3 hours ago Donald Trump to make history with second state visit to the UK hosted by the Royal Family

Donald Trump is to become the first elected politician in modern history to be hosted for two state visits by the Royal Family, it was reported last night.

Politics

2 hours ago Hotel review: A faultless location with welcome Irish design touches – why I was Wilde about my city break in London

Hotel review: A faultless location with welcome Irish design touches – why I was Wilde about my city break in London  Irish Independent

Society

13 hours ago Got a new phone for Christmas? Casetify's holiday sale cuts price of iPhone and Samsung cases

If you've recently acquired a new smartphone, you'll be needing a case - and Casetify has a dizzying array of options on offer right now for a very attractive price

Economics

16 hours ago Whimpering Rangers fans crown Celtic champions as Hotline clubs together to phone Clement a taxi

Robbie Copeland took your calls after Rangers' defeat to St Mirren plunged them back into crisis mode

Sport

7 hours ago Strictly judge wants show to 'move forward with fresh approach' after Giovanni Pernice bullying probe

Strictly Come Dancing's Craig Revel Horwood has broken his silence on Giovanni Pernice's former 'bullying allegations' towards his 2023 celebrity partner Amanda Abbington

Events

17 hours ago Mission Impossible films 'get a HUGE update as Tom Cruise begins work on the next two movies in the iconic series'

The Hollywood legend, 62, could be on the hunt to find the perfect fit to play younger Ethan Hunt in the epic action franchise - in a bit to unveil more of the protagonists' past.

Culture

11 hours ago Wham!’s Last Christmas remains top of UK singles chart for another week

Duo’s festive record made history when it became Christmas No 1 two years in a rowWham! have continued their belated festive domination after Last Christmas remained top of the singles chart, a week after being crowned 2024’s Christmas No 1.The pop duo of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley made history last week after their 1984 single Last Christmas became the first UK Christmas No1 to top the chart for two years in a row. Continue reading...

Politics

21 hours ago Teacher creates ingenious exam question to find cheaters and catches 14 students

A teacher who became fed up with students using their mobile phones to find answers and cheat on university exams came up with a devious way to catch them out - and failed the pupils who fell for it

Society

19 hours ago Gavin and Stacey fans spot hilarious continuity error during Mick's touching stag night tribute to Smithy

The moving scene showed an emotional Mick describing Smithy as a second son to himself and wife Pam, after they struggled to conceive another child.

Sport

7 hours ago Murder probe launched after 'hero' dad mowed down outside pub on Christmas Day

Kirk Marsden, 37, died in the early hours of Boxing Day after being rushed to hospital following the incident outside The Gate Street Bar and Grill in Blackburn

Events

12 hours ago From The History Boys to Barry! How cast from James Corden's breakout role made guest appearances in Gavin & Stacey finale

Gavin & Stacey, famously set between Wales and Essex, reached its crescendo on Christmas Day, and the finale saw some of James Corden's earliest acting pals appear.

Politics

24 hours ago UFC, boxing and golf: what is Donald Trump’s relationship with sport? – podcast

The US president-elect’s ties with the Ultimate Fighting Championship and boxing, as well as World Wrestling Entertainment, might tell us about the kinds of sport he appreciates. But then there’s golf As the US prepares to host the World Cup and the Olympics during Trump’s presidency, Jonathan Freedland and Karim Zidan walk through his history with sport to see if it explains more about himArchive: BBC, WWE, Fox 9 Minneapolis, NBC 10 Philadelphia, PBS Newshour, TMZ, MSNBC Continue reading...

Sport

7 hours ago Kelsey Parker credits new boyfriend for 'bringing her back to life' after Tom Parker's death

Kelsey Parker has opened up about being in a relationship this festive period, revealing that she's found a person who's brought her "back to life" after Tom Parker's death in 2022

Events

13 hours ago I almost joined Liverpool but completed Man United transfer after one phone call

Former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez expressed an interest in Nemanja Vidic before signing for Manchester United

Politics

8 hours ago Orchestra that allowed youths to film performances on their phones lets grime rappers Lady Leshurr and Big Dog Yogo into its ranks to boost classical music audiences

The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra has arranged a concert with two grime artists as part of its continued project to try to appeal to a younger audience.

Events

13 hours ago Across the west, the centre right is collapsing – and with it, any notion of what is ‘too extreme’ | Owen Jones

So-called moderates are mimicking populist demagogues, with potentially disastrous consequencesIt was once known as the “centre right”, and this was the year it definitively perished. It never had a coherent political philosophy, but it tended to blend deference to the perceived needs of large business interests, the championing of so-called traditional values that were actually longstanding prejudices, and admiration for established institutions. Above all else, it supposedly offered a cordon sanitaire, preventing anything further to the right from acquiring political legitimacy.That hasn’t quite worked to plan. Nigel Farage now claims his populist-right Reform party has a higher membership than the Tories: if true, it is the first time in British history that members of a rightwing rival have outnumbered the Conservative party’s. Nearly two decades ago, then Tory leader, David Cameron, dismissed Farage’s Ukip as “fruitcakes and loonies and closet racists mostly”; but today, Camero...

Politics

10 hours ago Murder probe after 'hero dad' knocked down and killed outside pub on Christmas Day

Two arrested after much-loved family man hit by Toyota Land Cruiser

Events

14 hours ago My son’s girlfriend has taken over his life and I fear he’s being suffocated | Ask Annalisa Barbieri

You are better off keeping your son close so that he knows he can come to you if there are problemsEvery week Annalisa Barbieri addresses a problem sent in by a readerA year ago, our almost 18-year-old son began seeing a girl, who is a year older than him and is his first ‘real’ girlfriend. Soon he stopped seeing his friends and he spent all of his free time with her. When they were not actually together, they were on the phone or playing remote video games.We barely saw him over the summer, as he was with her all the time. He refused to go on holiday with us unless we invited her too, which we were not willing to do . Continue reading...

Politics

10 hours ago 'I forgot I let the PDC use my song for the World Champs – I can't believe it's a cult hit'

Italian band Planet Funk had no idea their song 'Chase the Sun' had become the sound of darts until they heard it blaring out inside the lobby of a London hotel

Events

15 hours ago Deserted beaches, wild rivers and seaside chill: four days walking in NSW’s largest coastal park

The Yuraygir coastal walk in northern NSW offers 65km of beachy bliss broken up by tiny towns with food and shelter – ideal for hardcore hikers and ragtag families alikeThe tiny town of Brooms Head in northern New South Wales is not much more than a headland, a row of Norfolk Island pines and a sprawling caravan park separating the main road from the beach. It’s the kind of place with one shop, where the bestsellers are bait, mixed lollies and icy poles.On a day trip there from nearby Angourie, our family lay sprawled on the beach, eating Cornettos in the sun, when four men walked past wearing packs – big, proper ones, adorned with damp swimmers. I gave chase. Continue reading...

Politics

11 hours ago A 9th telecoms firm has been hit by a massive Chinese espionage campaign, the White House says

A top White House official says a ninth U.S. telecoms firm has been confirmed to have been hacked as part of a sprawling Chinese espionage campaign that gave officials in Beijing access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans

Events

15 hours ago Democratic strategist calls for ‘new generation of leaders’ as party plots response to Trump’s victory

Strategist who aided resurgence after Reagan urges focus on ‘fundamentals’ – but cautions against leftward driftRepublicans jubilant after winning the White House with a candidate who promised to “make America great again”. Democrats lost in the political wilderness, apparently out of touch with working people. America, apparently, shifting inexorably to the right. Not 2024 but 1984, when Ronald Reagan won the presidency in a landslide.Al From remembers it well. The political strategist responded by launching the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) with a mission to rebuild the party and make it electable again. He succeeded in 1992 when Bill Clinton led the “New Democrats” back into power – and four decades on he has advice for how the party can rise from the ashes of another election defeat. Continue reading...

Politics

11 hours ago Three women die after eating Christmas cake at family gathering as police launch probe

An investigation has been launched after three women died and a further three people were hospitalised after they ate Christmas cake that was baked at a family gathering in Brazil

Events

17 hours ago UK's weird, wonderful and largely overlooked estate pubs are quickly vanishing

Architectural investigators Matthew Bristow and Emily Cole warn that post-war drinking dens have fallen out of fashion, yet symbolise an important part of the UK's history

Politics

11 hours ago The Guardian view on arms control: essential to prevent the total devastation of nuclear war | Editorial

Over the holidays, this column will explore next year’s urgent issues. Today we look at why an unqualified belief in nuclear deterrence can’t keep us safeNext November marks 40 years since the US president Ronald Reagan and the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev declared that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought”. The statement was striking – not least because their militaries were pouring billions into preparing for an unwinnable conflict.A year later, at Reykjavik, the two came tantalisingly close to eliminating nuclear weapons entirely. That historic chance slipped away over Reagan’s insistence on his unproven “Star Wars” missile defence system. The moment passed, but its lesson endures: disarmament demands courage – and compromise. Continue reading...

Events

17 hours ago Decluttering experts list the 24 items you must remove from your home before 2025

Two women, who are on a mission to help people get their homes and lives organised, insist that you have a good clear out before 2025 to get your life in order - and getting rid of these items helps

Politics

11 hours ago Police hunt for schoolboy, 11, who 'sexually assaulted woman' in broad daylight

The incident happened when a boy aged 11-12, approached a woman in Woodford, Northamptonshire, and touched her inappropriately, police said

Events

17 hours ago Seaside Scottish town with famous beach named 'perfect winter staycation' spot

Just in time for 2025, a charming and historic Scottish town has been named "the perfect winter staycation destination" — and it is home to a famous beach and acclaimed restaurants.

Politics

12 hours ago The Great Fire of London, Hitler's rise and 9/11: Which Nostradamus predictions came true?

The historic seer has developed a large following for his eerie predictions – but which have actually come true?

Events

18 hours ago Dystopian city the size of Austria where most people 'never touch the ground'

Chongqing in China is the largest city in the world by population. It has multi-level highways, a monorail system that cuts right through through residential tower blocks, and a skyline studded with brightly lit skyscrapers

Politics

12 hours ago Morrison Hotel featured on The Doors’ album cover burns in Los Angeles fire

Blaze engulfed landmark building where Jim Morrison and bandmates posed for a photograph for their 1970 LPFlames engulfed the historic Morrison Hotel, featured on the cover of The Doors’ 1970 album of the same name, after a fire hit the landmark downtown Los Angeles building.More than 100 firefighters responded to the fire, which began around 11am Thursday, and had the burn under control in under two hours. Several dozen people inside were able to escape, including possible squatters and three people rescued by firefighters on the third floor. Continue reading...

Events

18 hours ago Are Dua Lipa and Callum Turner engaged? Their relationship history, explained

The singer has made headlines for her rumoured engagement to Turner over the Christmas period

Politics

12 hours ago Morrison hotel featured on Doors’ album cover burns in Los Angeles fire

Blaze engulfed landmark building where Jim Morrison and bandmates posed for a photograph for their 1970 LPFlames engulfed the historic Morrison Hotel, featured on the cover of The Doors’ 1970 album of the same name, after a fire hit the landmark downtown Los Angeles building.More than 100 firefighters responded to the fire, which began around 11am Thursday, and had the burn under control in under two hours. Several dozen people inside were able to escape, including possible squatters and three people rescued by firefighters on the third floor. Continue reading...

Events

18 hours ago When is 12th Night 2025? Why there are two different dates for Twelfth Night, why we take down decorations

When do you take your decorations down?

Politics

14 hours ago NASA's Parker Solar Probe survives close brush with the sun's scorching surface

NASA has confirmed that a spacecraft has made the closest approach to the sun

Events

19 hours ago Ruben Amormin's touchline reaction sums up exactly what he thinks of Bruno Fernandes

The state of Manchester United continues to worsen, as they were handed a 2-0 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Boxing Day, while Bruno Fernandes saw red for a needless challenge

Politics

19 hours ago My holidays were blighted by moany voicenotes, so I imposed a Whatsapp ban – with mixed results | Poorna Bell

The incessant notifications make me pine for the days when staying in touch required greater effortThough my internal age is set to about 28, the time when I feel profoundly 43 is when I get nostalgic for things rendered obsolete by technology. One of those things was being able to go on holiday without being continually contacted, because the price of sending a text message was the same as a glass of wine. WhatsApp has obliterated that.Over the past year, I’ve noticed how much harder it has been to switch off as a result of the incessant flow of information. I have walked in the Polish countryside foraging for mushrooms under a crisp blue sky, while listening to a friend’s voice note about their work worries in minute detail. After I spent a glorious day out with my 10-year-old niece in Barcelona, eating dumplings and buying stickers, a friend decided to share a non-urgent but emotionally difficult update about a mutual friend’s bad health. While I was in the Maldives, after I had ...

Politics

18 hours ago 'Lovely' retired teacher, 72, is killed when Boxing Day fire rips through her home as emergency services probe how it started

A retired teacher was tragically killed in a Boxing Day morning fire which ripped through her Norwich home. Neighbours have since described her as a 'lovely person'.

Events

20 hours ago City as big as Austria where some 'never see sun' – but you'll have never heard of it

A gigantic megacity larger than some European countries has sprung up in Southwestern China, so dense that the people living on its lower levels never see sunlight

Politics

22 hours ago Can Europe switch to a ‘wartime mindset’? Take it from us in Ukraine: here is what that means | Oleksandr Mykhed

Nato’s warning reached me as I braced for a missile attack in Kyiv – where we’ve learned how to survive in the era of Russian hybrid warfareDay 1,024 of the invasion. Kyiv, 7am. Friday the 13th. In a former life, someone would have observed that this is a day that portends bad luck. But in a country where shelling is a daily occurrence, it has become irrelevant. I wake up to the sound of an app on my phone warning me of an increased missile threat. While my partner and I are hiding in the corridor, I read the news that the Nato chief, Mark Rutte, has called on members of the US-led transatlantic alliance to “shift to a wartime mindset”.With the first bang of the air defence system, a thought strikes me: for those who have not already been living with it for nearly three years, how would you explain this mindset? What is this wartime thinking? Continue reading...

Events

20 hours ago 'I'm a pilot and this is what happens if you forget to turn your phone on airplane mode'

Does it really make a difference? One professional has weighed in.

Politics

24 hours ago Independence activist who sparked SNP police probe says he has been 'ostracised' by others

EXCLUSIVE: Sean Clerkin said he was "frustrated about the lack of progress" as Operation Branchform nears its fifth year.

Events

21 hours ago ‘I had to make the vampire as scary as possible’: Nosferatu’s Robert Eggers on how folklore fuelled his film

The director of the latest movie in the bloodsucker tradition explains why he went back to the Transylvanian source for his version of one of cinema’s enduring adaptationsWe are all drawn to archetypal stories. Fairytales, folktales, fables, myths: we tell them over and over again because they always have meaning in our lives. We can always see reflections of ourselves in Hansel and Gretel, Oedipus and King Lear. They can mean different things at different stages of our lives and be interpreted in different ways by individuals sitting in the same audience.Bram Stoker’s Dracula is among them. It one of the most influential novels of the turn of the last century and, along with the stories of Sherlock Holmes and Jesus Christ, among the most adapted works in cinema history. Continue reading...

Politics

27 hours ago Walkers rejoice as Labour axes looming deadline for historic plans to be registered

The move has been welcomed by enthusiasts but has sparked another row with landowners following Labour's inheritance tax raid on farms.

Events

22 hours ago Liverpool star Curtis Jones reveals classy message from Jurgen Klopp after reaching landmark

Curtis Jones helped Liverpool come from behind to beat Leicester City on what was his 100th appearance for the Reds, with Jurgen Klopp getting in touch to mark the occasion

Politics

28 hours ago Investigation of disappearance of children in Ecuador was delayed for days despite video evidence

A probe into the military’s role in the disappearance of four children in Ecuador this month was delayed for almost two weeks, even though police had access to surveillance videos implicating soldiers in the disappearance

Events