Dear reader, for the first time since I became a journalist, I have to tell you I wish you weren’t reading what I’ve written. Because if you’re reading this, it means I’m no longer in this world – or any other. I’ve died. Shit, it’s hard to write this, but that’s the way it is. … Read more
Musk’s Starlink Blocks Russian Troops’ Internet Access at Ukraine’s Request
When I left New York for Madrid, starting a new life with my then boyfriend, I was definitely looking at the world through rose-tinted glasses. Despite being the daughter of migrants from the Caribbean, it seemed like a relatively easy choice to settle into undocumented status once my tourist visa expired, all in the name … Read more
The European Commission would be “open-minded” to discussing closer trade ties with the UK, including a customs union, a senior EU official has said. The EU economy commissioner, Valdis Dombrovskis, told the BBC that the European bloc was “ready to engage with an open mind” when asked about a customs union. The comments come amid … Read more
NASA Delays Artemis II Moon Launch to March After Hydrogen Leaks
Consumers searching for healthy food from trusted sources have fuelled the UK organic market’s biggest boom in two decades, according to vegetable box seller Riverford. The delivery business, which sells meat, cheese, cookbooks and recipe boxes alongside vegetables, recorded a 6% increase in sales to £117m in the year to May 2025, as the UK … Read more
Spain makes the best ham in the world, and a multitude of incredible pork-based dishes. You have your crunchy, salty torreznos de Soria, fried cubes of pork belly, which make for a fantastic bar snack. Or cochinillo asado, a suckling pig that’s traditionally roasted in a wood oven, and so tender that it’s cut with … Read more
At least three people have died and nearly 30,000 people have been affected by flooding after Madagascar’s first tropical storm of the season hit over the weekend. Tropical Cyclone Fytia formed to the north-west of Madagascar over the northern Mozambique Channel on Thursday. Fytia was forecast to bring daily rainfall totals of about 150mm where … Read more
For the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, the EU’s trade pact with India was the “mother of all deals”. Seen from the other end of the telescope, it looked like the mouse of all deals, with just €4bn (£3.5bn) in tariff reductions – a rounding error in a €180bn trading relationship. But that … Read more
Keir Starmer’s tentative pivot to the Dragon Throne has played well in Beijing, though not in Trumpland. That’s partly because, like other needy western leaders, Britain’s prime minister did not dwell on awkward subjects such as human rights abuses, the Jimmy Lai travesty, spying and Taiwan. But in talks with President Xi Jinping, one vital … Read more