Captain Tom Moore in hospital after testing positive for coronavirus

URSULA von der Leyen is prepared to grant an extension to stop a potential "sausage war" as a source confirms the bloc will "most probably" bow to Boris Johnson's demand for a more generous post-Brexit grace period.

ROBBIE FOWLER COLUMN: Kane has been disappointing in both the Three Lions' opening Euros games and has yet to score in the tournament

Rakhi Sinha Jones and her family travelled to Portugal when the country was added to the green list

'With the numbers I can feasibly get in here, I’ve only been taking about £150 a day'

ON THE COVID FRONTLINE: During the first few weeks of the pandemic, the team inside the infectious diseases unit at North Manchester Hospital were leading our region's response. Sophie Halle-Richards reports

'If an individual has profited from criminal activity and used the money to lead a lavish lifestyle then we will confiscate what we can'

A 'sexy pad' has gone up for sale in Manchester city centre with a 'one of a kind' décor. Marketed exclusively with The McLeod Group, the home is on sale for £400,000.

'If you’re a young professional looking for a sexy pad in the city centre, this is certainly a strong contender'

Marine Le Pen’s far right party is riding high on her tough-on-security, stop-immigration message as French voters start choosing regional leaders Sunday

Georgia Laurie said she doesn't consider herself a "hero" despite fighting off a crocodile by punching it repeatedly on the nose so it released its grip on her sister Melissa

The work highlights the plaques and art that celebrate a neglected side of the capital’s cultureShe’s 10ft tall, barefoot, with a simple wrap dress stretching across her breasts and belly. She holds aloft an infant, gazing into its eyes. This is Bronze Woman, a statue on a busy traffic junction in Stockwell, south London. Unveiled in 2008, it was then the first public statue of a black woman on permanent display in England.“I used to pass by but never knew what it was for many years. One day I found myself in front of it and I was truly blown away,” said Avril Nanton, who runs walking tours of London’s black history. Continue reading...

Things will look very different behind the scenes.

Just 1% of the city’s registered voters have turned out so far in a primary filled with allegations and accusationsNew York City will effectively choose its next mayor in the coming days, drawing to a close a tumultuous election race marred by allegations of sexual misconduct, by the staff of one campaign launching a protest against their own candidate, and by accusations that at least one of the mayoral hopefuls doesn’t actually live in the city.The winner in Tuesday’s Democratic primary will, given the leftward political leanings of the city, almost certainly win the election proper in November, and immediately be tasked with leading New York through its darkest period in several decades. Continue reading...

George Packer finds the US caught in a ‘cold civil war’ between incompatible versions of the country after its ‘near-death experience’ with Donald TrumpGeorge Packer’s incisive, deftly argued book about the moral and political quandary of the United States begins and ends with his declaration: “I am an American.” The statement is self-evident but also self-congratulatory: Americans regard their citizenship as a spiritual credential, a gesture of faith in the country that has always claimed to be the last, best hope of beleaguered mankind. Packer’s native land, however, no longer deserves to be quite so certain of its exceptional virtue or its automatic pre-eminence. Early in the pandemic it had to accept charitable handouts from Russia and Taiwan, and Packer sadly accepts a new, reduced reality by calling America “a beggar nation” and even “a failed state”. After this he twists his title from a boast into an abject plea: “No one is going to save us. We are our last best hope.”The need for salvation became urgent before the election last November when Packer, having moved his family from Brooklyn to a Covid-free rural retreat, noticed a sign beside the road on a neighbouring farm. His car headlights flashed across a red rectangle branded with five white capital letters. Even here, Packer realised with a shudder, he was not safe. He doesn’t need to say what the letters spelled out: they were as succinctly satanic as the number 666 – the mark of the beast in the Book of Revelation – which made Nancy Reagan alter the street address of a house where she and the retiring president were due to live in Los Angeles. Continue reading...

Far-right conspiracies ran unchecked online in the Trump years. It’s all gone quiet since the Capitol riot, but author Mike Rothschild believes there’s a radicalised audience waiting for a new rallying pointOn 7 January this year, a day after the mob stormed the Capitol in Washington DC, a curious exchange occurred in the netherworld of global conspiracy. Alex Jones, the rasp-voiced mouthpiece of fake news for the past decade, was in conversation with the most visible leader of the previous day’s shocking events: Jacob Chansley, the self-styled “Q Shaman” who featured on the world’s front pages, in buffalo horns, animal skins and face paint.Jones, on his fake-news platform Infowars, with its million-plus viewers and sharers, had for years been the loudhailer of unhinged stories that included the belief that Hillary Clinton was the antichrist, that Michelle Obama was a man, that the Pentagon and George Soros had detonated a “homosexual bomb” that turned even frogs gay, that 9/11 had been a “false flag” operation and, most viciously, that the Sandy Hook school murders, in which 20 children and six teachers died, were staged by “crisis actors” to promote gun control. Jones had inevitably been among those who addressed the restive crowd at Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” march (having donated $50,000 for the staging of the rally) and calling for supporters to “get on a war footing” to defend the president. Two days later, however, when faced with the rhetoric of Chansley, whom he had invited on to his show to explain the insurrection, it seemed even he, America’s conspirator in chief, finally couldn’t take the lies any more. Continue reading...

The illustrator’s vivid depictions of her annual visits to Mexico reveal why she was the author’s kindred spiritI have been relishing an illustrated book by Corinna Sargood. I love this artist’s paintings of Mexican life: bright scenes on wood, some in tin frames, crammed with tiny figures: a harpist, a bullfighter, a psychiatrist appealing for patients through a loudspeaker. They often have moving parts and secret windows; in one, miniature doors swing open to show the painter and her carpenter husband reading in bed. The Village in the Valley, published this month by Prospect Books, is Sargood’s account of the annual visits that inspired the pictures: bullets whizzing through the air at night, days spent making furniture and new friends.The book has an additional interest. Sargood was Angela Carter’s illustrator and close friend. Their imaginations were highly attuned; when Carter died in 1992, Sargood’s drawings decorated a shocking-pink invitation to a memorial in Brixton. She used her first visit to Mexico to work on linocuts for The Virago Book of Fairy Tales, which Carter was editing. Being too ill to travel, the writer had instructed the artist: “Do Mexico for me.” Continue reading...

The resort still offers fun and naughtiness, but now has an arty B&B and some classy food if, for some reason, you don’t want cod and chipsA trip to Ibiza to watch the sunset at Cafe del Mar may be off the cards for most this summer, but there’s always Blackpool.Sitting with a gin and tonic in the Bloom Bar at the end of the North Pier reaffirmed my long-held belief that there is nowhere better to watch the sun dip below the horizon than the Lancastrian coast. Even the seagulls, chip-nicking menaces by day, take on a poetic quality as silhouettes in the pinky-purple evening light, with Black Combe, the Lake District’s most western fell, just visible to the north. Continue reading...

David Hurn’s photograph captures the last hurrah of a decade of freedomA hundred and fifty thousand people camped out at the 1969 Isle of Wight festival to see Bob Dylan return to a live stage for the first time in three years. The photographer David Hurn, then 35, got a few pictures of Dylan’s set, but he was more interested in turning his camera on the crowd than the performers. That year’s festival, at the end of August, came a couple of weeks after Woodstock and was perhaps the closest Britain’s festivalgoers ever came to the authentic spirit of the summer of love.Hurn, who grew up in Wales, had been on the frontline of much of the 1960s; as well as documenting indelible images of early Beatlemania, he had shot the film posters for Sean Connery’s James Bond in From Russia With Love and Jane Fonda’s Barbarella. The 1969 festival, which came a month after the moon landing and the death of Brian Jones, felt like a last hurrah for the decade. Hurn slept near the beach without a tent with the other festivalgoers and when hundreds of people plunged bare-arsed into the sea on the Sunday morning he felt he ought to join in and get naked himself. No other photographer was around to capture this scene, which, for all the cheerful nudity, is made by the presence of the boat at anchor, making the festivalgoers appear like a recently discovered, and distinctly hedonistic, island tribe. Continue reading...

Thai region hopes jabs and ‘sandbox’ scheme will allow tourists to return and rejuvenate economyCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageIn normal times, the convention centre at Phuket’s Angsana Laguna resort hosts extravagant weddings and luxury business summits. Since April, it has served as one of seven centres on the frontline of the island’s Covid vaccination campaign. Behind the room’s white satin curtains, medical staff in hair nets and blue aprons administer 1,800 doses each day.The island is racing to vaccinate as many people as possible in the hope that, if 70% of the population receives a dose before 1 July, Phuket will become the first Thai destination to reopen to foreign tourists. Continue reading...

The rivalry with China is palpable but history teaches us lessons about how it’s easier to blame others than blame ourselvesChina’s increasingly aggressive geopolitical and economic stance in the world is unleashing a fierce bipartisan backlash in America. That’s fine if it leads to more public investment in basic research, education, and infrastructure – as did the Sputnik shock of the late 1950s. But it poses dangers as well.More than 60 years ago, the sudden and palpable fear that the Soviet Union was lurching ahead of us shook America out of a postwar complacency and caused the nation to do what it should have been doing for many years. Even though we did it under the pretext of national defense – we called it the National Defense Education Act and the National Defense Highway Act and relied on the Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration for basic research leading to semiconductors, satellite technology, and the Internet – the result was to boost US productivity and American wages for a generation. Continue reading...

Cold reality intrudes on Biden’s first few months as leftist Democrats frustrated with president’s agenda stalling in CongressThey were pointed questions, not personal criticisms. But they will have conveyed a warning to Joe Biden that the patience of the left of the Democratic party and its leaders in ‘the Squad’ of progressive politicians is not infinite.“Are we passing the deal that helps working people the most?” asked Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the firebrand New York congresswoman and best known member of the squad. “Are we passing the deal that makes the most jobs? Are we passing a deal that brings down the most climate emissions? Are we passing a deal that raises wages and actually improves our infrastructure for the next generation?” Continue reading...

MATT HANCOCK did not inform Boris Johnson about a study showing the effectiveness of vaccines against the Indian variant of coronavirus before a crunch meeting on delaying lockdown, it has been claimed.

Paul based the film on his own coming out story.

Diala Brisly uses art to heal and promote human rights after fleeing the war in her homeland.

There are still some changes for weddings, wakes and care homes, even though most lockdown easing has been delayed until July 19. Here's what you can and can't do from tomorrow

If you're hoping to bag some bargains over the huge two-day event, pop the date and time in your diary to make sure you don't miss out

EXCLUSIVE: Loving dads Rav and Phil open up about life with their three gorgeous little children - who all had "scary experiences" with their birth parents before they were given a fresh start at life

Arsenal legend Martin Keown has shared his thoughts on the role Kieran Tierney can play for the Gunners and discussed the target within reach of Emile Smith Rowe

Naomi Willis, who runs the Skint Dad website with husband Ricky, explains how to save a tidy sum and make cash before the kids break up

Once viewed as down and out at Real Madrid, Gareth Bale is resurgent with Wales at Euro 2020 and flourishing in a new role - but where will he be playing his club football next season?

After losing seven stone and becoming a running fanatic, Kerrilee D’Avolio had never felt better about herself - but little did she know that her husband was growing increasingly resentful of her and planned to take drastic action...

ANDY DUNN COLUMN: Benitez is being strongly linked with a shock move to the Toffees but would be the wrong appointment for more than one reason

Manchester City fans are waiting for news of the club's transfer window activity but they have already signed two exciting youngsters.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be watching the European Championship closely and it can help Man United.

As Euro 2020's Group of Death was blown wide open wide open, supporters poked fun at Ronaldo over his fizzy pop controversy with a banner which also gave a nod to Gareth Bale

BRAZIL faces a "critical scenario" after the country passed another grim milestone.

The Busted star says his children made an 'interesting discovery' when they found a photo of him with a cigarette in his hand, and he explains how he doesn't hide his past substance abuse struggles from them

The Egyptian birds are one of a number of foreign visitors, but why have these continental drifters fled north?Boats have been chartered. Weekend arrangements cancelled. And hundreds of twitchers – whose aim is to see very rare birds in Britain – have been praying the latest arrival stays long enough for them to see it in the flesh.The bird in question is an Egyptian vulture. This is the smallest member of its family in Europe, yet still sports a 1.7-metre wingspan, not much smaller than a golden eagle. The reason for all the excitement is because this is only the third Egyptian vulture ever seen in the wild in Britain; and, incredibly, the first since 1868. That one, found in Essex, was shot by a farm worker who saw “a strange bird” amongst some geese. Continue reading...

The astronaut reveals why he likes nothing more than a nice and relaxed down-to-earth day with the kidsWhat time do you get up? Whatever time my youngest comes bouncing into the room. He’s nine and has an uncanny ability to sleep in on school days and wake up early on weekends.What’s for breakfast? We’ll make pancakes with blueberries and raspberries. We’ve got a little pancake maker – it’s fun and our two boys like getting involved. Continue reading...

Playful and chic, using two matching but different tones on your lips wil create an immediate talking pointFor well over a year, our lips, that vital means of expression, have been hidden under masks, and mainly glimpsed by others via Zoom. Now, they are making a comeback. So a playful take on lipstick wearing, as per Ashish SS21, feels apt. Wearing two different opaque, matte hues on the top and bottom lip will really make a statement. Too daunting? Try a more prudent sheer option. Or a touch of pink in the centre of a red. Whatever you choose, have fun. It’s a look that doesn’t take itself too seriously and, ultimately, relieves you of deciding which lipstick to wear that day.1. Valentino Beauty, Rosso Valentino Matte Lipstick £40, selfridges.com 2. Kjaer Weis Matte, Naturally Liquid Lipstick £27, contentbeautywellbeing.com 3. Pat McGrath Liquid Lust Lip £29, patmcgrath.com 4. Glossier Ultra Lip £14, glossier.com 5. Hourglass Velvet Story Lip Cream £35, spacenk.com Continue reading...

With foreign travel tricky this summer, some people are make a difference closer to home, be it building chicken coops or trekking with llamasDjembe Askins had planned to be very far from home this summer, travelling around south-east Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Then the pandemic hit. But rather than completely abandon his gap year-style trip, the 24-year-old decided to transplant it to the UK.Askins, who left his job at a bank in London, has spent the past nine months volunteering at farms, mostly in Wales, through World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (Wwoof), a network where people volunteer for four to six hours a day in return for food and accommodation. Although the weather was “a bit wetter and not as sunny” as his original destinations, he found the experience of living in a different part of the UK and learning how to be “self-sustaining” a revelation. “It does make me think about what else there is across the UK that I’ve never even been to.” Continue reading...

Western leaders must stand up against Beijing’s assault on democractic freedoms and demand the release of imprisoned journalistsChina did not wait long to demonstrate its contempt for last weekend’s criticism by G7 countries of human rights abuses in Hong Kong. By ordering the arrest of the editor-in-chief and four senior executives of the Apple Daily newspaper for allegedly conspiring with “foreign forces”, Xi Jinping and the Communist party sent a crude message of defiance to the west.That China’s president and his Beijing apparatchiks were responsible for this provocatively timed injustice is not in serious doubt. Hong Kong’s 2019-20 pro-democracy protests, which Apple Daily supported, shook the CCP’s power monopoly and amour propre in ways not seen since Tiananmen Square. It has been punishing the ex-British colony ever since. Continue reading...

The Liverpool midfielder is currently playing for Spain at Euro 2020, though Luis Enrique's side are at serious risk of crashing out of the tournament unless they defeat Slovakia

Australia is increasingly suppressing information seen as pivotal to a free and open media

BRITISH JUDGES may soon no longer be "bound" by European Court of Human Rights rulings amid a major review of the UK's judicial system.

Forecasters warned of life-threatening flash flooding in parts of the Deep South, particularly across central Alabama, as Tropical Depression Claudette traveled over coastal states

Little has been achieved in 20 years of war, and as the Taliban regroup, ordinary Afghans brace for an uncertain futureMilitary retreats from Afghanistan are problematic, as the British (1842) and the Red Army (1989) discovered to their cost. The cliffs of the Khyber Pass feature many memorials and plaques to departing or defeated foreign forces. The 2021 Afghan withdrawal is less fraught – the US is not yet retreating under fire. But the march to the exit has nonetheless turned into an undignified sprint.Most Americans will welcome this accelerated end to an unpopular war. Yet it spells catastrophe for Afghans who pinned their hopes and their country’s future on western support in fighting Taliban and Islamist terrorism and who believed the nation-building promises made by George W Bush and others. Continue reading...

With the sun staying in the sky until late, nature steps up a gear in the northern climesMidsummer is a big deal in Denmark. There are bonfires on the beaches and in many people’s gardens. Fireworks. The works. The Scandi sun is now rising before 4.30am and setting nudging 10pm. More than 17 hours of sunlight, clouds willing.Farmers here are in their fields much of that time. Making hay for fodder, tending barley, wheat and livestock. Verges are encouraged to flower. A percentage of farmland has by law to be left wild. Hundreds of buttercups compete with thousands of daisies. Poppies are in abundance. Wild blue-eyed chicory colours the roadside. Continue reading...