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The MoJ consultation also proposes stronger financial rights for co-habiting couples if they separate, with couples deemed to qualify if they have been living together for at least three years or have a child together.

The rights would not be as extensive as for married couples and are not about sharing resources, says Edwards. Instead, a partner could be awarded a lump sum, transfer of property or pension share – but only if it were needed to meet basic needs, she says.

Edwards believes the proposed changes would be “transformational” for people experiencing domestic violence or coercive and controlling behaviour, who may otherwise be unable to afford to leave a relationship.

“We’re really pleased to see this consultation,” says Sam Smethers, CEO of the charity Surviving Economic Abuse, which has been campaigning for a reform to co-habiting laws.

Under the current system, people in co-habiting relationships who experience economic abuse must “walk away from their home, their savings, their financial security, just to escape the abuse”, she says. Legal routes for them to get access to their property after a separation are “very expensive and difficult to pursue” and they aren’t often successful in making their claims, she says.

Couples would be able to mutually opt out of the proposed new rights, as long as they meet certain safeguards, which could include getting independent legal advice and disclosing their financial situation to their partner.

Edwards says she thinks an opt-out system is the right way forward. “Too many people at present find out only too late that they have no rights at the end of a relationship,” she says.

Some critics of the proposals say they chose not to marry because they wanted to keep finances totally separate. “That was a conscious decision,” one person wrote on Mumsnet, external. “An opt-out scheme just reverses that default and makes us go through hoops to preserve it.”

Others say there are issues not covered by current proposals that they would like the government to address. Selina Flavius, from the charity Widowed and Young, says that after her fiance died, she would have liked the legal entitlement to have been involved in his funeral planning, as well as bereavement support payments.

The gathering was originally planned for Northallerton but was moved to Pavilions within the Great Yorkshire Showground to accommodate higher-than-expected demand, Tory chiefs said.

Yorkshire Conservatives regional chair and North Yorkshire councillor George Jabbour said: “Hosting such a successful event has been a thrilling experience.”

He added: “The demand to attend the lunch with our party leader was so high that we had to move the venue from Northallerton to Harrogate so we can accept as many requests as possible.”

Mr Jabbour said that even after moving to a larger venue, there was still strong interest, stating: “Even with this much larger venue, we had a long waiting list. It just goes to show how interested people are in listening to what the most popular Party Leader in Britain has to say.”

Conservative officials said the turnout was a sign of enthusiasm among members ahead of a key election year.

Ms Badenoch outlined priorities for both local and national government during the event.

Conservative-run North Yorkshire and East Riding of Yorkshire councils are due to face all-out elections in May 2027.

Voters in parts of West and South Yorkshire will also go to the polls at the same time.

Pain is one of the few things all of us experience, from stubbing a toe to waking up with an aching back; we can all relate to the feeling of being in pain.

Although pain is a universal experience, the way we understand it has changed dramatically over time.

Ancient societies might have blamed pain on demons entering the body through the nose or ears, but we now know pain to be more about nerve endings and biology.

Cures have also moved on a lot. While our ancestors may have tried to sneeze, vomit, or even urinate out their pain, these days we’re much more likely to take medications to ease our suffering.

Strange as these ancient “treatments” sound today, they do reveal something important about pain: that it’s never just a physical sensation. Because throughout history, culture, religion and social beliefs have shaped how people talk about and respond to suffering — and many of those ideas still influence us to this day.

Indeed, after more than 30 years studying pain, one thing has become clear to me: while pain is universal, our experience of it is anything but.

Ancient pain

To understand the roots of how we think about pain today, it helps to go back and see how earlier cultures made sense of it.

In many ancient cultures, for example, people believed pain was caused by external forces. Treatments relied on occult rituals, amulets, or trying to drain “bewitched” fluids from the body to expel such forces.

The ancient Egyptians believed that if you hadn’t obviously hurt yourself (so no broken bones, no visible wound), then clearly something more sinister was at play. This could be the gods or perhaps a wandering spirit of death, which had decided to pay your body an unwelcome visit.

Others tried to explain pain in more bodily, rather than spiritual, terms. The ancient Greeks, including physicians like Hippocrates, believed pain and disease arose when the body’s “four humours” — blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile — fell out of balance. Healers would use plant and animal remedies to try to restore harmony.

Moral judgement

By the middle ages, pain had taken on a moral and religious meaning.

Across Europe, convents and monasteries often served as early hospitals and had access to powerful pain-relieving substances such as opium. Yet pain was not always treated.

This is because many Christians believed suffering to be a test of faith, while others saw it as a path to spiritual purification.

As a result, enduring pain was viewed as virtuous. So rather than seeking relief, sufferers were often encouraged to bear their discomfort with patience and devotion.

Echoes of these beliefs can still be seen today. For example, some women choose to go without pain relief during childbirth because of the idea that labour pain is a meaningful or a necessary part of the experience.

Toughing it out

Indeed, the idea that suffering should be endured hasn’t disappeared as religion’s influence has waned. In many societies, it has simply found a new home in philosophy.

If you’ve ever felt pressure to “tough it out” when you’re ill or injured, you may recognise the influence of stoicism. At its core is the idea that we cannot always control pain, but we can control how we respond to it.

In many parts of the world, to this day, enduring pain quietly can be seen as a sign of resilience and self-control, with people often encouraged to minimise their discomfort and avoid making a fuss. This is despite the fact that vocalisations of pain are a common way for humans to bond, with research showing that human exclamations of pain are similar across the world.

So whether you like to express your pain or keep it on the down low, one thing is certain: the way we think about and even feel our pain has been directly influenced by human history.

And although most of us no longer blame demons or divine punishment for our aches and illnesses, we are still, in many ways, just trying to make sense of our suffering — much in the same way as our ancestors did.

This article was commissioned as part of a partnership between The Conversation and Videnskab.dk where articles are also published in Danish.

Taylor Swift‘s best friend Gigi Hadid showed her appreciation for boyfriend Bradley Cooper’s look as they headed to the singer’s wedding celebration in NYC on Friday.

The supermodel, 31, dazzled in a pink shimmering dress as she left for Swift and fiancé Travis Kelce‘s enormous bonanza at Madison Square Garden with her actor partner.

Cooper, 51, looked dashing in a fitted black suit and bow tie, as an admiring Hadid shot him the look of love as he climbed into a car.

Hours earlier, a vehicle believed to be carrying Swift was seen heading off from her home and arriving at Hadid’s residence – fueling rumors the pop star was getting ready for her big day with her closest friends.

Swift and Kelce, both 36, partied late into the night on Thursday for their ‘rehearsal dinner’ at Infosys Theater with 100 of their closest friends, including Hadid, Cooper, Selena Gomez and Jack Antonoff.

Their marriage was confirmed by a representative on Friday evening in a statement which read, ‘The bride and groom’s wedding ceremony looks have been created by Christian Dior Haute Couture. 

Cooper looked dashing in a fitted black suit and bow tie

Their marriage was confirmed by a representative on Friday evening in a statement. Above, the couple in March

‘They are designed by Jonathan Anderson, Creative Director of Dior Women’s, Men’s and Haute Couture Collections, in close collaboration with the Bride and Groom. This is the designer’s first couture wedding dress for a world-renowned celebrity. Their shoes were custom made by Christian Louboutin and the bride wore Cartier jewelry.

‘Taylor & Travis did not have bridesmaids or groomsmen. Instead, her brother Austin Swift served as Taylor’s Man of Honor and Jason Kelce was Travis’ Best Man. The ceremony joined both families together and was officiated by friend Adam Sandler.’

Industry experts claim the nuptials cost over $15 million, including the venue, security, insurance, permits, catering, and decorations to transform the venue into their fairytale wedding.

Taxpayers contributed over $1 million to pay for the couple’s NYPD security detail patrolling MSG, which banned the press from getting too close and threatened to arrest anyone who did not comply with street-closure rules on Thursday.

A few glimpses of the interior were visible. Pink, orange and yellow roses were photographed woven into foliage at the top of an escalator.

Crews are now working feverishly to turn around the decor for night two of the festivities. 

Hadid also shared glimpses of her glam look for Thursday night’s festivities.  

Her hairdresser, Dimitris Giannetos, shared new photos on Instagram of the recent cut and style he had done for the star. 

The pictures showed Hadid sporting gorgeous, bouncy layers that framed her face, the length hitting just below her shoulders.

Hadid was snapped showing off her new hair while wearing a blue T-shirt, glowing makeup, and a stunning mauve lip color.

A glimpse of Hadid’s shimmering pink wedding look was visible as she shot her partner a smitten look

Hadid also shared glimpses of her glam look for Thursday night’s festivities

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Hadid’s hairdresser, Dimitris Giannetos, shared new photos on Instagram of the recent cut and style he had done for the star

He also shared insight into how he perfected the look, detailing that he used a round brush to achieve the shape

Olympic gymnast Simone Biles also shared a peek into her getting-ready process, as she took to Instagram on Friday afternoon to share the glam setup at her hotel

Her golden locks looked voluminous, as Giannetos called the style ‘love layers.’

‘I wanted to create the updated version of the C-cut this evening [giving] Gigi some Love Layers (aka heart shape layers)!’ he wrote in the caption.

‘A bit more lift on the roots and the first layers start hitting a little below the chin ’till the tips of the hair! It creates basically an illusion of heart shape layers! Volume on the top and more narrow at the bottom!’

‘In this case you can create an illusion of contour with the haircut so the face looks more structure! Always this haircut looks good [with] a mid part!’ he added.

Olympic gymnast Simone Biles also shared a peek into her getting-ready process, as she took to Instagram on Friday afternoon to reveal the glam setup at her hotel.

She posted a table with tons of makeup products on it, which included powders from Huda Beauty and Makeup by Mario.

The star, who is married to NFL player Jonathan Owens, also tagged hairstylist Justin Revenge and makeup artist Deja Blackwell in the snap. 

By JANE HERZ, US SENIOR LIFESTYLE REPORTER and RAVEN SAUNT, US LIFESTYLE EDITOR

Updated: 01:41 BST, 4 July 2026

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce‘s big weekend has arrived – and of the 1,000 guests who were invited for celebrations on Friday night, some have committed some serious fashion faux pas.

Stars have descended on Madison Square Garden in New York City in their droves on Friday for what’s said to be the biggest celebration of the extravagant weekend.

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It has been said that Swift and her NFL star fiancé, both 36, are going all out for the occasion, with rumors of a castle being built at the venue and whispers that the bride bought every available calla lily flower in New York City.

Madison Square Garden lit up with pink neon signs that read ‘JUST&T MARRIED!’ as Taylor Swift’s publicist sent an email blast confirming the pop star exchanged vows with NFL star Travis Kelce at 7.30pm on Friday. 

City permits suggest the extravaganza could go on until 4am. 

Many famous faces were already seen at Thursday’s celebration, including Selena Gomez, Jack Antonoff, and NFL star George Kittle, as they joined the stars for an intimate gathering at the Infosys Theater at MSG. 

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And on Friday, many of the guests returned, plus almost 900 others, to celebrate the couple.

While some guests pulled out their best outfits for the wedding of the year, others totally missed the mark, with some truly bizarre outfits and outrageous looks. 

Here, the Daily Mail has rounded up the biggest fashion mistakes from the couple’s large Friday celebration. 

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Clashing colors! Ed Sheeran stood out in a bright turquoise silk suit with a paisley pattern. The singer wore a white T-shirt underneath and accessorized with black Nike sneakers, including a matching turquoise ‘swoosh’ on the side. His wife, Cherry Seaborn, opted for a bright yellow, silky, curve-hugging gown that also appeared to have a paisley pattern. She paired the high-neck dress with bedazzled sky-high heels, a diamond necklace and dangling diamond earrings

Red for a wedding?! Singer Camilla Cabello headed out wearing a bright red, sheer lace dress with off-the-shoulder detailing and a deep V-cut. She paired the look with a black choker that had a large cross hanging off of it and styled her hair in a bouncy blowout 

Fashion statement or faux pas? Songwriter Jack Antonoff arrived on Friday in an oversized black suit complete with a large black bowtie. His pants had a leather-stripe detail going down the leg. He brought his look together with a pair of black loafers that appeared to have gold buckles at the front of the foot

Fall colors for a summer wedding? Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and his wife, Kelly, wore coordinating looks for the big night. Stafford stepped out in a dark green suit jacket with black detailing around the collar, slim-fitting black trousers and a black bowtie. He topped off his look with black patent leather shoes. Kelly matched him in a light green, one-shouldered ruched dress, pairing the look with silver accessories. The mom-of-four wore metallic silver heels and a big diamond necklace around her neck 

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Clashing textures! Singer Fergie headed off for the night in a glittering, bedazzled gold dress and an over-the-top black fur wrap with round baubles dangling off the ends. She paired the look with a pair of black peep-toe heels and wore her hair in her signature curls 

Mismatched! Former NFL player Beau Allen looked like he had a lot going on as he got ready for the big bash on Friday. He wore a gold pinstriped suit jacket, paired with tailored black pants and a black bowtie. He accessorized with gold jewelry, including a bright gold watch and a gold pinky ring. Allen finished his look by tying his hair in a slick-back man bun

The VMAs or Taylor Swift’s wedding? Fashion designer Kristin Juszczyk, who is married to San Francisco 49ers player Kyle Juszczyk, looked like she was headed to a different event entirely as she sported a dress with a tight blue corset-style top and black bubble skirt. She paired her look with tons of diamond necklaces, a black satin clutch and black peep-toe heels 

Feeling blue! Glennon Doyle looked like an ice princess as she wore a baby blue bedazzled gown with silver sparkles embroidered on it. She paired the look with metallic silver heels, a white clutch bag and diamond tennis necklace

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Good as gold? Dr Mariel Bird looked a bit over-the-top in a glittering gold dress, which featured sculptural rose detailing at the bust, along with a cutout. She paired the look with bedazzled silver heels, a gold clutch and wore her hair in a half-up, half-down style 

Traffic was brought to a standstill on Royston Road after demonstrators gathered following an alleged sexual assault in the area.

A busy Glasgow road was temporarily blocked by protesters on Friday evening following the arrest and court appearance of a man charged in connection with an alleged sexual assault in the area.

A crowd gathered outside Royston Library before marching to Royston Road, where demonstrators blocked traffic for around 30 minutes.

Police diverted vehicles while the road remained closed near the M8 on-slip before officers negotiated with protesters to move further along the road, allowing traffic to resume shortly after 7pm.

Videos and pictures shared on social media showed protesters in front of police vehicles while chanting slogans including “Enough is enough” outside a property.

Posts shared online by people attending the demonstration described it as a “peaceful protest” organised to express concerns about the safety of women and children in the area.

One social media post read: “The Royston community took to the streets to say enough is enough as they expressed their concerns about the safety of women and children.”

However, footage from the scene appeared to show a smashed window at a property in Royston Square.

The Glasgow Times reported that one unidentified person threw the brick before others attempted to access the front door of the property but were stopped by police.

The demonstration follows the arrest and charging of 40-year-old Mohamed Raouf Mezahdi in connection with an alleged sexual assault in the Royston area.

He appeared in private at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Thursday, July 2, where he made no plea.

Police Scotland has been contacted for comment.

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Planned industrial action by security staff at Aberdeen Airport due to start on Monday has seemingly been averted.

Strikes by security staff at Aberdeen Airport are believed to have been averted, after an agreement was reached on pay.

Unite had earlier announced 14 days of industrial action among staff working for ICTS at the airport, warning there would be disruption at the airport as a result.

The union said it was left with no option as negotiations through the conciliation service Acas failed to produce a breakthrough.

The strikes were due to begin on Monday, July 6, but on Friday evening, ICTS said a deal had been reached.

A spokesman said: “We’re pleased to confirm that an agreement with our colleagues working within hold baggage screening at Aberdeen airport has been reached.

“We have been informed that the proposed industrial action will now not take place.”

A spokesperson for Aberdeen International Airport said earlier: “We have engaged with ICTS, and robust contingency measures will be in place, with no impact expected, but we strongly urge everyone involved to continue working towards a constructive resolution.”

Unite has been approached for comment.

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Ahead of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in the US, an ozone nanobubble system has been used to keep the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool clear.

Months before the celebrations a massive clean up of the pool had taken place, but despite this an algae bloom had turned the water bright green. To deal with this a US$1.7 million (£1.27 million) ozone “nanobubbler” injected microscopic bubbles into the pool.

Nanobubbles are extremely small gas bubbles, often made with oxygen, air or ozone, that can remain in water far longer than ordinary bubbles. In a pool, ozone nanobubbles can act as a strong oxidising treatment, attacking algae and organic matter.

But the more important question is whether this state-of-the-art technology can help solve one of the hardest problems in aquatic restoration: getting oxygen to places where lakes, reservoirs and coastal seas are dying from the bottom up.

Clearing the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool

The famous Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool in Washington DC is shallow, hard bottomed and man-made. It has no natural sediment bed like that of a natural lake, and its primary goal is to look clear. In this context, ozone nanobubbles can be useful, provided the water is circulated artificially and the treatment is maintained.

This is much easier than restoring a natural body of water, where the main problem is often not obvious, and can be complex to resolve.

In a eutrophic lake or sea, one that has become overloaded with nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen, algal blooms are a visible symptom of a wider problem. When algae die, they sink. Bacteria decompose organic matter and consume oxygen. The water at the bottom of the lake can become hypoxic (oxygen-poor) or anoxic (essentially oxygen-free). Under these conditions, sediment can release nutrients, and the nutrients can cause eutrophication.

The worst syndrome of this is algal bloom, which can kill fish and create dead zones within the lake. A vicious circle develops: blooms deplete oxygen, oxygen depletion releases nutrients, and nutrients create more blooms.

This is why oxygen delivery is so important. The challenge is not simply to add oxygen somewhere in the lake or sea. It is to deliver oxygen precisely to the thin layer of bottom sediment, where phosphorus is released, methane produced, and other processes occur.

So, there are two types of nanobubble use.

The first is bulk nanobubbles: bubbles dispersed through the water by machines. These can work well in tanks, aquaculture systems, wastewater treatment, pools and small bodies of water which can be continuously circulated.

But in large natural waters, bulk treatment faces practical limitations. The machines must keep running, and the oxygen distribution depends on pumps, cables and pipes. In a large lake or sea basin, that means high energy demand and uncertain delivery to the bottom.

The second type is what are called interfacial oxygen nanobubbles. These are oxygen nanobubbles attached to the surfaces and pores of solid particles, such as modified clay or other porous natural materials. Oxygen is loaded onto particles that sink. The particles then deliver oxygen directly to the area where the water meets the sediment.

This could reduce energy requirements and avoid some of the ecosystem disturbance associated with large-scale artificial mixing.

The potential impact is significant. If oxygen can be delivered cost-effectively to surface sediments, it may help reduce internal phosphorus release, suppress methane generation, and generally make conditions more favourable for life at the bottom of ocean. These go to the heart of whether a degraded lake or coastal basin can recover.

This is a very different engineering idea. It does not aim to oxygenate the entire volume of the lake.

However, if sewage or fertiliser runoff continue, any oxygenation technology will not be effective.

This strategy for lake restoration is to remove algae and nutrients from the water, lock nutrients into the seabed sediments, and oxygenate the sediment surface to reduce nutrients re-release.

Baltic Sea project

The importance of this targeted approach becomes clearer when we look at the Baltic Sea, one of the world’s best-known examples of oxygen-depleted “dead zones”.

The Baltic is naturally vulnerable due to limited water coming in and out of the sea as it connects through very narrow waterways. It also has distinct deep water and surface layers that don’t tend to mix. Nutrients are constantly released from the sediment into the water, causing oxygen levels to drop dramatically.

One of the most ambitious engineering responses to tackle this kind of dying sea was the deep-water oxygenation project in the Baltic. The principle was straightforward: pump oxygen-rich surface or upper-layer water down into deep oxygen-depleted water.

This process used wind-powered pumping to move oxygen-enriched water from around 50 metres down to much deeper, about 125 metres, using around 100 offshore wind-powered pumps. An alternative to the process used in the Baltic project would be to use nanobubble-clay materials to deliver oxygen onto the the deep water sea bottom by gravity and reduce the energy cost and negative impact to the aquatic ecosystem.

The project, which began work in 2009, showed why fixing the problem is so difficult.

Pumping can increase oxygen levels, but it requires extensive infrastructure and can alter the hydrology and ecology of the whole lake or sea. There are unresolved questions about cost, energy, maintenance, ecological side effects and other environmental effects.

In a shallow hard-bottom pool, nanobubbles are judged by whether the water looks clear. Oxygen nanobubbles attached to porous particles could become a lake or sea restoration tool, but with limitations.

Nanobubbles greatest environmental value may be in helping oxygen reach the dark, thin, neglected layer, the dead zone, at the bottom of lakes and seas. But this may be a costly, and complicated, exercise.