Motherland

Natalie Cassidy looks back: ‘EastEnders’ amazing matriarchs taught me everything about acting’

The actor on becoming famous as a child, being an old soul, and caring for her dad in his final yearsBorn in Islington, London, in 1983, Natalie Cassidy is best known for playing Sonia Fowler in EastEnders. She joined the soap in 1993, and after leaving in 2007, she returned several times before making her final exit in April 2025. As well as theatre work, Cassidy has appeared in TV shows including Psychoville, Motherland and Boarders.

Actor Philippa Dunne: ‘Someone once saw me in a play and said that I was disgusting’

The Amandaland actor on her statue phobia, what she’d like to say to her mum, and lusting after Keanu ReevesBorn in Dublin, Philippa Dunne, 44, trained at the Gaiety School of Acting and co-founded a comedy group called Diet of Worms. Her TV work includes Derry Girls and This Is Going to Hurt. Since 2016, she has played Anne Flynn in the BBC sitcom Motherland and its spin-off, Amandaland, now in its second series; her performance won her a Bafta nomination this year.

Echoes of the Red Terror: Remembering victims of political repression and famine in Kazakhstan

Every year on 31 May, Kazakhstan commemorates the millions who perished during the Soviet-era famine and political repression. People in Kazakhstan remember the millions killed in the famine and political persecutions of the early Soviet era with a solemn ceremony on 31 May. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, during a wreath-laying ceremony, highlighted that the losses the nation sustained in the 20th century should not be forgotten.

Jess Cartner-Morley on fashion: forget your go-to maxidress – less is more this summer

The sundress is back – here’s how to make it short but not (too ) sweetOne sunny day recently, I looked around and realised that every woman in my vicinity was wearing the same dress. Not the same dress, exactly.

MORNING GLORY: A summer of celebration followed by a fall of mourning

The next four months are anniversary heavy. Before the fireworks of the 250th Fourth of July begin, try with family and friends to agree on what we are celebrating, and try as well to articulate why and how we defend what our country has long been committed to on paper and for 250 years in actual and expanding practice. While the Semiquincentennial is upon us in a month, we are also only three months and an handful of days away from the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks by Al...

World Cup 2026: How an old song from Bosnia went viral

World Cup 2026: How an old song from Bosnia went viral June 10, 2026Many will have never heard the refrain "I am from Bosnia, take me to America" until the Bosnian national team upset Italy in a playoff final in March. It put the small Balkan nation through to the World Cup for just the second time since the country gained its independence in 1992. Thousands of fans at the match in Zenica belted out the song, just as they did when the national team were feted at a square in the capital,...

'Protest won't stop until Pradhan quits,' says CJP founder, security beefed up at his house

CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Sunday said his agitation against alleged irregularities in examinations and recruitment processes would continue until Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan steps down from his post. According to PTI, Dipke also claimed that the protest held under the CJP banner at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Saturday was largely successful, drawing around 7,000 participants. He said the movement would now be expanded...

Anthony Head, known for roles in Buffy and Ted Lasso, dies

British actor Anthony Head, known for his roles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Ted Lasso, has died aged 72. His daughters, actors Emily and Daisy Head, said the actor died due to complications from pneumonia. The stage and TV performer became well known to British audiences in the 1980s as one half of a will-they, won't-they romantic couple in a series of ads for instant coffee.

Tears in North Korea as Kim meets footballers after historic title win

Advertisement Tears in North Korea as Kim meets footballers after historic title win Naegohyang Women’s FC became the first North Korean side to win Asia’s top club title last month 2-MIN READ2-MIN Listen North Korean leader Kim Jong-un personally received the country’s AFC Women’s Champions League winners in Pyongyang earlier this week, embracing the players and posing for photographs with them as they wept with joy and leapt in celebration. Naegohyang Women’s FC clinched Asia’s top club...

‘Sad, mad and disheartened’: for the diaspora, the bombardment in Lebanon is a special kind of loss