Month: May 2019

Eating alone has become a defining feature of modern life: the breakfasting commuter; the household members with conflicting schedules; the widower who receives few visitors. Almost a third of British adults are eating alone “most or all of the time”, according to the latest Wellbeing Index, compiled with data from more than 8,000 people for…

It was called “collateral” – nude photos and other embarrassing material that female members of an upstate New York self-improvement group turned over to their “masters” to guarantee obedience, silence and sexual fealty to the organization’s spiritual leader, Keith Raniere. Now some former members of the group, called Nxivm (pronounced nexium) are poised to break…

John Bolton’s sudden, unexplained threat to use “unrelenting force” against Tehran has raised US-Iran tensions to a new high. But its impact is not confined to these two countries. Like a lethal poison, their mutual enmity is seeping through the veins of an already unstable region that has experienced dangerously high levels of volatility in…

Financial markets around the world posted declines on Monday after Donald Trump risked jeopardising trade talks with China by unexpectedly saying he would raise tariffs further on Chinese goods this week. Stocks in Europe and the US fell following a sharp retreat in China, as investors were caught off guard by the president’s tweets accusing…

Brunei’s Sultan, Hassanal Bolkiah, has extended a moratorium on the death penalty to incoming legislation on punishments for gay sex, after a global backlash led by celebrities such as George Clooney and Elton John. The country provoked an outcry when it rolled out its interpretation of Islamic laws, or sharia, on 3 April, punishing sodomy,…

A terror plot by an army veteran who converted to Islam and planned to bomb a white supremacist rally in southern California as retribution for the New Zealand mosque attacks was thwarted, federal prosecutors said Monday. Mark Domingo, 26, an infantryman who served a combat stint in Afghanistan, was arrested by federal agents Friday while…

Pete Buttigieg has faced homophobic heckling during one of his latest 2020 presidential campaign events. “Marriage is between a man and a woman!” one protester yelled during the mayor’s speech at an event in Dallas, Texas, on Friday, according to a CNN reporter who filmed the event. Another protester yelled: “Repent!” The 37-year-old mayor of…

In that very modern way, Lucy found Cat on the dating app Tinder and they started messaging each other through Instagram. “I looked at your Instagram and started following you,” says Cat. “We bonded over a mutual love of animals.” Lucy says: “I saw that Cat had a horse, and there were lots of pictures…

Images of sandy beaches, sun-kissed swimming pools and azure blue skies gleam from the window and walls of what appears to be a new travel agent opening in a London shopping centre. But browsers may be surprised by the destination, for it is a journey every one of us will one day take: death. Look…

A leading contemporary art gallery covered up works featuring an Islamic declaration of faith after complaints from Muslim visitors who said the artworks were blasphemous. The Saatchi Gallery in west London hosted an exhibition of new material by the artist SKU featuring a variety of works. However, it decided to cover up two paintings that…