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Strong social networks have been shown to improve wellbeing, but what are the extra perks of having a really close friend? And why are women more likely to have one?“We met when we were five. I don’t know how I would have managed without her.” As children, Barbara Kastelein, from Ashford in Kent, and her best friend, nicknamed “Tulip”, both had alcoholic fathers. Their friendship was an escape from unhappy homes.The best friends are now both 55 and their relationship is as solid as ever. Barbara says they are more like sisters – and still there for each other during tough times. When Barbara’s father died, Tulip drove for hours to be at the funeral and to help Barbara empty her father’s flat. “I can’t imagine life without her,” says Barbara. “She is my guardian angel.” Continue reading...

Film star and California governor pictured at scene of accident in which police confirm one woman taken to hospitalArnold Schwarzenegger has been involved in a multi-vehicle crash that resulted in a woman being taken to hospital.The film star and former bodybuilder and governor of California was pictured at the scene, in photos shared by the TMZ website, in Los Angeles on Friday afternoon. Continue reading...

The athlete, 38, talks about winning the Olympics in London, jogging down the Thames, his strict training regime and how often he shaves his headI don’t have many memories of growing up in Somalia – I was so young. I remember coming to the UK, age eight, going to school – even though I couldn’t speak any English – and suddenly having all these friends to play with.I owe a lot to my PE teacher, Mr Watkinson. He saw me running around the playground, he watched me run in a figure of eight around the gym. Then he thought: “That kid is good at running.” He encouraged me to join a local running club. We’re still in touch. Continue reading...

A skier in northern Finland was treated to a stunning display as the vivid aurora borealis and a bright moon shone in the sky early on Saturday 15 January. Jari Romppainen filmed the footage in Ranua, a municipality in the Finnish province of Lapland. According to Finland's national tourist site, the northern lights are visible for about 200 nights a year from Lapland

The supreme court decision in Roe v Wade was made 49 years ago, making abortion a protected right. Now, with that right under threat, people recall life before the landmark rulingThis article is published in partnership with The 19th, an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting at the intersection of gender, politics and policy. Read the full version hereSaturday marks the 49th anniversary of the supreme court’s Roe v Wade decision, the landmark ruling that guaranteed the right to an abortion in the US. It could be the last anniversary before it is overturned. Continue reading...

Coronavirus pandemic’s finishing line has not yet come clearly into focus for millions of people

From tomato-scented candles to perfumes reeking of intimate body parts, the world of smell is getting weirder. But are we ready to take our olfactory desires to the next level?One night last week, I sat in my kitchen with my eyes closed, inhaling the rich, earthy scent of tomatoes. I felt transported: I was in an Italian garden, sun-dappled leaves swaying as I picked the plump, ripe fruit for a late pasta dinner with my large and beautiful family. I was, in essence, one of the puppets from the Dolmio adverts. But the smell wasn’t coming from a tomato. It was coming from a candle.How did they make it smell so real? I called my boyfriend over to share in this miracle. He put his face right over the flame, said that it smelled like burnt nose hair and quickly lost interest. But I remained tickled by this magic trick. A candle, that smells like tomatoes! Continue reading...

These 15 small venues – all run or founded by immigrants to Britain – are part of the fabric of the nation’s high streets. But after two hellish years, can they survive?Plus 15 great recipes – from Scandinavia to Tibet, via the Caribbean and Cambodia• Yotam Ottolenghi on his favourite ingredient Continue reading...

Owners want to bring venue up to date while maintaining heritage of cinema that first opened in 1909In the 112 years since it began, the Electric cinema in Birmingham has lived through the history of film-making. When it first opened its doors in 1909 it showed silent movies with a piano backing, rolling newsreels and cartoons in the 30s, adult films in the 60s, and blockbusters in the 80s.But the Covid pandemic nearly marked the end of what is believed to be the UK’s oldest working cinema when its owners decided to sell up after more than a year of continuous closure. Continue reading...

Outbreak at factory challenges zero Covid strategy that has kept the island largely free of the diseaseTaiwan has reported a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases with a cluster among workers at a factory threatening authorities’ tenuous control of an Omicron outbreak on the eve of Lunar New Year.On Saturday, Taiwan’s centre for disease control reported 82 domestic cases, including 63 found at the Taoyuan factory in a first round of testing on Friday. Most of those sick are migrant workers, health and welfare minister Chen Shih-chung said. Continue reading...

Former Olympic cycling champion vows to take back streets from motor traffic as head of Active Travel EnglandFormer Olympic champion Chris Boardman has promised to take England’s streets back from motor traffic after being given a powerful new official role which will see councils rated, Ofsted-style, for how well they make space for cycling and walking.Boardman, who won gold in the velodrome at the 1992 Games and raced in the Tour de France, has been named as the first head of Active Travel England (ATE), which will hand out funding for cycling and walking schemes and oversee designs. Continue reading...

An increase in domestic dogs and cats is not just good news for their new owners – it’s also a boost for the US economyHer name was Peanut. I was drawn to her because she looked like the Jack Russell terrier from the TV show Frasier (the only likable member of the cast) and maybe also because of some bottomless loneliness. The pandemic seemed to nudge so many people into getting pets so maybe I should also become a mother to this oversized rat?A lot of people in the US got a dog in the pandemic. Almost 9 million dogs have been acquired by households since the start of the pandemic (a number equivalent to the population of New York City) bringing the total number of dogs in the US to 108 million (that’s roughly one dog to every three humans in the US). And cats crept up too – an additional 5 million in the space of just a few years bringing the total US feline count to 79 million. Continue reading...

Australia to scrap PCR test requirement for international arrivals; Triple J counts down Hottest 100. This blog is now closed

In Chonhar a blue and yellow flag marks the de facto border as Russian forces amass across a shimmering expanse of waterPeering through binoculars, Mykola Chekman pointed to the bridge connecting Ukraine to Russian-controlled Crimea. “It’s not the first time the peninsula has been occupied,” he observed. He added: “Crimea has seen a lot of war.”Chekman – a Ukrainian army photographer – was standing on the castellated tower of what was once a tourist cafe. It is now a base for Ukrainian forces, facing off against their invisible Russian counterparts across a shimmering expanse of water and duck-filled lagoons. Continue reading...

Hospitals overwhelmed in Sa’ada after attack levels buildings in Houthi northern heartlandAn airstrike on a prison in northern Yemen killed at least 60 people and wounded 200 more, while a separate attack shut down the country’s internet, as Saudi-led reprisals to a Houthi drone attack on the United Arab Emirates intensified.The violence marked an especially deadly day in the seven-year war, leaving bystanders searching through rubble with their bare hands to rescue those trapped in two locations: a prison in the city of Sa’ada and a telecommunications centre in the port city of Hodeidah, where three children playing football nearby were reported to have been killed. Continue reading...

Travel restrictions have stranded almost 150,000 students, workers and others hoping to join relatives

Shane McInerney allegedly refused to wear a mask, threw a can at another passenger and mooned at a flight attendantAn Irishman who refused to wear a Covid mask during a flight from Dublin to New York and exposed his rear end to a flight attendant faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of assault, the US justice department said on Friday.Shane McInerney, 29, from Galway, was alleged to have caused the disturbance on a Delta Airlines flight on 7 January. Continue reading...

Gunman shoots three Canadians in Playa del Carmen, with foreigners again caught up in drug cartel violenceThree Canadian visitors have been shot by a lone gunman in their hotel in the Mexican resort town of Playa del Carmen – in an attack security officials are calling targeted and alleging involved individuals with criminal records.One of the tourists died of their injuries while being transported to hospital following the incident on Friday, according to the Quintana Roo state public security secretary, Lucio Hernández Gutiérrez, who confirmed the nationality of the victims. Continue reading...

The blast, which flattened hundreds of buildings, followed a collision between a truck carrying mining explosives and a motorcycleAt least 13 people have been killed after a truck carrying mining explosives collided with a motorcycle in western Ghana, sparking an explosion that has left hundreds of buildings destroyed.The accident happened around noon in Apiate, near the mining city of Bogoso, 300km (180 miles) west of the West African country’s capital, Accra. Continue reading...

Joshua Hendry, 30, was named as one of Britain’s 12 most wanted fugitives on WednesdayOne of Britain’s most wanted fugitives has been arrested by Spanish police just 24 hours after an appeal to track him down was launched.Joshua Hendry, 30, was arrested in the town of San Pedro de Alcántara in Marbella, southern Spain, on Thursday after police spotted him out walking a dog. Continue reading...

Ireland’s premier Micheál Martin says ‘we have weathered the Omicron storm’; France reports 400,851 daily cases and 233 Covid-linked hospital deaths

NLD politician and hip hop artist Phyo Zayar Thaw handed sentence alongside democracy activist Kyaw Min YuA military tribunal in Myanmar has sentenced a member of Aung San Suu Kyi’s ousted party to death for terror offences, as the junta ramped up a crackdown on the toppled leader’s party.The south-east Asian country has been in chaos since the February coup, with more than 1,400 killed in a subsequent crackdown on dissent, according to a local monitoring group. Continue reading...

Tesla billionaire says he could send Starlink terminals via SpaceX to Pacific island nation where communication is downElon Musk has offered to send Starlink internet terminals to Tonga, after the recent volcanic eruption and tsunami left the Pacific island nation without communication links to the rest of the world.Replying on Twitter to a Reuters story that Tonga could be without internet connection for a month, the billionaire entrepreneur wrote: “Could people from Tonga let us know if it is important for SpaceX to send over Starlink terminals?” Continue reading...

Unions warn against a rush back to workplaces as government departments told to return to ‘full occupancy’

The man who lifted the lid on racism at Yorkshire has faced death threats but has no intention of letting up in his quest for equality“I am exhausted,” Azeem Rafiq says quietly as, just before eight in the morning, he takes a deep breath and straightens his black tie. The 30-year-old former cricketer, who exposed the institutional racism at the heart of a sport he once loved, is dressed in a sombre black suit. His mood is as composed and candid as it was when he gave his harrowing testimony in parliament to the DCMS select committee two months ago. “It’s a burden I’ve been carrying a very long time,” Rafiq says. “So to get all that off my chest to the select committee was a massive relief. I slept well that night. But since then it’s been a whirlwind.”Rafiq feels under threat, unsettled by warnings that he and his family are in danger. There are also sustained attempts to undermine him and Rafiq is convinced some powerful forces are intent on muzzling him. Continue reading...

‘Humans are social and we Irish more than most,’ Micheál Martin tells country after ending 20 months of social restrictions

Labour and Lib Dems call for full transparency as it emerges Sue Gray’s report may just summarise findings

Exclusive: Controversial MP with large Facebook following has registered business name which appears to be a media brand

West Australians are torn between wanting to see loved ones and wanting to stay safe behind the barricade. Most of us in the eastern states feel that conflict too

Nicholas Rossi is wanted by Interpol and faces extradition to the US over an allegation of sexual assaultA man who appeared in a Scottish court using a wheelchair and attached to an oxygen cylinder has denied being an international fugitive with 16 aliases.The man, who was traced to an intensive care unit in Glasgow while being treated for Covid 19 last December, denied being 34-year-old Nicholas Rossi, who is wanted by Interpol and faces extradition to the US over an allegation of sexual assault in Utah. Continue reading...

Move comes amid ‘frank and substantive’ talks in Geneva and announcement by Russia of new military exercisesThe US has offered to hold a summit between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin as a last-ditch effort to stop the slide to a new war in Europe, as Russia continued to build up its forces along the Ukraine border and announced new naval exercises in the Black Sea.The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said Washington and its allies were also ready to respond in writing next week to Russian demands on the future of Nato and European security, which Moscow has said must be addressed to avoid it taking “military measures”. But, speaking in Geneva where he held talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, Blinken repeated the US and Nato position there could still be no compromise on the central issue of the right of Ukraine and other countries to join Nato in the future. Continue reading...

Sam Duckor-Jones has transformed an unused church into what he hopes will be a place for rural queerness to thriveOn the wild and remote west coast of New Zealand’s South Island, an old dame is getting a hot-pink makeover, with all the synthetic flowers, coloured beads and glitter she can take. Her name is Gloria, and she is an 83-year-old church, on her way to becoming a public sculpture and “queer beacon” for the local community.“I didn’t grow up in the church, I grew up in a Jewish household, but mostly I grew up making things, and in recent years I’ve become more and more excited about queer celebration,” says poet and artist Sam Duckor-Jones. Continue reading...

Seven days after a massive volcanic eruption that spawned a tsunami and ash cloud, communications are still largely down and the scale of the catastrophe unknownIt was the week Tonga disappeared.Riveted by the shocking satellite images of the eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano and subsequent tsunami, the eyes of the world turned to the South Pacific island country, home to about 100,000 people, on Saturday. But just as the world was desperate for news from Tonga, it went dark. Continue reading...

Gabriel Boric, 35, picks youthful team including at defence the granddaughter of Salvador Allende, who was deposed in a coupChile’s millennial president-elect, Gabriel Boric, has named a progressive cabinet, with a ministerial team which for the first time anywhere in the Americas is dominated by women.Boric, a 35-year-old former student leader, will replace the billionaire rightwing president Sebastián Piñera on 11 March as he becomes the youngest president in Chile’s history. Continue reading...

Matthew Willson from Surrey was shot in ‘reckless’ shooting as he was visiting his girlfriendAn astrophysicist from Surrey has died after being hit by a stray bullet while lying in bed during a trip to Atlanta.Dr Matthew Willson, 31, from Chertsey, was shot in the early hours of Friday when a weapon was discharged by a group of individuals on a neighbouring block of flats in the suburb of Brookhaven. No suspects have been arrested. Continue reading...

‘Dozens of IS fighters’ were freed from the jail and the attacks raise fears of the terror group’s resurgenceIslamic State has attacked a Syrian prison housing its suspected members and a military base in Iraq in near-simultaneous deadly operations that have revived fears of the terror group’s resurgence.IS has yet to comment on the attacks and there is no indication that these were coordinated but, according to analysts, they strongly suggest IS is trying to boost its ranks and arsenal in an attempt to reorganise across both countries. Continue reading...

Belgian-British Zara Rutherford braved acrid smoke and freezing Siberia on round-the-world journey in two-seater microlightIt should have been perfect flying weather when Zara Rutherford set off from Palo Alto in California for Seattle, a month into her attempt to become the youngest woman to fly solo round the world. But while the skies were clear, wildfires were raging on the ground.She tried to avoid the towering plumes of acrid smoke by climbing to 12,000ft, but to no avail. “I couldn’t see in front of me,” she said. “It was all kind of a brownish, smoky, orange, dirty colour. I could smell the smoke as well, which was quite unpleasant.” Continue reading...

Martin Hibbert, who was 5 metres from the deadly explosion, is now tackling Africa’s highest mountainIt was a month after the Manchester Arena attack when Martin Hibbert learned the catastrophic toll of his injuries. He and his 14-year-old daughter, Eve, on a “daddy daughter day” to an Ariana Grande concert, were 5 metres from the explosion that killed 22 people and injured hundreds more in May 2017.Hibbert, 45, from Chorley in Lancashire, was told he would never walk again. Eve would probably never see, hear, speak or move – if she made it out of hospital. They were the closest to the bomb to survive. Continue reading...

Kicking off our new monthly guides to an author’s work, crime novelist Janice Hallett puts the spotlight on the creator of Miss Marple and PoirotWhat with the chart-topping success of Richard Osman’s novels, and a new series by the Rev Richard Coles due later this year, cosy crime fiction seems to be having its moment. If you’ve already raced your way through The Thursday Murder Club and The Man Who Died Twice, why not try picking up a novel by the original queen of crime herself? Janice Hallett, whose bestselling crime novels The Appeal and The Twyford Code have seen her dubbed “a modern Agatha Christie” has put together a handy list to help you choose which one to pick.*** Continue reading...

French energy firm cites worsening human rights for decision in victory for campaignersThe energy firms Chevron and Total have announced they will withdraw from Myanmar, a breakthrough for activists who have campaigned for the companies to cut off what is a major source of revenue for the military junta.In a statement, Total, which renamed itself TotalEnergies last year, cited the worsening human rights situation in Myanmar, which was plunged into chaos almost a year ago when the military seized power in a coup, ousting the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Continue reading...

António Horta-Osório resigned last week after bank looked into alleged repeated breaches of Covid rules

Lisala Folau, a survivor of the Tonga tsunami, spoke on Friday of being swept to sea from the island of Atata. 'The scariest part of the ordeal for me was when the waves took me from land into the sea,' he told Sky News. The 57-year-old was swept away by a tsunami generated by a volcanic eruption on 15 January.Folau, a retired carpenter with a motion disability, managed to stay afloat for more than a day and make his way across the sea to the main island of Tongatapu. He said his faith in God and his family were the two things that occupied his thoughts while he was helpless at sea

The singer’s melodic, growling voice was a marvel – and she overcame great hardship in order to put it to astonishing useElza Soares stood quietly, a few minutes before being born into music. Engulfed by audience fuss and hullabaloo, another of her competitors had been disqualified from the radio talent show she was attending. It was 1953, and Soares had just one chance to bring home the cash prize – she needed it to help care for her unwell son. She was still a teenager and, once on stage, her oversized, ragged dress would make the audience explode into laughter. “What’s the planet you came from?” asked the host, waiting for the gag’s cue. “I’m from Planet Hunger,” she said. Silence took hold of the venue, and Elza sang for the first time. She never stopped, until her death this week aged 91.Over the decades, the Brazilian artist became a staple for samba, a mainstay of her nation’s songbook and a singer that shared a global pantheon Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. Dubbed the “voice of the millennium” by the BBC in 1999, Elza met the Planet Hunger as few did: a Black woman born in Rio’s favelas, who faced down racism, sexism and classism with brilliant verve. Continue reading...

In the latest setback for reproductive rights, the ruling leaves the draconian abortion law in place for the foreseeable futureIn the latest setback for abortion rights in Texas, the supreme court on Thursday refused to speed up the court case challenging the state’s ban on most abortions.Over dissents from the three liberal justices, the court declined to order a federal appeals court to return the case to a federal judge who had temporarily blocked the law’s enforcement. The court offered no explanation for its action. Continue reading...

The drink quickly became an integral part of the national identity after its creation in Turin in the 19th centuryItaly is to apply for Unesco status for espresso coffee, claiming it is “much more than a simple drink”.It follows the art of the Neapolitan pizza-maker being added to the UN agency’s list of the world’s intangible heritage in 2017 as Italy aims to secure the worldwide status for another of its successful symbols. Continue reading...

Nathan Smith tells jury he thought Craig Wiltshire was faking it when he said he could not breatheA man on trial for killing a suspected thief has told a jury he was performing a citizen’s arrest and thought the man was faking it when he told him he could not breathe.Nathan Smith, a 38-year-old carer, said he had no intention of hurting Craig Wiltshire, 43, but simply wanted to detain him until the police arrived. He denies manslaughter. Continue reading...

Speaker of lower house seeks permission to give 35 ‘grand electors’ a chance to have their sayItalian parliamentarians who have Covid-19 may be allowed to cast their ballots for Italy’s new president from a car park.More than 1,000 MPs and regional delegates will begin voting on Monday, and amid a debacle over who the next head of state should be, the coronavirus pandemic is posing logistical challenges. Continue reading...

The hard-rock icon injected even the most absurd songs with deeply felt emotion and formed the perfect musical partnership with Jim Steinman

NGOs call for aid exemption to EU-backed sanctions imposed after election postponement and arrival of Russian paramilitaryMore than a dozen aid organisations have called for humanitarian exemptions to heavy sanctions imposed on Mali after the military leadership postponed planned February elections.The EU has announced support for the sanctions imposed earlier this month by the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), which include closing borders and a trade embargo. Continue reading...

It was only a small gathering, the sort I used to dread, but it was a glimpse of a post-Covid worldIs a Great Easing under way? Superficially, it seems not. In New York, everyone is still masked. Teachers send kids home with Covid test kits at the slightest symptom and advise them to stay away until they have two negative results in the bag. In Chicago, the schools shut down for a week then reopened, while Eric Adams, the mayor of New York, freaked everyone out last Friday by making ominous noises about potential school shutdowns in the city. Continue reading...