UK weather This article is more than 6 months oldJune was UK’s hottest on record, says Met OfficeThis article is more than 6 months oldAverage temperature of 15.8C almost a full degree higher than previous highs for the month The Met Office has confirmed June was the hottest on record for the UK, eclipsing the last hottest by nearly a full degree. Across the month, the country recorded an average mean temperature of 15.

‘Sure-footed’: Teju Cole in Rome, June 2016. Photograph: Steve Bisgrove/Rex/Shutterstock‘Sure-footed’: Teju Cole in Rome, June 2016. Photograph: Steve Bisgrove/Rex/ShutterstockBook of the dayTeju ColeReviewThe American-Nigerian writer floats free of the usual cultural expectations in this eclectic, laser-sharp collection of essaysPublishing can be a cliquish and incestuous business; it is not uncommon for writers from the same agencies and publishers to review each other. So let me state upfront that Teju Cole and I have the same publisher, Faber, who have put out his new essay collection, Known and Strange Things, an appropriate and beautiful title, taken from a poem by Seamus Heaney, for a book that will be deservedly lauded.

ObituaryNorma KitsonOn the streets of London, and in the townships of South Africa, they fought and won the struggle against apartheidThe passing of Norma Kitson, who has died of emphysema aged 68, recalls a time when the struggle against apartheid in South Africa was brought to the heart of central London. Kitson was the inspiration behind the City of London anti-apartheid group, which, for several years, mounted a continuous picket on the pavement outside South Africa House, in Trafalgar Square.

Crosswords Mon 25 Dec 2023 19.00 EST Quick crossword No 16,735 Print | PDF version | Accessible version Mon 25 Dec 2023 19.00 EST Time on your hands? Stay connected and keep in touch with your friends with our new Puzzles mobile app. You can access more than 15,000 crosswords and sudoku and solve puzzles online together. Download and try it for free now. Time on your hands? Stay connected and keep in touch with your friends with our new Puzzles mobile app.

The story of citiesCitiesStory of cities #11: the reclamation of Mumbai – from the sea, and its people?Transforming Bombay’s seven islets into land fit for a city was a daunting challenge. Its success created one of the world’s megacities – but today Mumbai faces the twin challenges of extreme population density and severe flood risk Read more articles in the series here Of all the ways in which Mumbai has been called a city of dreams, at least one is literal.