Sector enjoyed best month in more than two years in March, consumer spending report shows An early Easter boosted consumer spending in March and gave Britain’s retailers their best month in more than two years, according to a report. Prompting hopes that the retail sector might be emerging from a protracted soft patch, the latest snapshot of spending in shops and online showed the value of sales above the current inflation rate for the first time since the early days of the cost of living crisis ..read more

More than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza over the last six months – the majority women and children. For the Arab diaspora in Australia the rising death toll and looming famine has cast a dark shadow over the joy of Easter and Ramadan. Nour Haydar joins a group of women making a beloved Levantine biscuit known as maamoul to raise money for recently arrived Palestinian families. She talks to Sunday Kitchen co-founder Karima Hazim about the initiative and meets a mother of three who fled the besieged territory to seek safety in Australia You can support the Guar ..read more

Retailers cut the price of Easter treats, clothing and electrical items as consumer spending slowed Inflation in shop prices in the UK has eased to the lowest level for more than two years after retailers cut prices on Easter treats, clothing and electrical goods amid a slowdown in spending by consumers in the cost of living crisis. Industry figures show prices rose at an annual rate of 1.3% in March, down from a rate of 2.5% in February – the slowest pace since December 2021, according to the latest monitor from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) trade body and the market research firm Niels ..read more

In a tradition dating back to the 1870s, New Yorkers dressed up in creative and whimsical Easter finery on Sunday to take part in the annual Easter parade and bonnet festival in Manhattan, with St Patrick’s Cathedral among the best vantage points ..read more

White House says Republicans ‘seeking to divide country’ after they object to 31 March date that overlapped with Easter this year A Joe Biden White House spokesperson said Republicans who have spent the Easter weekend criticizing the president for declaring Sunday’s annual Transgender Day of Visibility “are seeking to divide and weaken our country with cruel, hateful and dishonest rhetoric”. “As a Christian who celebrates Easter with family, president Biden stands for bringing people together and upholding the dignity and freedoms of every American,” the White House spokesperson Andrew Bates s ..read more

I used to think grown men don’t cry, but the older I get, I find I am crying all the time. I’m grateful that Christ forgives all When I realize that my one-year anniversary with my boyfriend is on Easter Sunday, I text Merray. “That’s … a lot,” she jokes. Both of us had grown up Christian: me Chinese Baptist, her Coptic Orthodox. She texts me about her girlhood Easter dress: an empire waist baby-doll top with cap sleeves. It made her disdain her breasts because she saw herself as one of “the Boys”. We’re both queer. We have since left the church, but still talk about God. Now in our 30s, we ha ..read more

Handmade pieces in a variety of gorgeous flavours, this is everything I am here for It’s Easter and it’s been a tough week. After various challenges these last few days, it was a joy to come home to Fiona Pâtissière’s four bars of delight, £30.50 (released periodically, see her website for more details). I’ve tried to time this column with a ‘drop’ so you should be in luck! If not, you can pre-order and bear in mind that production temporarily stops in June cos: weather. I wrote about Fiona and her wicked, wicked creations three years ago and to be perfectly honest, I’ve avoided them ever sinc ..read more

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Experts say the global shortage of the main ingredient of chocolate is linked to poor conditions for farmers supplying large companies Every Easter, UK consumers collectively spend more than £1bn on food, drink, gifts, entertainment and about 80m chocolate eggs, racking up an average bill exceeding £50 each. But shoppers this year are paying more than usual: since last Easter, chocolate prices have increased by more than 12.6%, more than double the rise in supermarket food and drink prices. The cost of cocoa, chocolate’s main ingredient, has been increasing all year, hitting a record high just ..read more

Kirsty Zwar was lying in bed with a massive migraine and shampoo suds in her hair. Then her new boyfriend knocked on the door Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email Nathan and I met in late 2005 through work – we were public servants. In March 2006 the Commonwealth Games came to Melbourne and we went to a few events together. By the end of the Games we were pretty much a couple. Come Easter time I was housesitting a lovely townhouse near the beach and enjoying some extra leave. It was Good Friday eve and Nathan was going to come over after work with a pizza. We had planned for a romanti ..read more