Iran extends ban on dog-walking for ‘public order, safety and health’

Many cities said to have imposed prohibition in recent days that echoes 2019 police directive in Tehran

Iranian authorities have expanded a ban on walking dogs in public to many cities nationwide, citing public health, social order and safety concerns, domestic media have reported.

The ban, which echoes a 2019 police directive that barred walking dogs in Tehran, was expanded to Ilam city in the west on Sunday, according to reports.

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Rodeo drive: Beyoncé UK tour spurs cowboy fashion craze

Singer’s western-inspired Cowboy Carter tour is reminder of pop culture’s sway over shopping behaviour

Rhinestones, cowboy hats and a whole lot of denim; not a hen party entourage, a Glastonbury fit or a Nashville rodeo, but the queues outside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this week, as Beyoncé kicked off her UK tour. And, seemingly, a new national dress code.

Since the release of the Cowboy Carter album, Beyoncé fans have been quick to adopt the rancher style, sparking a surge in interest for western-inspired fashion. On Vinted, searches for “western” are up by 16% year on year this month, with “rodeo” up 13%. Meanwhile, denim searches have risen 8%.

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Miss World organisers accused of being ‘vindictive and bitter’ towards ex-contestant

Milla Magee, the reigning Miss England, left over claims she had been used as window dressing

Their mantra is “beauty with a purpose”. But the organisers of the Miss World pageant have been accused of something altogether uglier: being “vindictive and very bitter” towards a contestant who left over claims she had been used as window dressing.

The reigning Miss England, Milla Magee, said she agreed to take part in the 2025 Miss World pageant because she believed it would be a platform to promote her campaign to have CPR included in the school curriculum. But she said the reality was very different.

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‘Something a bit naughty’: British snackers fall for the posh crisp

Top chefs and brands transform once-humble snack with growing number of imaginative flavourings

When it comes to crisps, British appetites have traditionally been sated by a packet of Frazzles or a bag of Skips. But, according to chefs, supermarket insiders and social media, 2025 is gearing up to be the summer of the posh crisp.

Jay Ledwich, a crisp buyer at Waitrose, said demand for premium and unusual flavoured crisps was “soaring”. This week, the shop became the exclusive British supermarket stockist of what it is tipping to be the next viral hit in crisps – a fried-egg flavour from the Spanish specialist Torres. It follows other savoury sensations from the brand, including black truffle, caviar, and sparkling wine flavours.

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Aphids plaguing UK gardens in warm spring weather, says RHS

Sap-sucking insects top list of queries to gardening charity after causing significant harm to plants

Aphids are plaguing gardeners this spring due to the warm weather, with higher numbers of the rose-killing bugs expected to thrive in the UK as a result of climate breakdown.

The sap-sucking insects have topped the ranking of gardener queries to the Royal Horticultural Society, with many of its 600,000 members having complained of dozens of aphids on their acers, roses and honeysuckle plants.

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Forgive and forget? Both sides must be accountable after a family fallout

Prince Harry and King Charles will need to put past grievances to one side if they are to move on from their estrangement, experts say

For most families, fallouts and squabbles are a regular occurrence. But what happens when those rifts deepen to an estrangement, such as appears to have beset the royal family and the Beckhams, and how can relationships be rebuilt?

According to the following psychologists and psychotherapists, family reconciliation requires both sides taking accountability for their behaviour and not letting past grievances and trauma block efforts to meaningfully re-engage with estranged relatives.

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From snail slime to salmon sperm: the K-beauty boom hits UK high streets

South Korean skincare retailers want to capitalise on viral sales of beauty ranges by opening stores across the UK

Korean beauty products are moving from phone screens to UK high streets as social media drives sales of skincare with the help of eye-catching ingredients such as snail slime and salmon sperm.

Retailers are looking to capitalise on the TikTok and Instagram trend for skincare and makeup ranges from South Korea – known as K-beauty – by opening physical stores and launching brands in a push to get consumers to pick up products that havegone viral online.

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Chanel takes a cruise around Lake Como with glamour fit for a grand hotel

Show dips into lucrative holiday market with butter-yellow, lilac and gold lamé outfits reflecting beauty of the backdrop

Chanel has a fresh-faced, avant garde new designer but it still stands for classic glamour. This was the loud and clear messaging at the first Chanel show since Matthieu Blazy took up his role. The show was held at Villa d’Este, the Lake Como palace hotel where Elizabeth Taylor, Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich holidayed and which Alfred Hitchcock, who filmed The Pleasure Garden there, pronounced the most beautiful place on earth.

The location, booked a year in advance, provided the theme: life in a grand hotel. Think White Lotus on Lake Como, art directed by Slim Aarons. First on to the pebbled catwalk weaving through the hotel’s terrace was a white bathrobe-style coat. Then there were capri pants in the butter yellow of the hotel parasols, and a lilac tweed suit to match the wisteria trailing overhead. Models swung tote bags big enough for pool towels, while gold lamé cover-ups glinted as dazzling as sun on the lake.

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Leading baby food brands making high-sugar meals, study finds

Food from brands such as Ella’s Kitchen and Heinz are often nutritionally poor, researchers say

Top brands such as Ella’s Kitchen and Heinz are making sugar-heavy, nutritionally poor baby food that fails to meet the needs of infants, a study has found.

The discovery has spurred groups to call for ministers to strengthen regulation in the market, saying that the current state of affairs will negatively affect child growth and development.

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Christian Dior appoints UK designer Jonathan Anderson as menswear boss

Man behind puzzle and pigeon bags, who transformed Loewe, brings buzz to French house as creative director

Jonathan Anderson, the designer who brought success, cool and viral fame to the Spanish label Loewe during his 11-year reign, has been announced as the new creative director of Christian Dior’s menswear collection. Taking over from Kim Jones, Anderson’s first show for the brand will take place in Paris in June.

While this is confirmation of news that fashion insiders were long aware of, it will definitely bring new buzz to Christian Dior. Anderson, now 40, has become something of a unicorn in the industry, a designer with boundless energy and ideas who is able to create distinctive and original designs but also sell clothes.

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From homework to housework, how British attitudes have changed since the 1930s

Study shows women today are happier being women – but getting up to go to work remains as punishing as ever

The mundane tasks of everyday life, such as homework after school and household chores at the weekend, may not have changed in the past 80 years, but societal attitudes towards them could not be more different.

A study by the Policy Institute at King’s College London (KCL), comparing public attitudes now and in the 1930s and 40s, reveals how significantly views on everyday life in Britain have shifted over the decades.

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Move over, Med diet – plantains and cassava can be as healthy as tomatoes and olive oil, say researchers

Findings from Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro region indicate traditional eating habits in rural Africa can boost the immune system and reduce inflammation

Plantains, cassava and fermented banana drink should be added to global healthy eating guidelines alongside the olive oil, tomatoes and red wine of the Mediterranean diet, say researchers who found the traditional diet of people living in Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro region had a positive impact on the body’s immune system.

Traditional foods enjoyed in rural villages also had a positive impact on markers of inflammation, the researchers found in a study published this month in the journal Nature Medicine.

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Aintree racegoers grateful for hats as sun shines for first time in decade

Ladies Day visitors happy to make financial sacrifices to wear spectacular outfits at annual Liverpool event

The tradition of fascinators and hats during Ladies Day is usually more about showcasing excellent style than being practical. But this year, spectators at Aintree had good need for their headwear, as the sun shone at the racecourse for the first time in almost a decade.

A crowd of 45,000 people had been predicted, and as temperatures reached 19C on Friday, the Met Office said it was just short of being the warmest Aintree festival this century.

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Healthy but lonely gen Zers drive UK gym membership to record high

More health-conscious young people take total to 11.5m memberships, report finds, as experts cite social aspect alongside fitness

Record numbers of Britons are going to the gym, as the desire of many gen Zers to socialise while getting fit instead of drinking in the pub drives an unprecedented surge in membership, a report shows.

In all, 11.5 million people aged 16 and over– a new high – now belong to a gym in the UK, a rise of 1.6 million from 2022. It means one in six people have taken out a membership.

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Wild co-founders ‘land £100m’ from sale of natural deodorant maker

Childhood friends sell upmarket brand to Unilever, the maker of Dove soap, Axe deodorant and Marmite

A pair of UK entrepreneurs selling refillable deodorant cases and manuka honey lip balms made from natural ingredients have reportedly landed a near-£100m payday from the sale of their brand to the global consumer goods group Unilever.

Wild, founded by childhood friends Freddy Ward and Charlie Bowes-Lyon, has been bought by Unilever, the maker of Dove soap, Axe deodorant and Marmite.

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Beauty clinics in UK offering banned treatments derived from human cells

Experts warn of serious health risks of using exosome products that are harvested from human donors

Banned biological products harvested from human cells are being used in UK beauty clinics, according to experts who warn that the luxury treatments could carry serious health risks.

Exosomes have been touted as the latest “miracle” skincare treatment, with A-list celebrities such as Kim Kardashian seeking their rejuvenating effects and cosmetic clinics offering exosome facials and microneedling for hundreds of pounds a session.

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People doing intense exercise experience time warp, study finds

Research suggests those who push themselves when working out perceive time to move more slowly

If your sessions at the gym seem to drag on for hours, you are in good company. People who push themselves when working out report a form of time warp, making it feel as if they have been exercising for longer than they have, researchers say.

Adults who took part in 4km cycling trials on exercise bikes perceived time to have slowed down, scientists said, with the cyclists underestimating how long they had been pedalling for by about 10%.

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DNA testing firm 23andMe files for bankruptcy as CEO steps down

Co-founder Anne Wojcicki to pursue independent bid as California attorney general tells users to delete data

The genetic testing company 23andMe has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US to help sell itself, as its chief executive quit to pursue a bid for the business after several aborted attempts.

23andMe said late on Sunday that it had started voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri to “facilitate a sale process to maximise the value of its business”. It added that it is operating as usual throughout the sale process.

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Charlotte Tilbury tops list of UK’s richest beauty entrepreneurs

Sunday Times estimates the celebrity makeup artist, who founded her brand in 2013, has amassed £350m fortune

Charlotte Tilbury has topped a list of the top 30 richest beauty entrepreneurs in the UK.

The entries on the Sunday Times’s inaugural Beauty Rich List have built their wealth from a range of products and services including skincare, hair care, makeup, bath bombs and tanning shops.

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Donatella Versace defied expectations to become a fashion icon of her own

When she took over after her brother Gianni’s murder, few expected her to last 27 years and become a household name

When Donatella Versace took over the house of Versace in the aftermath of her brother Gianni’s murder, most observers privately assumed that her reign would be no more than a postscript. The bottle-blond younger sister, with no formal training and a drug addiction that was the fashion industry’s worst kept secret, was seen as a sentimental appointment by a shell-shocked family.

She proved everyone wrong. Versace is now defined as much by Donatella as by Gianni. She steps down from designing after 27 years as an icon in her own right, one of the most successful female designers in modern fashion history. Sober for 20 years, she has steered Versace to become a global household name, valued at $2bn (£1.6bn) when it was sold to Capri Holdings six and a half years ago.

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