Intimate portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama – in pictures
Photographer Callie Shell documented the Obamas at home in Chicago, on the campaign trail and in the White House. Her new book shares candid images from the 10 years she spent photographing the family. Hope, Never Fear is published by Chronicle Books. Sarah Gilbert
‘He couldn’t move’: New York City man falls into sinkhole full of rats
Leonard Shoulders was waiting for bus in the Bronx when concrete cracked open and he fell into hole, unable to scream for help A New York City man has fallen through a sinkhole in a sidewalk, landing directly on to a pack of rats and leaving him unable to scream for help out of a fear that […]
The world is rocked by protest – but does taking to the streets ever work?
f all else fails, democracy takes to the street. The street is its last resort. At present, each weekend we see the people of Belarus marching to demand the resignation of their president, Alexander Lukashenko. We see protesters in Thailand are jamming Bangkok to reform their monarchy. Nigerians are rioting in Lagos, Brazilians in São Paulo. Something about street protest is […]
Seasonal scenes: autumn at National Trust gardens
Guardian photographer David Levene visits National Trust houses at Chartwell and Emmetts Gardens to capture the spectacular colours of autumn Nyssa sylvatica in the south Emmetts Garden in Ide Hill near Sevenoaks, Kent Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian Fly agaric mushrooms Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian Weeping willow (Salix babylonica) at Chartwell, the home and gardens of Sir […]
Look of the Irish: the communities captured by Tony O’Shea – in pictures
Four decades of work by the Irish photographer feature in a new photobook. His dignified images, according to his former editor Colm Tóibín, offer ‘a hesitant window into the soul’ All images by Tony O’Shea Good Friday, Seán McDermott Street, Dublin 1983/84 The Light of Day is a photobook retrospective of Tony O’Shea’s work, spanning […]
Once upon a time in Hackney: 80s photos of poverty, protest – and partying
In 2016, Andrew Woodyatt started working at the Rio cinema in Dalston, Hackney, London. Handed a large bunch of keys, and blessed with a healthy curiosity, he started to explore the Rio’s basement rooms, which had been used for years for storage. Among the broken hoovers and discarded paperwork, he started to come across negatives – local […]
Alarm as Arctic sea ice not yet freezing at latest date on record
Delayed freeze in Laptev Sea could have knock-on effects across polar region, scientists say. For the first time since records began, the main nursery of Arctic sea ice in Siberia has yet to start freezing in late October. The delayed annual freeze in the Laptev Sea has been caused by freakishly protracted warmth in northern Russia and the intrusion […]
‘I have to do this’: Myanmar garment workers forced into sex work by Covid
Factory closures due to fashion industry order cancellations have pushed many former employees into often dangerous work. hen Hla, 19, tried to go back to work seven months ago after having a baby, there were no jobs. Hundreds of garment factories in Myanmar had closed after western fashion brands cancelled orders due to the pandemic, leaving thousands […]
Global heating is the emergency of our times. So we are taking action to confront it
The global climate crisis is the emergency of our times. Amid all the fear and sadness of 2020, it remains the overwhelming long-term threat to our planet and to everyone’s health and security. That is why we promise to keep reporting on it, raising the alarm and investigating the crisis and possible solutions, until we […]
How to clean your bed: ‘If you didn’t wash it for a year it would be a kilo heavier from dead skin’
How often should you wash your sheets, pillows, doona and mattress? And when is it time to throw them out? Experts explain how to keep your bed clean Or perhaps, like this TikTok user’s boyfriend, you’re hanging on to a decade-old set of pillows that have never seen a splash of water. Homebound and hygiene-conscious, we’re […]