Thursday evening UK news briefing: P&O Ferries sacks 800 staff without warning
They had no warning, they were told in a four minute video and hand-cuffed trained security workers were waiting outside to remove them. P&O Ferries today announced…
Gourd almighty! Britain gets its title of world’s biggest potato back from imposter ‘spud’
Mr Craig-Brown excavated the large, fleshy fruit after hitting it with a hoe last August when gardening with Donna, his wife, at their small farm near Hamilton,…
Kremlin officials insist Vladimir Putin is not ill – but history tells us they could be lying
Vladimir Putin’s mental state is “normal”, the Kremlin insisted on Wednesday, amid rumours that the Russian president may be suffering from an illness or even an addiction…
Ukraine-Russia morning briefing: Five key developments as Putin rails against ‘scum and traitors’
Good morning. After being called a “war criminal” by the president of the United States, Vladimir Putin warned the West not to use Russians who oppose his…
‘The Second World War was easier than this’: Families flee ruins of Mariupol with shattered lives
With their apartment destroyed, the family spent days in the block’s basement. “There was no internet connection, there was no telephone. We had no idea what was…
Latest pictures from Ukraine: Citizens document Russian destruction as Zelensky delivers flowers to injured girl
A woman has returned to her home to document the damage done by heavy shelling in Kharkiv, as the country’s leader delivered flowers to hospital patients injured…
Kidnapped Ukraine mayor thanks Volodymyr Zelensky for ‘not abandoning me’ after being freed
Darya Zarivnaya, a press aide to Mr Zelensky, said: “Ivan Fedorov was released from Russian captivity. For him, Russia received nine captured soldiers who were born in…
Ask the experts: Tell us about your family and we’ll suggest the perfect summer holiday destination
Choosing a holiday destination to suit every member of the family can be a tricky balancing act. Mum might fancy a vineyard tour, visiting the local markets,…
The brand new must-visit island you’ve never heard of
You have to look really carefully to spot it. Indeed, if you search for “Coffee Caye” online, Google’s map function points you to nothing more than a…
40 fascinating facts about the Eiffel Tower, the landmark that has just grown taller
The Eiffel Tower has grown. Thanks to a new antenna, the Parisian landmark is now 330 metres tall – six more than it was last week. Interestingly…
The 10 most popular islands in Greece – and the quiet ones you should visit instead
We all have an idea in our heads of the perfect Greek island holiday. For many it will essentially boil down to having lots of fun in…
Was St Patrick in fact Welsh? How two former nuns created a pilgrim’s path to reveal the truth
This is the start of the new Coastal Camino – a seven-mile stroll following in the first footsteps the saint took as a missionary. As we begin…
20 last-minute holidays for Easter, with or without kids in tow
It’s all ancient history, Egypt Turn a trip to Egypt into an odyssey by giving yourself plenty of time to see the sights – and unwind afterwards….
What should I do if I have a booking with P&O Ferries?
What should I do if travelling at a later date? If you plan to secure tickets with another operator in advance, here are the alternative companies on…
The Emerson Quartet show the power of music in times of conflict, plus the best of March’s classical concerts
“The show must go on” may be a fine principle, but it can be hard to act on, as the Covid-related cancellation of numerous shows in recent…
Mugabe as a horse: Zimbabwe’s Animal Farm might be the strangest book of 2022
The pitch for NoViolet Bulawayo’s second novel is, roughly: Zimbabwe, but with talking animals. Glory opens with the geriatric Father of the Nation – aka the Old…
Exclusive: a new Michael Morpurgo war story for children, inspired by Ukraine
I wasn’t too upset. Most of my school friends had left long ago. Anything was better than living in the basement waiting for the next bomb to…
When woke becomes racist: publishing’s insidious pigeonholing of black writers
She is anxious not to criticise an industry that loved her debut so much it went to a six way auction in the UK, and is at…
The Apprentice’s long-suffering designers tell all: ‘That wasn’t a reflection of my work’
What should a designer do when their client wants to create a product that looks almost exactly – no, exactly exactly – like excrement? When Ben Shutler…
Jennifer Aniston’s St Patrick’s Day purgatory: the horrors of Leprechaun
“I don’t think for a minute we, as filmmakers, pretend they’re anything else other than entertaining popcorn movies,” Davis would say in 2014. “I get tweets daily…
To The Manor Born made Peter Bowles a superstar – just not at the BBC
I only met the late Peter Bowles once, but it was a memorable evening. I was a young freelance diary journalist for the Evening Standard, routinely sent…
What’s on TV tonight: Joanna Lumley’s Great Cities of the World, Phoenix Rising and more
Thursday 17 March Joanna Lumley’s Great Cities of the WorldITV, 9pmIt would be wholly understandable if the heart sank a little at another celebrity travelling to three…
Ukrainians fleeing war will get free access to NHS healthcare
Mr Javid said: “It’s our moral duty to ensure any Ukrainian arriving in England, after being forced out of their home country by the Russian invasion, is…
Paris, 13th District, review: a sultry love story – and the birth of a new star
“Strong sex”, declares the British Board of Film Classification in their verdict on Jacques Audiard’s latest. And I’d have to agree: the sex here really is rather…
The Phantom of the Open, review: an uproarious, Ealing-esque tale of a real-life golfing imposter
What if Billy Elliot had two left feet, or the Brassed Off colliery band consisted of a washboard and a couple of kazoos? Could a plucky British…