Deep in the crypt of Canterbury Cathedral, a carved stone face twists in fury. The reason is clear enough: a man straddles the figure’s head, legs splayed, brandishing a fish and a bowl in his outstretched hands. Nearby, other sculptures cling to slender columns — a serpent-tailed beast grappling with a dog-like creature, a gryphon devouring a siren, and the remains of a horned devil now broken from its perch. Such unruly imagery lurking beneath one of England’s holiest spaces feels startling,

In July 1983, Clash of Loyalties was shown publicly for the first time – and almost the last. Decades later, in 2020, its producer reflected on the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the production: military call-ups, tense interrogations, and an infamous incident involving a heavily intoxicated Oliver Reed. The gravest danger to Saddam Hussein’s lavish, Hollywood-style epic was not the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War in 1980, just weeks after filming had begun in the desert outside Baghdad.

In August 2026, Spain will witness an extraordinary astronomical event — the first of three eclipses set to occur within just two years. One Spanish city is already preparing a wide-ranging program for both visitors and residents, according to National Geographic. On August 12, 2026, a total solar eclipse will be visible from several regions of Spain, but Valencia has drawn particular attention from astronomers and travelers alike. The city lies directly along the path of totality, where the

Humans tend to experience sunrises and sunsets as natural “bookends” to the day. But beyond their beauty, these glowing moments may have powerful effects on our memory, sleep and emotional wellbeing. On the evening before my wedding, my parents, my soon-to-be husband and I stood on the deck of a house in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, watching a sunset none of us will ever forget. Cape Cod is renowned for its golden-hour light. Because the narrow peninsula is almost completely surrounded by water,

I first stepped into a bouchon at 20, while studying abroad as an Erasmus student. By chance, I had been placed in rural Auvergne for a semester, and every weekend I hitchhiked to the nearest major city – Lyon. My knowledge of Lyon began and ended with its reputation for outstanding cuisine, especially the generous dishes served in traditional eateries dressed with red-and-white checked tablecloths and handwritten chalkboard menus. So when I was served a tough, overpriced cut of beef that cost

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Druski is set to become the youngest host in BET Awards history on Sunday, as the ceremony celebrates major talents including Lauryn Hill and Teyana Taylor, with performers such as Cardi B, Doechii and Queen Latifah expected to light up the stage. At 31, Druski will break the previous record held by Kevin Hart, who was the show’s youngest host when he took on the role in 2011. The comedian and online personality will lead the live broadcast from the Peacock Theater in Los

Renowned American actor Brad Pitt, who is currently in a relationship with 33-year-old jewelry designer Ines de Ramon, is not planning to marry her. According to an insider who spoke to Page Six, the 62-year-old star of “Troy” and “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” is not ready to enter into another official marriage. However, his partner is already considered part of his inner circle. The couple has been together since 2022. “Ines is incredibly close to Brad’s family. They absolutely adore her and

From highway rest stops to vast, empty horizons, visitors are uncovering unexpected pieces of Americana far beyond the tournament’s main arenas. Before this summer’s Fifa World Cup began, most of the conversation centred on the host cities and their stadiums. Yet just two weeks in, an unanticipated storyline has emerged: social media is brimming with uplifting clips of fans discovering the United States that stretches between the skyscrapers. Some visitors have been so captivated by warehouse

King Charles’s property management company has surpassed £1bn in annual earnings for the third year in a row, driven largely by the rapid expansion of offshore wind projects funded through consumer energy bills. The Crown Estate, which oversees the royal family’s land and property holdings, posted profits of £1.2bn for the most recent financial year—nearly triple the figure reported three years ago. Around two-thirds of this total was generated by offshore wind activities. Last year alone, wind

A land of rocky ravines, postcard-perfect villages, more than 6,000km of cycling routes and wonderfully sparse crowds awaits. My bike sweeps downhill as a rush of wind surges past my ears. To my right, a waterfall spills down a vivid green hillside. Ahead, honey-coloured stone houses edge the road. Within minutes, the medieval village of Chambonas comes into view, its dark-turreted castle rising above the valley. I push onward, veer left after a narrow bridge and finally coast into Les Vans,

Earth appears as a generous single woman with endless love to offer; Humanity is the magnetic rogue who takes far more than he gives. Their damaging romance unfolds in Hot Mess, a musical by Jack Godfrey and Ellie Coote. The show functions both as an offbeat romantic comedy with wide appeal and as a pointed metaphor for our exploitation of a once-thriving planet now pushed toward exhaustion. After becoming a sensation at the Edinburgh Fringe last summer and transferring to London, it stands at

WASHINGTON (AP) — For over four decades, a series of sketches by American illustrator Norman Rockwell depicting scenes from the White House visitors’ lobby hung inside the West Wing, viewed by every president from Jimmy Carter through Donald Trump. Now, the artwork will be accessible to the public for the first time after a nonprofit group purchased the sketches for more than $7 million when they were placed up for auction following a family disagreement over ownership. The four drawings,

Kyiv, Ukraine – On May 22, Ukraine’s president, prime minister, parliament speaker, senior ministers and top military commanders stood in silence at a military cemetery outside Kyiv as soldiers carried the coffins of Andriy Melnyk and his wife, Sofiya, past the assembled officials. The ceremony, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, was intended to honour “Ukrainian heroes.” Melnyk had been a leading figure in the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), a movement that sought an independent Ukrainian

The sweeping landscape of heathland and woodland, thicket and stream that inspired the Heffalump, the Woozle and, most famously, Winnie-the-Pooh, has welcomed a new and curious inhabitant. Sliding through the bracken and releasing soft coos and purrs, this shapeshifting being sports a long tubular nose and eyes reminiscent of adders. Its body glimmers with iridescent flashes and the vivid purple of late-summer heather. Poppet, a remarkable puppet designed by costume artist Jack Irving and

• Ukraine could reconsider its current ceasefire proposal to Russia if the UN Security Council does not adopt a resolution calling for a complete and unconditional halt to the fighting, Kyiv’s ambassador to the UN has cautioned. Andrii Melnyk stated that recent Ukrainian strikes have shifted the momentum of the war, noting that roughly 40% of Russia’s oil refining capacity has been damaged. Ukraine could reconsider its current ceasefire proposal to Russia if the UN Security Council does not

Damon Albarn has momentarily lost track of himself. It’s Friday evening at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and rehearsals are underway for Gorillaz’s first full-scale stadium performance — a sprawling, globe-spanning pop spectacle packed with visuals, surprise guests and more moving parts than a festival lineup. As the band tears into Dirty Harry, the long advertising boards circling the pitch flicker to life with animated choir members belting out the refrain, “all I do is dance”. Caught off guard,

FORMOSO DO ARAGUAIA, Brazil (AP) — On a vast river island in northern Brazil, a complex debate is unfolding over cattle ranching and environmental protection. Last year, federal authorities ordered the removal of livestock from protected Indigenous territory on Bananal Island, the largest river island on the planet. Officials argued that the land is designated for Indigenous communities and conservation, and that herds owned by non-Indigenous ranchers were illegal and damaging local ecosystems.

United States Vice President JD Vance has arrived in Switzerland to meet Iranian officials for discussions on putting into practice the interim agreement aimed at ending the US conflict with Iran. Earlier this week, Washington and Tehran agreed to extend their negotiations under a 60-day ceasefire. However, tensions escalated on Saturday when Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) declared the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in response to Israeli strikes in Lebanon. Despite the

If anti-Ukrainian forces were to prevail in Poland, around 1.5 million Ukrainians could either return to their homeland or move further west into Europe, former Polish President Aleksander Kwaśniewski has warned. In his view, such a development would inevitably weaken key sectors of Poland’s economy, including public services, healthcare, elderly care, and construction. “And then we would have no one to blame but ourselves in the years to come,” he said in an interview. Kwaśniewski noted that

Sign up for Unlocking the World, CNN Travel’s weekly newsletter. Receive updates on destinations, along with the latest developments in aviation, dining, and accommodation. In this week’s travel news roundup: the city crowned the world’s top food destination, the reason umbrellas have been prohibited on one Italian beach, and an increase in airline passengers ignoring crew directions. Don’t grab bags, don’t stop to film It’s a message that really shouldn’t need repeating. A new safety