The Barents Sea might seem too far away to affect our weather – but research shows it doesThe Barents Sea, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia, might seem too far away to have an i... Read more The Barents Sea might seem too far away to affect our weather – but research shows it doesThe Barents Sea, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia, might seem too far away to have an impact on our weather. But new research shows that ice loss on the sea is increasing the frequency of concurrent summer heatwaves across Europe and eastern Asia.Jilan Jiang from the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences in Bejing, and colleagues, studied ice data and global weather patterns going back to 1979. The researchers discovered a link between stronger spring and summer ice loss over the Barents Sea since 2000 and dual heatwaves over Europe and eastern Asia. Continue reading... Show less

Cannelloni made with sheets of fresh egg pasta are a treat, especially on a feast day, and they can be made the day beforeFresh sheets smelling of fresh air or fabric softener (or both) with hospit... Read more Cannelloni made with sheets of fresh egg pasta are a treat, especially on a feast day, and they can be made the day beforeFresh sheets smelling of fresh air or fabric softener (or both) with hospital corners are one of life’s great pleasures. As are fresh sheets of egg pasta – the sort that comes in squat boxes protected by clingfilm and found in the fridge section alongside ravioli. They are also one of the most useful and certainly the most multi-talented of all the pasta shapes.That they are labelled lasagne is limiting; of course, they can be lasagne, but they could just as easily be numerous other shapes. The most easy-going of which is maltagliati, meaning badly cut, which tells you everything you need to know about the approach required as you cut them (using a knife, pizza wheel or pair of scissors) into uneven bits that are ideal in all sorts of soups, but especially those with beans. With slightly more precision, the sheets can be turned into 1cm-wide ribbons (short tagliatelle, if you like) for meat or vegetable ragu. Similar ribbons, made with a fluted pasta cutting wheel, can be mafalde, while thicker ribbons create a sort of ersatz pappardelle. All ribbons, though, can be cut into quadrucci (little squares) – another shape ideal for soup. Larger squares can be mandilli de sea (silk handkerchiefs), which are great dressed with pesto. If the pasta is fresh enough, rectangles can also be pinched into farfalle (butterflies), although I think bow ties is a better description. Continue reading... Show less

Two-thirds of secondary school teachers report a decline in core abilities such as writing and problem-solvingPupils using artificial intelligence are losing their capacity for critical thinking, a... Read more Two-thirds of secondary school teachers report a decline in core abilities such as writing and problem-solvingPupils using artificial intelligence are losing their capacity for critical thinking, according to a survey of secondary school teachers in England.Two-thirds said they had observed the decline among children who they also said no longer felt the need to spell because of voice-to-text technology. Continue reading... Show less

If new claimants don’t meet strict criteria, they’ll lose half of the health element of universal credit. Don’t ignore that: in life’s lottery, that could easily be youLook at the front pages or op... Read more If new claimants don’t meet strict criteria, they’ll lose half of the health element of universal credit. Don’t ignore that: in life’s lottery, that could easily be youLook at the front pages or open a news app in the coming days and you’ll supposedly see the big events facing Britain. But here’s one that is likely to slip quietly under the radar: from next week, almost three-quarters of a million of the most severely ill and disabled people in the country could end up having a lifeline benefit cut in half.Cast your mind back to last summer. As the nation sweated through a heatwave and Oasis reunited, ministers were trying to push through “welfare reform” – a nice euphemism for £5bn worth of cuts to disability benefits. A backbench rebellion meant that Keir Starmer was forced to halt his overhaul of personal independence payments (Pip), but MPs voted through a brutal universal credit cut. Ministers justified reducing support for people too disabled or ill to work by arguing it would remove the “perverse incentives” that discourage employment and trap people on long-term benefits, as if a twentysomething who is bedbound with ME just needs “incentivising” to get back to the building site.Frances Ryan is a Guardian columnist and the author of Who Wants Normal? Life Lessons from Disabled Women Continue reading... Show less

Former Labour mayor Jamie Driscoll aims to win central Newcastle ward after defecting to the Green party“Thank you very much to all you would-be penguins huddling together for warmth,” said Jamie D... Read more Former Labour mayor Jamie Driscoll aims to win central Newcastle ward after defecting to the Green party“Thank you very much to all you would-be penguins huddling together for warmth,” said Jamie Driscoll to the dozen supporters braving bitingly cold, blustery weather to begin knocking on doors and delivering leaflets.The former Labour North of Tyne mayor is one of the Green party’s highest-profile recruits. Standing for Newcastle city council in the central Monument ward, he was giving a pep talk to a group that would probably have been even bigger, were some not in London for a demonstration against the far right. Continue reading... Show less

Which? testers complain M&S sponge is ‘too dry’ as Waitrose’s Cecil tops the tree with ‘best buy’ gongAfter a busy 35 years as a British party favourite, not to mention a bruising court battle ... Read more Which? testers complain M&S sponge is ‘too dry’ as Waitrose’s Cecil tops the tree with ‘best buy’ gongAfter a busy 35 years as a British party favourite, not to mention a bruising court battle with an alleged copycat, you might think Colin the Caterpillar had earned his place at the top.But the “original” chocolate caterpillar cake has now been labelled the worst, bested by lookalikes in a taste test.Cecil (Waitrose): 78%, £9.50, 744g, 38.6g, 17g.Charlie (Co-op): 73%, £9.85, 702g, 46g, 14g; Sainsbury’s Wiggles: 73%, £8.50, 613g, 41.9g, 18.7g.Cuthbert (Aldi): 72%, £6.99, 624g, 43.5g, 17.7g.Morris (Morrisons): 72%, £9, 630g, 38.4g, 16g.Letty (Asda): 68%, £9, 613g, 45g, 14g.Lewis & Green’s caterpillar celebration cake: 67%, £4.50, 530g, 45g, 20.2g.Slinky (Tesco): 66%, £9, 648g, 42g, 17g.Colin (M&S): 64%, £9.50, 625g, 46.3g, 21.3g. Continue reading... Show less

The party, whose parliamentary leader is Jeremy Corbyn, will back 250 candidates, focusing on urban areasYour Party is to focus its local election efforts on a number of urban areas with large Musl... Read more The party, whose parliamentary leader is Jeremy Corbyn, will back 250 candidates, focusing on urban areasYour Party is to focus its local election efforts on a number of urban areas with large Muslim populations where Labour support has weakened, throwing its support behind supporting independent candidates and community groups.Party insiders have intentionally narrowed their focus to key targets including the London boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Newham and Redbridge, where locally rooted independent campaigns are already braced to challenge Labour. Continue reading... Show less

Boeing's latest narrowbody aircraft continues to be a commercial success.

Details about compensation for personal injury awarded to UK school staff revealed by NASUWTA teacher who became ill from a rat infestation and another who was injured after a pupil threw a toaster... Read more Details about compensation for personal injury awarded to UK school staff revealed by NASUWTA teacher who became ill from a rat infestation and another who was injured after a pupil threw a toaster and chair are among UK school staff who received a share of £15m paid out in compensation.The details were revealed by the NASUWT union ahead of its annual conference in Birmingham later this week, and relate to successful claims for unfair dismissal, redundancy, discrimination, personal injury and health and safety. Continue reading... Show less

Test yourself on topical news trivia, pop culture and general knowledge every Thursday. How will you fare?It is time for the Thursday news quiz, where, thanks to our illustration from Anaïs Mims, y... Read more Test yourself on topical news trivia, pop culture and general knowledge every Thursday. How will you fare?It is time for the Thursday news quiz, where, thanks to our illustration from Anaïs Mims, you must decide whether you are gliding serenely across the waters of knowledge, your elegant neck forming a perfect question mark, or paddling furiously beneath the surface, one wrong answer away from an undignified flap. Fifteen questions on topical headlines, pop culture and general knowledge await. There are no prizes, but we always enjoy hearing how you got on in the comments. Allons-y!The Thursday news quiz, No 241 Continue reading... Show less