mattered more than the North Shropshire by-election. The Conservatives hold a 22,000 majority in the…
This time around, shielding the vulnerable is the only sensible option
Like Al Pacino in The Godfather Part III, just when we thought we were out, omicron has pulled us back in. With immunity escape mutations far beyond…
This week’s best Christmas party was in Parliament’s ‘No’ lobby
Presumably reunions, like Christmas drinks and karaoke nights, are now frowned upon at Westminster. Even less popular, one would have thought, are friendly cross-party reunions of MPs….
We’re almost certainly overreacting to the omicron variant
We are now two years into the Covid-19 pandemic, but still have not settled on a proportionate method of containing it. Now the omicron variant of the…
The young and woke are now embracing their inner generation
It was hard to suppress a smirk at the news that an allotment has become the latest must-have for the eco-conscious and sustainability-obsessed young. New research from…
Don’t like how Boris is handling the pandemic? Think how much worse it would have been under Corbyn
All right, so the outlook isn’t entirely rosy right now. But let’s try to look on the bright side. Because there’s at least one thought that should…
Dominic Raab’s British Bill of Rights inches us closer to legal sovereignty
The Conservatives have been promising to reform human rights laws for years. The party’s 2015 manifesto foreshadowed a new British Bill of Rights only to be sidetracked…
‘The public mood is turning’: Sherelle Jacobs responds to readers on the omicron panic
In my column this week, I argued that the UK is on a conveyor belt towards another lockdown, but that too little attention is paid to the…
Tory rebellion takes aim at the ‘epidemic of fear’
“Wow” — that’s what one MP exclaimed when the vote on vaccine passports was declared. I said something more Anglo-Saxon. The Government threw everything at winning Tuesday’s…
What the super rich want from a new home – and it’s not a penthouse view
TwentyFive in Marylebone – a new high-end scheme by Native Land, with one-beds from £1.45m – is also attracting under-the-radar buyers who prize luxury interiors but external…
Gilets and trainers: How to dress like the most powerful man in the (Succession) boardroom
Look at the online excitement over Kendall Roy’s baseball cap; logo-less, likely in cashmere from a brand like Ermenegildo Zegna or Brunello Cucinelli, it nods to non-conformity…
9 last-minute beauty gifts you can’t go wrong with this Christmas
£24, Look Fantastic Mum, daughter, sister, friend, there’s no one we know that doesn’t love fatter, longer eyelashes. Perfect for a timeless day look or for creating…
The story behind Cabaret’s glittering costumes
Bowles is all about shock tactics, which is why the mint green fake mink coat Scutt gives her seems perfect. It may even kickstart a trend on…
The ultimate guide on what to wear this Christmas Day
Velvet blazer, £298, reiss.com; Soft-fit blazer, £410, harriswharflondon.com A friend’s family insists on full black tie on Christmas day and, while I admire their commitment, fiddling with…
Maye Musk on being a supermodel at 73: ‘I’d have been crazy to imagine this when I was younger’
Musk tells me about moving to Toronto when her children were teenagers, living in a rent-controlled apartment and struggling to buy clothes or furniture. It was there…
The best fashion bargains to snap up in the Christmas sales
Whether you’re Christmas present buying and want to get a bargain or in search of some winter wardrobe updates for yourself, we bring good news – the…
New German chancellor encourages more immigration
Germany is “an immigration country” that must do better at integrating new arrivals, according to its new Chancellor. Olaf Scholz confronted the topic in his first speech…
‘At least 300’ people trapped on the roof of Hong Kong skyscraper after fire
Preliminary investigations by the police suggested that the fire had broken out in the electrical switch room located on the first floor of the shopping mall, before…
Derek Chauvin pleads guilty to civil rights charges over killing of George Floyd
Chauvin will also have to pay restitution to Mr Floyd’s family, with the amount yet to be determined. He will also be moved to a prison considered…