The scientist leading a study into how the urban environment affects our wellbeing on the surprising and lasting psychological benefits of even just a small dose of nature Andrea Mechelli, a clinical psychologist and neuroscientist, is professor of early intervention in mental health at Kings College London. He is the project lead on Urban Mind , a research study co-developed with arts foundation Nomad Projects and landscape architects J&L Gibbons which since 2018 has been looking at how aspects

The Frenchman has battled with injuries and perceptions to remain one of tenniss great entertainers at the age of 37 At any tournament in almost any part of the world, one of the certainties over the past 20 years is that whenever Gal Monfils plays, fans are present. Tennis, after all, is entertainment, and there have been few greater entertainers than the 37-year-old. He is one of the purest athletes the sport has seen and displays immense skill, feel and showmanship. At his best, Monfils makes

Its never been easier to take a flattering image of yourself. So why do people commission professional portraits of themselves or loved ones? Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email Theyre the artwork the public rarely sees: the custom personal portraits hanging in homes, maybe above a mantelpiece, in a study or a bedroom; images of ourselves, family and other loved ones, sometimes even our pets. With selfies available to anyone with a smartphone and professional photography affordable and a

A quarter of Britains children live below the poverty line. Near his Fife home, the former PM shows how charities help families and says this issue must be a priority for any government The Observer view: Labour must tackle this scourge Torsten Bell: We can end child poverty Archbishop urges Starmer to ditch cruel benefit cap Outside a warehouse squeezed between a waste recycling plant, an auto parts outlet and a scaffolding company in Lochgelly, Fife, a blur of figures in hi-vis jackets are

Myrteza Hilaj and Kreshnik Kadena convicted after NCA operation into Albanian crime group involved in illegal migration Two men who used a plane to smuggle people from northern France to an aerodrome in Essex have been jailed. Myrteza Hilaj and Kreshnik Kadena, both from Leyton in east London, were found guilty at Southwark crown court in March of facilitating the commission of a breach of immigration law. Continue reading...

Patrick Grant says rise of low-cost retailers means new clothes havent got cheaper, theyve just got worse While filming The Great British Sewing Bee , the presenter and clothing entrepreneur Patrick Grant found himself in need of a pair of black socks. The production team bought a pair from the Marks & Spencer shop close to where the popular BBC show was being filmed. Grant said: They went to everybodys favourite high street store, that used to sell on the basis of quality and value, and they bo

The photographer and her husband came across an abandoned boat while out walking and took the opportunity to float a surreal idea Every September, Carla Vermeend and her husband go on holiday to Terschelling island, inthe Netherlands. It has lots of nature, right in the middle of theWadden Sea, whichis listed by Unescoas aworld heritage site, says Vermeend, a Dutch photographer. During their visit in 2014, the couple were walking bythe sea together. Continue reading...

As cases in Brixham, Devon, rise, heres what we know about the infectious disease and the parasite that causes it With a parasite that can cause diarrhoea found in the drinking water supply in parts of south Devon, we take a look at the organism involved and how infection can be avoided. Continue reading...

Kulveer Ranger resigns Tory whip after committee also recommends suspension from House of Lords for three weeks A peer is set to be suspended from House of Lords bars for 12 months after he was found to have bullied and harassed two people while drunk. Kulveer Ranger has resigned the government whip after the House of Lords conduct committee also recommended that he be suspended from the house for three weeks. Continue reading...

Her inquiry appearance has been long awaited. So far, no official has been held accountable for the ruining of so many lives Strange to think the northern lights have been glimpsed in public more frequently over the past few years than the former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells . I didnt see the northern lights last week, but I will see Vennells close up next week, when at very, very long last she presents herself before the public inquiry into the Horizon scandal. Polite notice: if your attent

Benediktas Gylys admits he was surprised by the rowdy behavior that came from the exhibit connecting people in the two cities The artist behind the controversial Portal art exhibit that visually linked New York and Dublin in real-time, but was then closed due to rowdy and extreme behavior by the public using it, has admitted he was surprised by the reaction. Benediktas Gylys also vowed to continue with his project, which has the aim of connecting people and communities all over the world and is

An NHS trusts attempts to bring a crucial drug to market itself is hopeful news for patients Dr Catriona Crombie is the head of rare disease at medical charity LifeArc Healthcare should make peoples lives better. That fact can hardly be contested. Yet for some patients with rare diseases, commercial interests are dictating who gets to access life-saving treatment and who doesnt. Pharmaceutical companies have long been driven by global demand and the potential for the highest profits. In the past

Exiled from their home since it was occupied by Morocco in the mid-70s, nearly 200,000 Sahrawis live in camps in Algeria. Now in its 18th year, the FiSahara festival is a window to the world Photographs by Susan Schulman for the Guardian From the outside, Asria Mohameds tent in a refugee camp in south-west Algeria could be mistaken for a typical four-door nomadic dwelling used by Sahrawis, people from Western Sahara, though it is smaller in size. Inside, however, is a series of QR codes attache

Fans started their preparations four days before games and would release pigeons to celebrate goals, this book extract reveals Football in Albania is a national obsession. Yet between the late 1960s and Stalinisms slow, lingering death in 1991, it became more than mere fixation. In a country where the 1967 rewriting of the constitution denied people their freedom of faith, football became the new religion, with pilgrims from Gjirokastr to Shkodr, Lezh to Sarand, filling stadiums every Sunday aft

Prevalence of food hypersensitivity greater than thought, with allergy to peanuts or tree nuts most common One in 20 adults in the UK has a confirmed food allergy and nearly a third have food insensitivities, according to the first study of its kind. The report by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) found 2.4 million adults (6%) had a clinically confirmed food allergy, the most common of which were to peanuts and tree nuts such as hazelnuts, walnuts and almonds. Many individuals also had allergies t

For 40 years, Amit Shah has been at Narendra Modis side his confidant, consigliere and enforcer. Today he is Indias second-most powerful man, and he is reshaping the country in radical ways Late one night in November 2005, a small group of plain-clothed police officers pulled over a bus in western India. They escorted off a man named Sohrabuddin Sheikh, who was joined on the side of the road by his wife, Kausar. Sheikh and Kausar were put into separate police cars and driven 600 miles away, acr