More than £3bn is due to be spent on the proposed road tunnel between Kent and Essex, which is estimated to have higher costs per mile than HS2

Ministers have earmarked more than £170m extra to help build the Lower Thames Crossing road tunnel, fuelling concerns over the “spiralling” costs of one of the UK’s largest planned infrastructure projects.

The proposed £11bn route under the Thames between Kent and Essex is already estimated to cost more each mile than the HS2 high-speed rail link from London to Birmingham. It was given the funding boost as part of a plan to spend £3.1bn of public money on the project, before a hoped-for injection of £7.5bn by a private sector firm.

Continue reading...

You could let them make a mess in your kitchen, take them to the safari park to draw animals – and if all else fails there’s always bribes! We speak to leading artists about making childcare creative

Who better to have the final word on introducing young children to art than artist parents? Gone are the days of the genius artist at work alone in their garret. Today’s creatives are making art with knee-height people at their feet. So, what’s worked for them when it comes to sharing their love of art? What hasn’t? And what’s their advice for the rest of us?

Continue reading...

Tom Kerridge says ‘whole of hospitality’ should get behind Burnham who has called for VAT cut from 20% to 10%

Chefs and restaurateurs have said they hope Andy Burnham becomes prime minister after he backed calls to cut VAT tax for hospitality businesses.

Burnham, who is standing as the Labour candidate in the Makerfield byelection and is expected to launch a challenge to Keir Starmer’s leadership if he wins, has called for the rate to be cut from 20% to 10% to be in line with European rates.

Continue reading...

Investigation reveals more than 4.4 million people live in ‘news deserts’ that lack dedicated local reporting

Local social media groups are fuelling misinformation in areas with no reliable sources of news, according to an investigation that reveals the scale of fake news flowing to vulnerable communities across Britain.

Misinformation was nearly three times more common in areas with little or no recognised local journalism, according to a study of tens of thousands of posts seen by the Guardian. Immigration and Islamophobia were the most common topics of misinformation across Facebook and X.

Continue reading...

Too many leaders have appeased the rightwing culture warriors. In the wake of the Henry Nowak rioting, the time for a push against toxicity and untruths is now

It is easy to regard, and thus disregard, the riots following the conviction of Henry Nowak’s murderer as an explosion of reaction by a flammable and motivated minority. The more uncomfortable truth is that a specific notion, that people of colour have been privileged over and above mere equality, and been given dominion over white people, is now mainstream. Whether it is in the rejection of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, or in claims of “two-tier policing”, the current moment can seem as though it is about all sorts of disparate things: immigration, concerns over housing, cultural dilution, basic fairness. But it’s really broadly about one thing – equality has gone too far. The black man has the whip hand over the white man.

As you can tell by the previous line, this is not a new notion, now recycled by Nigel Farage when he says that there is “a two-tier culture in this country, where the rights and privileges of white people matter less than those of ethnic minorities”. It is, at its most simple, backlash. The sort of pushback that has followed every single wave of civil rights progress and efforts at enfranchisement.

Continue reading...

Dip tips: a good mix of North African spice, seasoning, colour and texture is guaranteed to get the palate excited for the meal ahead

Dips are never just accompaniments at our restaurant, the Barbary in central London, but a way of building flavour from the outset. They set the tone for the meal, so it’s important not only to have a variety of spice and seasoning, but also contrast in colour and texture, not least to get the palate excited straight away. These early-summer dips, inspired by the former Barbary Coast (Morocco, Algeria, Libya and Tunisia), are all best served with grilled flatbread, seeded crackers and fresh vegetables. The kaha kaha and machluta dips are both somewhere between a dip and a salad, and go especially well with grilled chicken, while the fava is good with grilled fish.

Continue reading...

Report blames Middle East conflict and rising business costs for fragile jobs market and steep fall in recruitment

UK companies are increasingly hiring temporary workers instead of permanent staff because of low confidence in the economy and higher cost pressures, according to a report.

Recruiters reported a strong increase in offers of temporary roles in May, according to new research from KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).

Continue reading...

Het is staande praktijk in de Haagse wandelgangen en achterkamertjes: quid pro quo, compromissen sluiten, akkoorden uitonderhandelen. Toch is de ene deal een stuk lelijker dan de andere, zo bleek vorige week rondom de begroting van Ontwikkelingssamenwerking. Wat is de prijs van politieke principes?

Mr Mikage (ミスター御影） posted a photo:

Aan de Dordtsestraatweg in Rotterdam-Feijenoord is een busje in brand gevlogen. Dat gebeurde in de nacht van zondag op maandag rond 02:15 uur. Het vuur werd snel geblust, maar de schade aan het voertuig is groot. Van binnen is de wagen helemaal uitgebrand.