Foreign Office says it will review payoff given to Mandelson after he was sacked

McFadden defended Keir Starmer and his embattled chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, who are both under intense pressure over Mandelson’s ambassador appointment.

McFadden said:

I believe he (the prime minister) should stay. I think he’s got a five-year mandate, which was just voted for 18 months or so ago in a general election. His task is by no means complete, barely begun.

And I also think it is not good for the country to change its prime minister every 18 months or two years is leading to chaos and uncertainty, economically, politically and reputationally around the world.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA

© Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA

© Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA

With the Omnivore’s Dilemma and How to Change Your Mind, Michael Pollan transformed our understanding of food and drugs. Can he do the same for our sense of self?

Several years ago, Michael Pollan had a disturbing encounter. The relentlessly curious journalist and author was at a conference on plant behaviour in Vancouver. There, he’d learned that when plants are damaged, they produce an anaesthetising chemical, ethylene. Was this a form of self-soothing, like the release of endorphins after an injury in humans? He asked František Baluška, a cell biologist, if it meant that plants might feel pain. Baluška paused, before answering: “Yes, they should feel pain. If you don’t feel pain, you ignore danger and you don’t survive.”

I imagine that Pollan gulped at that point. I certainly did when I read his account of the meeting in his latest book, A World Appears. Where does it leave our efforts at ethical consumption, if literally everybody hurts – including vegetables?

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Cayce Clifford

© Photograph: Cayce Clifford

© Photograph: Cayce Clifford

Animals, insects, flora and fauna – the world photographed in close-up in the annual competition dedicated to micro and macro photography. Cupoty 7 was won by underwater photographer Ross Gudgeon, triumphing over 12,000 entries from 63 countries

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Daniel Sly

© Photograph: Daniel Sly

© Photograph: Daniel Sly

Page Six scored a coveted invite to the VIP bash, where we also spotted celebs like Kevin Costner, Sofía Vergara, MGK, Ciara, Nelly, Ashanti and many more.

Francesca Lollobrigida brought the house down at the Milano Ice Park and then searched out her son to share her joy

Even before the final pairing of the women’s 3,000m speed skating had finished, two-year-old Tommaso was being hurried towards the middle of the track, where his mother had just broken the Olympic record and was on the verge of winning gold on her 35th birthday. When the final pairing of Joy Beune and Isabelle Weidemann had failed to beat Francesca Lollobrigida’s phenomenal time, the Italian sprinted through the bowels of the stadium to fetch her son.

Still basking in the glow of an excellent opening ceremony and the thrill of two medalists in the men’s downhill skiing earlier in the day, the hosts celebrated a new star. Lollobrigida, the silver medalist from Beijing in 2022, struck gold for the first time in her fourth Olympics. She brought the house down at the Milano Ice Park as she crossed the line in a time of 54.28sec, knocking two and a half seconds off Irene Schouten’s record from 2022.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: ANP/Shutterstock

© Photograph: ANP/Shutterstock

© Photograph: ANP/Shutterstock

Dear Abby advises a man who has intimacy struggles with his cheating wife of 40 years.

The massive winter storm that hit many parts of the South last month also wreaked havoc on the "Duck Dynasty" crew.

Jake Paul defended ICE agents while in Italy to support fiancée Jutta Leerdam in the Olympics, calling out Billie Eilish and criticizing U.S. athletes who questioned representing America.

Paulina Porizkova is exposing some dark secrets of the high-fashion world, claiming that her rise to superstardom was paved with uncomfortable encounters.

The team brought back a familiar face.

Mick Cronin had heard enough whistles, seen enough fouls called on his team.

Small town club’s Serie B adventure captivated football and inspired a famous book. That spirit remains and is being passed to their successors

The WhatsApp group flickers into life at about 6am every day. It is the manager who goes first because, when you are 79, old habits die hard. “Good morning,” Osvaldo Jaconi hails his former players and staff before, little by little, the salutations roll in from across Italy. Maybe it is someone’s birthday or another special occasion; the conversation may be accelerated by an in-joke that recalls why, three decades ago, they were brought together in the first place. Just in case anyone could forget, the group’s title says: “Serie B.”

This is how miracles stay alive. Perhaps it is the point of what Castel di Sangro achieved in 1995-96. A rag-tag bunch from this backwater in mountainous Abruzzo had risen from local amateur leagues and then, in a crowning triumph with little precedent, made it to the second tier. “It’s like 30 years haven’t passed,” says Angelo Petrarca, who was nominally the masseur but often resembled a one-man backroom. “It shows how much love everybody has for each other, and did back then. As if everybody is still right here.”

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Marta Clinco/The Guardian

© Photograph: Marta Clinco/The Guardian

© Photograph: Marta Clinco/The Guardian

Art is helping to revitalise Sicily’s ghost towns and deserted urban spaces, with the earthquake-hit town of Gibellina becoming Italy’s first Capital of Contemporary Art

From the ostentatious baroque square of Quattro Canti all the way up to the Teatro Massimo, Palermo’s Via Maqueda is thick with tourists. Pomegranate juice sellers are setting up pyramids of fruit on their carts at gaps in the crowd and waiters are trying to reel in passersby with happy hour prices for Aperol spritzes. Amid the noise and movement, it’s easy to walk straight past number 206, whose arched doorway features a stone cross stained black with dirt – a clue to the building’s former use.

Convento dei Crociferi was abandoned for 30 years, until Sicilian power couple Andrea Bartoli and Florinda Saievi took over and transformed it into Palermo’s newest arts space, the Museum of World Cities, due to open at the end of February. Inside, a cloister with high, scalloped porticoes frames a verdant courtyard filled with palms and banana trees. Bartoli comes to meet me and enthusiastically pumps my hand before leading me up to the grand, marble-floored rooms on the first floor, which have been given over to a rather self-referential exhibition on urban change.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Photononstop/Alamy

© Photograph: Photononstop/Alamy

© Photograph: Photononstop/Alamy

When Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac became club guardians in 2021 the Premier League was a dream. Now it’s a target

Two Chewbaccas handed out flyers to passersby. No one making their way towards the Turf batted an eyelid, but then again, for five years now, a touch of Hollywood has become pretty much the norm in Wrexham.

Ninety minutes before kick-off the city’s most famous public house was heaving. Lying in the shadow of the Racecourse Ground, it is the watering hole of choice for locals, and, thanks to landlord Wayne Jones’s prominent role in Welcome to Wrexham, the Netflix documentary following the club’s many fortunes, a tourist attraction.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Cody Froggatt/PA

© Photograph: Cody Froggatt/PA

© Photograph: Cody Froggatt/PA

Whether you want everyday comfort or a special set for Valentine’s Day, our fashion writer rounds up the styles that’ll have you hooked – from skimpy to supportive, recycled to racy

• The best Valentine’s Day gifts for 2026

Lingerie isn’t about dressing for someone else. The best lingerie will feel comfortable, supportive and genuinely good to wear, whether that’s an everyday staple or an investment piece.

The design of lingerie has never been better, with a wide variety of brands focusing on comfortable materials, breathability and support, as well as style. From ultra-soft lace that moves with the body to wireless bras that actually stay up, sometimes the best lingerie is all about subtle design details rather than extra frills.

Continue reading...

© Composite: PR Image

© Composite: PR Image

© Composite: PR Image

Greenland and its people were thrust into the global spotlight last year when Trump revived his demand that the US take control of the island for national security and to access its abundant mineral resources. For the Inuit people, who have lived here for centuries, no one owns the Arctic land

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Marko Đurica/Reuters

© Photograph: Marko Đurica/Reuters

© Photograph: Marko Đurica/Reuters

Scam message claims points will expire in days so click through to claim your prize – just pay the postage

You get a text message with some good news: your mobile provider has been operating a rewards programme and you have earned almost 13,000 points.

You haven’t heard of the scheme before but since so many of the operators have rewards plans, you assume you must just have missed it. When you click on the link, you arrive at a site branded with your operator’s logo and find you can cash in your points for a new massage chair or a high-end vacuum cleaner, among other items. All you have to do is pay the postage.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Tero Vesalainen/Getty Images/iStockphoto

© Photograph: Tero Vesalainen/Getty Images/iStockphoto

© Photograph: Tero Vesalainen/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Exclusive: Ministers to act after last year’s legislation ‘outwitted’ by failing firms paying millions to executives

The government is to close loopholes which allow bosses of failing water companies to continue to receive large bonuses despite a ban passed last year, it can be revealed.

Bosses of companies that illegally dumped sewage into England’s rivers and seas and presided over water shortages which left thousands of people in misery have still been paid millions in bonuses despite the ban.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Maureen McLean/Alamy

© Photograph: Maureen McLean/Alamy

© Photograph: Maureen McLean/Alamy

Grocery delivery firm will begin picking up broken tech across the UK and charging consumers to recycle items

A UK dairy delivery business is to begin collecting unwanted or broken toys, mobile phones and laptops while dropping off milk, orange juice and butter in its latest attempt to expand.

The Modern Milkman was founded by entrepreneur Simon Mellin in Burnley, north-west England, in 2019 and delivers groceries to more than 100,000 households across the UK.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Supplied

© Photograph: Supplied

© Photograph: Supplied

Sadly, the Instagram post was to be his last, and it is now flooded with heartbreaking tributes from fans following the 47-year-old’s death.

An ACL that is "100% gone" won't stop Vonn from competing.

A packed venue in Sydney watched countless brutal big hits on Saturday night despite ongoing concussion warnings about the events.

Here are The Post’s top 60 people to watch around Super Bowl LX, from coaches and players to broadcasters and significant others.

Punchy cocktails and roaringly traditional Greek food in the heart of Birmingham

Cylla, a classy Greek restaurant on Newhall Street, Birmingham, draws inspiration, it says, from Scylla, the legendary Greek man-eating sea monster that lives close to the whirlpools of Charybdis. She’s a beautiful woman, but has six dog heads, all grumpy and snarling, as well as a serpent’s tail.

If Scylla herself were ever to turn up at Cylla, dogs’ heads barking and tail flapping, they’d have to seat her in one of the gorgeous private booths at the front as you enter the room. These are the spots to grab if you want a little privacy, which is why we eschewed the long, prettily lit cocktail bar and headed straight to this cosy hidey-hole for a round of Poseidon’s Wrath. “It’s a bit like a dirty martini,” explained our server, who was one of those warm, bright, commanding, knowledgable souls who, in a hospitality setting, is worth her weight in drachma. This invigorating, mega-bitter tipple of vodka and vermouth laced with piney, herbaceous mastiha, seaweed and kalamata olive brine is the cocktail equivalent of being rescued by the RNLI: salty, breathtaking and head-spinning. Fret not, sweetness seekers, because they also offer a dozen other honey-, peach- and even meringue-based cocktails, if those are your thing, and all with equally dramatic, Greek myth-related names. Aphrodite’s Bloom, anyone? It’s a sensuous ode to the golden hour, the menu says.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Jack Spicer Adams/The Guardian

© Photograph: Jack Spicer Adams/The Guardian

© Photograph: Jack Spicer Adams/The Guardian