“And God said, Let there be light” – and on a witheringly cold winter morning there was light, as the Dean of York carried out a rooftop blessing for the minster’s 184 new solar panels. The sky was blue and the sun shone when the Very Rev Dominic Barrington led the blessing ceremony as the…
Once sneered at as the preserve of muesli-loving, Guardian-reading hippies, Birkenstocks have more recently been promoted to the status of fashion item, not least since they took a starring role in the Barbie movie. But now cork-soled sandals are facing their day in court as their German makers call for them to be protected in…
Giorgia Meloni has confirmed she has been invited to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president and “will happily go” if her agenda permits, ending weeks of speculation over whether the Italian prime minister is on the guest list. “I would be happy to be there,” Meloni told a press conference in Rome on Thursday…
Giorgia Meloni has confirmed she has been invited to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president and “will happily go” if her agenda permits, ending weeks of speculation over whether the Italian prime minister is on the guest list. “I would be happy to be there,” Meloni told a press conference in Rome on Thursday…
US longshoremen reached a contract agreement with ports and shippers on Wednesday, averting a potential strike that could have damaged the American economy. The International Longshoremen’s Association union and the US Maritime Alliance of ports and shipping companies said they had reached a tentative agreement for a six-year contract, a week ahead of a 15…
A white powder in a letter that hospitalised an aide to Belgium’s prime minister, Alexander De Croo, has been identified as strychnine, a poison that can be fatal. The Brussels prosecutor’s office revealed on Wednesday the nature of the substance that was sent last November to government buildings, including the office of De Croo. Belgian…
Jimmy Carter’s six-day farewell to the nation culminates on Thursday as the 39th president receives a state funeral at Washington National Cathedral before returning to his home town of Plains, Georgia, for burial beside his wife, Rosalynn. The service marks the end of Carter’s lying in state at the US Capitol, where yesterday Vice-President Kamala…
Wildlife charities have called on the government to ban the sale and use of lead in ammunition used for outdoor shooting. The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT), RSPB, Wildlife and Countryside Link, Chem Trust and Wild Justice have sent an open letter to the environment secretary, Steve Reed, asking for a 18-month transition period for…
David Lammy says ‘intensity’ and ‘unpredictability’ of Trump’s rhetoric can be destabilising but he does not always do what he threatens Good morning. For the first time in six months, David Lammy, the foreign secretary, was put up by No 10 to do the morning broadcast interview round – ahead of a speech he is…
The Royal Mail is issuing 12 special stamps to celebrate the 1990s BBC comedy series The Vicar of Dibley. Eight stamps depict memorable scenes from the sitcom, including a guest appearance by former ballerina Dame Darcey Bussell, while four stamps show a Dibley parish council meeting. The Vicar of Dibley starred the comedian Dawn French…
