General news

• The patience and the poker face: Iran’s wily diplomat set to face the US in nuclear talks

  16-02-2026 21:10
  Abbas Araghchi is steeped in more than a decade of nuclear dealmaking with a book on the art of negotiationsIf the US and Iran are to avoid a regional war, both sides need to start to make concessions at talks in Geneva on Tuesday, and also to accommodate one another’s very different bargaining styles.The Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, steeped in almost 15 years of Iranian nuclear talks, is a near lifelong diplomat who has written a book on the art of negotiations that reveals th
  
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• Battle to save the crumbling palace of General Gordon’s Last Stand - The Telegraph

  16-02-2026 21:01 via news.google.com
  Battle to save the crumbling palace of General Gordon’s Last Stand  The Telegraph
  
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• NHS ’clearly failing’ to ensure children get measles vaccine, experts warn

  16-02-2026 20:54
  Calls grow for reform of England’s vaccination system including delivery of jabs in pharmacies as take-up fallsChildren are at risk of measles because the NHS is “clearly failing” to ensure they get the MMR vaccine and its system needs an urgent overhaul, MPs and health experts have warned.Calls are growing for major reform of how MMR jabs are delivered as it emerged that vaccination rates in some parts of England are now on a par with those in Afghanistan and Malawi. Continue
  
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• Starmer abandons plans to delay local elections in England in latest U-turn

  16-02-2026 20:43
  PM under fire from his own MPs and opposition leaders after ditching plan to postpone elections for 30 councilsWhy Starmer’s latest U-turn could be a gift for ReformKeir Starmer has been forced to abandon plans to delay local elections with less than three months’ notice in another policy U-turn that has prompted anger among his own MPs and scorn from opposition leaders.The prime minister is under fire after ministers said on Monday they were abandoning plans to delay local elections
  
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• Britons feeling ‘dismal’ about finances amid mounting debts, survey finds - The Guardian

  16-02-2026 20:39 via news.google.com
  Britons feeling ‘dismal’ about finances amid mounting debts, survey finds  The GuardianHousehold debt surges amid Gen Z borrowing binge  The TelegraphAre you putting off big spending decisions until the economy improves? Vote in our poll  Yahoo Finance UKGlobal Markets: UK Debt Anxiety Rises as Japan and Swiss Economies Dodge Bullet  streamlinefeed.co.keUK consumer confidence ticks higher as personal finance outlook improves  TradingV
  
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• Saga of the Silkmen: calm before the storm in Macclesfield as Brentford await - The Guardian

  16-02-2026 20:27 via news.google.com
  Saga of the Silkmen: calm before the storm in Macclesfield as Brentford await  The GuardianConfirmed Macclesfield v Brentford FA Cup team news: Kaye Furo starts as Keith Andrews makes seven changes  Brentford FCEmirates FA Cup trophy visits history-making Macclesfield FC  TheFA.comMacclesfield vs Brentford predictions, team news, betting tips, odds and Bet Builder  Racing PostMacclesfield v Brentford: FA Cup fourth round – live  The Guardia
  
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• Trump lashes out at California governor’s green energy deal with UK

  16-02-2026 20:23
  President says it is inappropriate for UK to be dealing with Gavin Newsom after Ed Miliband meets governor in LondonDonald Trump has vented his fury against a green energy deal between the British government and California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, a likely future Democratic presidential candidate.“The UK’s got enough trouble without getting involved with Gavin Newscum,” Trump said in an interview with Politico, using the derogatory nickname he reserves for Newsom. &ldquo
  
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• Car dealership tycoon ousted from his Kent company in ‘coup’, high court hears

  16-02-2026 19:45
  Peter Waddell is alleged to have made racist and sexist remarks that led to removal as CEO of Big Motoring WorldA multimillionaire used-car salesman was ousted from his £300m company as part of an orchestrated “coup” involving business rivals and private equity investors, the high court has heard.Peter Waddell, 59, claims he was forced out as the chief executive of the Kent-based dealership Big Motoring World by “conspirators” who designed a “plan” to en
  
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• The Guardian view on Palestine Action: banning the group was a step too far | Editorial

  16-02-2026 19:30
  The high court was right to rule that ministers overstretched terror laws in proscribing direct action. Protest should be policed by criminal lawThe high court ruled last week that the British government’s proscription of Palestine Action is unlawful and disproportionate. Its judgment, however, is hardly one in praise of militant protest. That makes it all the more awkward for ministers. The bench rejected Palestine Action’s claim that it was engaged in Gandhian civil disobedien
  
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• The Guardian view on Team GB’s Winter Olympics success: Alpine inspiration lifts the grey February mood | Editorial

  16-02-2026 19:29
  A record gold medal haul, under blue Italian skies, has made for compelling viewing. The Games can be a catalyst for new grassroots investment in the UKFor most of January and February, Britons have endured relentless, record-breaking rain, often accompanied by a biting wind. But in recent days many will have taken solace from contemplating a very different winter landscape, as skiers, skaters and snowboarders compete beneath the purest of blue skies. As a visual spectacle, the Milano Corti
  
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• Robert Duvall was a vigorous and subtle actor who always performed with passion and conviction

  16-02-2026 19:25
  From his steely self-effacing consigliere in The Godfather to his surf-crazed Wagner enthusiast in Apocalypse Now, just to see him on screen made me smileRobert Duvall, Apocalypse Now and Godfather star, dies aged 95Robert Duvall was a foghorn-voiced bull of pure American virility, and he put energy and heart into the movies for more than 60 years. Just to see him on screen was enough to make me smile. That handsome face and head gave him the look of a Roman emperor from Waxahachie, Texas or a t
  
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• Ben Jennings on online safety – cartoon

  16-02-2026 19:12
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• ‘I wasn’t ambitious until I was 60!’ Gary Wilmot on comedy, panto, musicals – and his Beckett-style new play - The Guardian

  16-02-2026 18:55 via news.google.com
  ‘I wasn’t ambitious until I was 60!’ Gary Wilmot on comedy, panto, musicals – and his Beckett-style new play  The Guardian
  
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• ‘Heath Ledger knocked my tooth out jousting with a broom’: how we made A Knight’s Tale - The Guardian

  16-02-2026 18:55 via news.google.com
  ‘Heath Ledger knocked my tooth out jousting with a broom’: how we made A Knight’s Tale  The Guardian
  
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• 'Potential fraud' investigated at closed law firm - BBC

  16-02-2026 18:39 via news.google.com
  'Potential fraud' investigated at closed law firm  BBCCollapsed law firm investigated on suspicion of stealing clients’ cash  The TelegraphSRA: Client money missing in "potential fraud" at PM Law  Legal FuturesInvestigation into 'misappropriation of client money' after collapse of law firm  News & StarRegulator Investigation into potential fraud and misappropriation of client money  Penrith.Town
  
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• Fury v Makhmudov LIVE: News conference and face-off before April showdown - BBC

  16-02-2026 18:08 via news.google.com
  Fury v Makhmudov LIVE: News conference and face-off before April showdown  BBCView Full coverage on Google News
  
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• Was Navalny poisoning by frog toxin meant to send a message?

  16-02-2026 18:06
  Yvette Cooper may think so, and use of epibatidine may seem exotic, but experts say situation is more ambiguousIt was a very particular choice of weapon, but experts say it remains unclear whether the dart frog toxin used to kill the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was intended to convey a message.Known as epibatidine, the poison is produced by wild dart frogs native to parts of South America – meaning Navalny could not have accidentally taken the poison. Continue reading...
  
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• Teenage girl rushed to hospital after 'serious sexual assault' in East London park - MyLondon

  16-02-2026 18:03 via news.google.com
  Teenage girl rushed to hospital after 'serious sexual assault' in East London park  MyLondonForensic tents erected in Cottons Park after sexual assault  Romford RecorderTeenage girl hospitalised after 'sex assault' in east London park  Metro.co.ukTeen arrested after girl ‘sexually assaulted’ in popular park near town centre  The SunLIVE updates as forensic tents erected in Cottons Park after sexual assault  London Now
  
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• Did you solve it? Chapeau! A smart new hat puzzle

  16-02-2026 17:55
  The answer to today’s peaky poserEarlier today I set you this logic puzzle. Here is is again with the solution.(If you found it too simple. Here’s a harder version.) Continue reading...
  
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• Why smaller class sizes are not always the answer | Letter

  16-02-2026 17:51
  Retired headteacher Andrew Marsh says good teachers and a positive culture are more important than the number of pupils in a classAs a recently retired head of a small school, I feel compelled to respond to your editorial and letters on class sizes (9 February). As your editorial states, we need to be careful not to view smaller classes as a solution to all the problems with education. During my tenure, we suffered because of the perception that larger classes were inherently worse for children.
  
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• Progress on family planning in Afghanistan is still possible | Letter

  16-02-2026 17:51
  George Papachristou and Gigih Yudhistira offer some hope in response to a report on how the Taliban’s ban on birth control is affecting Afghan women The suffering described in your article (Taliban birth control ban: women ‘broken’ by lethal pregnancies and untreated miscarriages, 29 January) is real and deeply concerning. Afghan women face severe constraints on mobility, decision-making and access to healthcare, particularly in rural and remote areas where services and trained
  
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• Heraskevych ban reflects badly on the International Olympic Committee | Letters

  16-02-2026 17:51
  Readers respond to the barring of a Ukrainian athlete after he insisted on wearing a helmet featuring photos of athletes and children killed during Russia’s war on his countryLizzy Yarnold says the ban on the Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych centres on this rule in the Olympic charter: “No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas” (Olympic chiefs have got it badly wrong over Heraske
  
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• Español o français? Learn a language because you love it, not because it’s useful | Letters

  16-02-2026 17:51
  Readers respond to an article by Gary Nunn who says learning Spanish has never been coolerGary Nunn misses the point of language learning in seeing it as a numbers game (Spanish is clearly now the world’s coolest language. So why do we push British children to learn French?, 10 February). Evaluating a language by its usefulness is reductive – about as soul-destroying as telling a passionate mathematician that they don’t need to bother learning complex theorems because a compute
  
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• Tribute to man fatally shot in house - BBC

  16-02-2026 17:47 via news.google.com
  Tribute to man fatally shot in house  BBCMan charged with murder following death in Coxford, Southampton  hampshire.police.ukShooting victim named as two more arrested in murder probe | ITV News  ITVXMan appears in court charged with shooting murder  Daily EchoTwo further arrests made after 45-year-old man shot and killed  portsmouth.co.uk
  
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• How a Berlin Afterparty for Charli XCX Leads Back to Russian Operations in Occupied Ukraine - UNITED24 Media

  16-02-2026 17:38 via news.google.com
  How a Berlin Afterparty for Charli XCX Leads Back to Russian Operations in Occupied Ukraine  UNITED24 Media
  
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• Satellite image confirms US aircraft carrier 150 miles off Oman as pressure builds on Iran - BBC

  16-02-2026 17:34 via news.google.com
  Satellite image confirms US aircraft carrier 150 miles off Oman as pressure builds on Iran  BBCUS build-up of warships and fighter jets tracked near Iran  BBC‘Electronic blackout’: How 15 Growler jets from USS Gerald R. Ford & USS Abraham Lincoln can blind Iran’s entire radar network  WIONMonths-old video shows Iranian drone destroyed over Israel, not by US military  AFP Fact CheckSan Diego-based carrier USS Abraham Lincoln patrolling
  
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• ‘I just needed some time for myself’: Norwegian skier hides in woods after slalom gold heartache

  16-02-2026 17:30
  Meillard takes title after McGrath crashes outGB’s Dave Ryding finishes 17th in his final raceFor more than a century of Winter Olympic sport, athletes have dealt with defeat in almost every possible way: tears, tantrums, breaking things, breaking down. On Monday afternoon in Bormio, the Norwegian Atle Lie McGrath processed his grief in a novel way after the men’s slalom gold medal had slipped away. First, he threw his ski poles as far as he could and then he hid in the woods.“
  
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• ‘A social justice issue’: London school believes it has model for Send inclusion

  16-02-2026 17:08
  Founder and staff at TCES Nurture primary, which has not excluded a child in 25 years, say key factor is how support is deliveredIn many ways, it looks like any other primary school. There is a library, a cafeteria, classrooms, and a noticeboard celebrating the star of the week. But it is different in one crucial respect: in 25 years, this London alternative provision has not excluded a single pupil.As Labour pushes to bring more children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) in
  
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• Could we have 13 million new tiles please? The astonishing £42m rebirth of modernist masterpiece Africa Hall

  16-02-2026 17:01
  Hailed as one of the defining achievements of African architecture, the historic, recently refurbished Ethiopian landmark has now won the World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism prizeDesigned by the Italian architect Arturo Mezzedimi, Addis Ababa’s Africa Hall quickly became recognised as one of the defining achievements of African modernism on its completion in 1961. In 1963, it hosted the founding meeting of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the precursor to today’s African Uni
  
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• Single dose of potent psychedelic drug could help treat depression, trial shows

  16-02-2026 17:00
  Researchers find DMT – used in shamanic rituals – in tandem with psychotherapy has significant effect People with major depressive disorder can see a rapid and lasting improvement after a single dose of the psychedelic drug dimethyltryptamine (DMT) when it is combined with psychotherapy, doctors have said.A small clinical trial involving 34 people found that psychedelic-assisted therapy prompted a swift reduction in depressive symptoms that endured long after the drug had worn off, w
  
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• Teenagers guilty of Alexander Cashford beach manslaughter in Sheppey - BBC

  16-02-2026 16:48 via news.google.com
  Teenagers guilty of Alexander Cashford beach manslaughter in Sheppey  BBCGirl, 16, and, boy, 15, found guilty over killing of man pelted with rocks in Kent  The GuardianTeenagers found guilty of manslaughter after man lured to beach and killed  Sky NewsTeenagers guilty of killing man they claimed was a paedophile  The Telegraph‘Many lives have been ruined’: Police react to ‘sad’ killing of man on beach  Kent Online
  
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• ‘It was spooky’: folk singer Olivia Chaney on how a song reflecting her own Brontë-ish love triangle wound up in Wuthering Heights

  16-02-2026 16:33
  Offsetting Charli xcx, Chaney’s take on 19th-century ballad Dark Eyed Sailor accompanies Margot Robbie on the moors – but it’s just a tiny part of her culture-crossing, history-vaulting musical catalogueAn hour into Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights, Margot Robbie is in a gauzy wedding dress, gliding forlornly across the moors towards the man her character feels she has to marry. A lone female English voice appears to accompany her, high and pure against the buzzing dro
  
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• ‘I wasn’t ambitious until I was 60!’ Gary Wilmot on comedy, panto, musicals – and his Beckett-style new play

  16-02-2026 16:33
  He left school at 15 and worked as a scaffolder. Then success on New Faces launched him to stardom – and he’s been a panto and musicals sensation ever since. So what made him write a comedy about two men waiting?Gary Wilmot has had many lives. A children’s TV presenter turned variety show host turned panto marvel turned musicals sensation, Wilmot has now turned his hand back to playwriting. His London debut is a comedy about two men, waiting. One is chill, the other restless; b
  
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• Cabbagecore: why are fashionable people going wild for the green vegetable?

  16-02-2026 16:28
  It’s on handbags, in flower arrangements and is even being used in a Burberry campaign. Just how did this humble brassica become the hottest new trend? Name: Cabbagecore.Age: Ready for 2026. Continue reading...
  
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• "This is made to be a premium experience" Crimson Desert has no microtransactions despite its Black Desert Online pedigree, says Pearl Abyss - Eurogamer

  16-02-2026 16:23 via news.google.com
  "This is made to be a premium experience" Crimson Desert has no microtransactions despite its Black Desert Online pedigree, says Pearl Abyss  Eurogamer'This Is a Premium Experience. That Is the Transaction. Full Stop' — Crimson Desert Dev Rules Out Microtransactions or a Cosmetic Cash Shop  IGNCrimson Desert Reveals Camp Rebuilding, Character Customisation And Daily Life Gameplay  Gamer MattersPearl Abyss Answers Crimson Desert's Biggest Questions Ahead of Mar
  
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• Yin Xiuzhen and Chiharu Shiota review – so on-the-nose it gives you a nosebleed

  16-02-2026 16:06
  Hayward Gallery, London
  One artist critiques capitalism via sculptures made of tatty T-shirts. The other weaves threads like a hyperactive spider. Neither say much – but they’ll look great on InstagramGrief takes many forms. Chinese artist Yin Xiuzhen mourns by preserving, stitching, sewing. Working in 1990s Beijing, she saw a city transforming so fast, and casting off its history with so little ceremony, that she had to save it somehow. Her show at the Hayward is full of scraps of t
  
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• Apple’s doing something on March 4th - The Verge

  16-02-2026 16:02 via news.google.com
  Apple’s doing something on March 4th  The VergeApple to Hold Product Launch on March 4 With Mac Updates Coming  Bloomberg.comApple Announces Special Event in New York, London, and Shanghai on March 4  MacRumorsGet ready for new Macs and iPads: Apple announces "Special Experience" on March 4  Ars TechnicaApple launching 5+ new products over the next several weeks  9to5Mac
  
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• ‘Heath Ledger knocked my tooth out jousting with a broom’: how we made A Knight’s Tale

  16-02-2026 16:00
  ‘The lances were made of balsa wood and filled with uncooked spaghetti – so that when they broke, there’d be an explosion of what looked like splinters’I wrote and directed the Mel Gibson film Payback but got fired during post-production. It was my first film as director and I thought my career was over. It was during this downtime that I wrote A Knight’s Tale. I loved the idea that jousting tournaments were medieval sports, but I had never figured out what to do wi
  
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• 12 screen-free hacks for a fun half term (whatever the weather)

  16-02-2026 16:00
  Forecast ruining your plans? These rainy day ideas for kids will have you sorted. Plus, the best vacuum cleaners and Nussaibah Younis’s shopping secrets• Don’t get the Filter delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereFebruary gloom and drizzle will continue over the half-term break, which is bad news for all the children off school … and even worse news for their parents.So to help you survive the week and keep the kids entertained, we’ve rounded up the best ways to keep
  
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• Cyprus appeals to residents to cut water use by two minutes a day amid drought

  16-02-2026 15:49
  Island’s reservoirs hit record lows even before tourist season starts as Cypriots are warned ‘every drop counts’Europe live – latest updatesAuthorities in Cyprus have urged residents to reduce their water intake by 10% – the equivalent of two minutes’ use of running water each day – as Europe’s most south-easterly nation grapples with a once-in-a century drought.The appeal, announced alongside a €31m (£27m) package of emergency measures,
  
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• Ukraine ex-minister charged with money laundering after trying to flee - Financial Times

  16-02-2026 15:43 via news.google.com
  Ukraine ex-minister charged with money laundering after trying to flee  Financial TimesUkraine's ex-energy minister detained while attempting to leave country  BBCUkraine’s ex-energy minister arrested while trying to cross border  Al JazeeraUkrainian anti-graft authorities detain ex-minister in major case  ReutersUkraine’s former energy minister charged with money laundering  Euronews.com
  
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• Starmer vows to fast-track social media law but says under-16s ban not definite

  16-02-2026 15:42
  Prime minister says action will be taken on young people’s social media access in ‘months, not years’What social media restrictions has Keir Starmer announced?Keir Starmer has pledged action on young people’s access to social media in “months, not years”, while saying this did not necessarily mean a complete ban on access for under-16s.Speaking at an event in London after the government promised to extend the crackdown to AI chatbots that place children at ris
  
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• Paul McCartney's lookalike grandson Elliot Donald, 23, finds love with stunning model Stella Jones - the daughter of The Clash legend Mick - Daily Mail

  16-02-2026 15:41 via news.google.com
  Paul McCartney's lookalike grandson Elliot Donald, 23, finds love with stunning model Stella Jones - the daughter of The Clash legend Mick  Daily Mail
  
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• Doctor shares little-known heart disease symptom that appears in the legs - Nottinghamshire Live

  16-02-2026 15:08 via news.google.com
  Doctor shares little-known heart disease symptom that appears in the legs  Nottinghamshire LiveView Full coverage on Google News
  
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• My rookie era: I attempted only the easiest Australian Women’s Weekly birthday cakes. Then came the duck cake

  16-02-2026 15:00
  When I shared my attempt online, my duck cake was described as ‘Big Bird on crack’Read more summer essentialsI assume no parent aspires to give their offspring an unmemorable and vanilla childhood. I wanted to be a fun mum, creating love-soaked memories and quirky family traditions for my children right from the get-go. I wanted to be Bluey’s parents before Bluey even existed.The Australian Women’s Weekly birthday cakes were destined to be a pillar of my perfectly imperfe
  
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• New UK border rules for dual nationals are discriminatory against women, campaigners say - The Guardian

  16-02-2026 14:53 via news.google.com
  New UK border rules for dual nationals are discriminatory against women, campaigners say  The GuardianForeign-born UK children could be denied entry under new passport rules  The TimesDual citizenship: What are the new passport rules?  ITVXNew UK passport rule to hit British dual citizens this month  The IndependentNew UK Border Rules Spark Dual Citizenship Outcry  Evrim Ağacı
  
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• Archaeologists claim discovery of Hannibal’s war elephants - The Times

  16-02-2026 14:45 via news.google.com
  Archaeologists claim discovery of Hannibal’s war elephants  The TimesAncient bone found in Spain could be from Hannibal's war elephants  BBCPossible Discovery of Ancient Elephant Bones in Spain Linked to Hannibals War Elephants  surfcoastnews.com.auElephants Were Used As War Machines By Hannibal, And A Rare Bone Found Under A Hospital Is Direct Evidence These Creatures Existed  Chip ChickAncient bone may confirm Hannibal’s war elephants in Spai
  
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• Intermittent fasting may make little difference to weight loss, review finds - BBC

  16-02-2026 14:38 via news.google.com
  Intermittent fasting may make little difference to weight loss, review finds  BBCIntermittent fasting no better than dieting, study finds  Financial TimesIntermittent fasting ‘no better than standard diets’ for weight loss  The TimesIntermittent fasting no better than typical weight loss diets, study finds  The GuardianWe Were Wrong About Fasting, Massive Review Shows  ScienceAlert
  
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• Delaine Le Bas review – former Turner nominee delivers witches, warm welcomes – and wallpaper

  16-02-2026 14:06
  The Whitworth, ManchesterThe Romany artist takes a mural she made for Glastonbury as a starting point, then builds a dizzying series of rooms exploring connection and exclusion
  “No” shouts the red paint scrawled across the floor at the entrance. No entry? I wonder as I step tentatively into the gallery. The word appears again and again – always painted in red – across the large sheet of fabric that divides the first gallery space. Later, it decorates Delaine Le Bas’
  
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• Inquiry after woman found dead in police cell - BBC

  16-02-2026 14:05 via news.google.com
  Inquiry after woman found dead in police cell  BBCPolice watchdog investigating death of woman in custody cell | ITV News  ITVXWoman dies in a Black Country police cell after being arrested in Walsall - IOPC launches investigation  Express & StarKey investigation details launched after woman dies in police cell  Birmingham Live
  
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