If you're planning to start your fitness journey in the new year but find the idea of joining a gym daunting, at home workouts can be a great place to start and this equipment will help

Politics

A cocktail of Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis has left larger ‘chrome and carpet’ venues high and dry as struggling chains look to party bars‘A taste of Ibiza in grotty King’s Cross’: memories of closed UK nightclubsWhen the patrons of Watford’s Pryzm nightclub celebrated New Year’s Eve on 31 December 2023, they were marking the end of an era, or rather, the end of seven eras. Like every beloved local club, the venue had been known by multiple names over the years: Top Rank, Bailey’s, Paradise Lost, Kudos, Destiny and Oceana.Now, it will be reincarnated no more, after failing to reach a deal with its landlord. Continue reading...

Society

U.S. officials say the United States is expected to announce it will send another $1.25 billion in military assistance to Ukraine

Economics

The world champion and Snakebite go head to head in a Sunday night blockbuster at Ally Pally

Events

Introducing Batch Ldn — the start-up brand offering a signature suit to solve ‘smart casual’ dressing dilemmas

Culture

The number of people consulting their GP about the illness also reached the highest level recorded in seven years.

Science

David Galloway, 58, and his partner Bev, 54, from Rotherham experienced a nightmare start to their holiday when plans to go to their original destination were cancelled

Transport

‘The Nuke’ continues his quest to dethrone Luke Humphries this week, with a potential rematch of this year’s final in the final four at Alexandra Palace

Politics

Volodymyr Zelensky has urged China to put pressure on North Korea if it “is sincere in its statements that the war should not expand.”

Events

Women might overtaken men in the adoption of sex robots by 2025 - in part, because they already have a technological head start, according to futurist Dr Ian Pearson.

Science

If you’re too daunted to join a gym or want to avoid pricey memberships, these handy pieces of at-home workout equipment can help you kick off your January fitness journey

Politics

Did Santa bring you skincare this year? Here’s how to decode the new products featuring active ingredients like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, AHAs and retinol

Events

Hope and kindness ‘touch the very heart of gospel’ and show people how to behave amid war and social injusticePope Francis has urged people not to be drawn towards “pessimism and resignation” despite wars and social injustices throughout the world, but to retain a “gentle gaze of hope”.The head of the Catholic church gave the Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4 on Saturday, wishing listeners “peace, fellowship and gratitude” for the new year and emphasising the importance of humility. Continue reading...

Politics

All-rounder joins Washington Sundar in critical 127-run standTourists trail by 116 runs with one wicket in hand in fourth Test52nd over: India 180-5 (Pant 22, Jadeja 4) Smokes a pull shot! Pant moves along to the 20s by clattering Boland, then takes a single. Jadeja keeps blocking.Guy Hornsby winds up the crank handle on the email machine. “Morning/evening Geoff. I’m somehow still up in darkest Sale in Manchester, full of port and cheese and wondering if Pant and Jadeja can actually save anything here. Their records suggest there’s a chance, but Pant is Cummins’ bunny of late and India must have felt an absolute gut punch after getting to 153-2 before the calamitous run-out. I’m not going to even attempt to apportion individual blame, just say it was a proper horlicks that took the wind out of India’s sails. Now it’s down to these two and a longish but bullish tail to see how much of a dent they can put into this huge Australian total. Perhaps Bumrah has made clear just how much of ...

Events

Gaza health officials said the IDF detained the director of a hospital, which the WHO said was put out of service by an Israeli raidNearly one in five of the world’s children live in areas affected by conflicts, with more than 473 million children suffering from the worst levels of violence since the second world war, according to figures published by the UN.The UN humanitarian aid organisation for children, Unicef, said on Saturday that the percentage of children living in conflict zones around the world has doubled from about 10% in the 1990s to almost 19%, and warned that this dramatic increase in harm to children should not become the “new normal”. Continue reading...

Politics

At MSF’s pioneering centre in Amman, Jordan, the dedicated team deal with lives that have already been saved. Here they make those lives worth livingAs a sign of commitment to peace, help us support those affected by war | Kath VinerDonate to our charity appeal hereA girl slips through the corridors of the hospital’s fifth floor with her friend, the pair bright-eyed and shy. Today is her last chance to wear her sparkly new shoes, bought for a party last week. Tomorrow, the 12-year-old Iraqi will have a leg amputated.The operation was due two weeks ago but the surgeon, who had tried not to weep as he broke the news that amputation was necessary, agreed to delay surgery. She wanted the chance to wear her new shoes to the party first. Continue reading...

Events

It's Day 11 at Ally Pally as the heat turns up at the Paddy Power World Championships - and we've got all the info you need

Politics

BBC SAS Rogue Heroes star Connor Swindells opens up on the huge sacrifice he role as a prisoner of war on the show, as Jack O'Connell reveals why he kept a punchbag on set

Events

All-rounder joins Washington Sundar in critical 127-run standTourists trail by 116 runs with one wicket in hand in fourth Test52nd over: India 180-5 (Pant 22, Jadeja 4) Smokes a pull shot! Pant moves along to the 20s by clattering Boland, then takes a single. Jadeja keeps blocking.Guy Hornsby winds up the crank handle on the email machine. “Morning/evening Geoff. I’m somehow still up in darkest Sale in Manchester, full of port and cheese and wondering if Pant and Jadeja can actually save anything here. Their records suggest there’s a chance, but Pant is Cummins’ bunny of late and India must have felt an absolute gut punch after getting to 153-2 before the calamitous run-out. I’m not going to even attempt to apportion individual blame, just say it was a proper horlicks that took the wind out of India’s sails. Now it’s down to these two and a longish but bullish tail to see how much of a dent they can put into this huge Australian total. Perhaps Bumrah has made clear just how much of ...

Politics

Kyiv reports heavy casualties among Pyongyang’s soldiers in Russia while Washington accuses generals of seeing the troops as ‘expendable’. What we know on day 1,039See all our Ukraine war coverageNorth Korean troops deployed in Russia’s Kursk region are suffering heavy losses and being left unprotected by the Russian forces they are fighting alongside, according to Ukraine, while the US says Russian and North Korean generals see the soldiers as “expendable”. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that said Russian troops were sending the North Koreans into battle with minimal protection and that the North Koreans were taking extreme measures to avoid being taken prisoner. “Their losses are significant, very significant,” the Ukrainian president said in his nightly video address. “We see that neither the Russian military nor their North Korean overseers have any interest in ensuring the survival of these North Koreans.” Zelenskyy said “several” wounded North Korean soldiers had died afte...

Events

Hussain Bisad, who has had health problems, says government should do more for people with physical or mental illnessWhen Hussain Bisad first settled in north London as an asylum seeker after fleeing from war in Somalia 23 years ago, he did so in the hope of a new and more settled life. Little did he know that shortly after arriving he would be at the centre of the media spotlight, not for his story of escaping conflict but for something altogether different: his height.Bisad had been in the UK for five months when Guinness World Records measured his height as 2.3 metres (7ft 6.5in), making him then the world’s tallest living man. Continue reading...

Politics

Reigning world No1 will miss the start of the 2025 PGA Tour season in Hawaii after hand wound caused by broken glass

Events

The Duchess of Edinburgh has travelled to some of world's most war-torn and traumatised areas to raise awareness of important causes, much like the late Princess Diana

Politics

Teruo Nakamura had been a private in the Imperial Japanese Army. In December 1974, almost 30 years since the Second World War had ended, he was convinced it was still raging.

Events

EXCLUSIVE: The Duchess of Edinburgh is known for her tireless work supporting women in war-torn countries - a cause that has seen her draw similarities to the late Princess Diana

Politics

Darts ace Stephen Bunting has confessed he was close to tears prior to his match against Madars Razma, who he beat to reach the last 16 of the World Darts Championship

Events

A New Year's Eve and New Year's Day forecast which shows a -2C weather shift, while the Met Office The Met Office is predicting flurries and accumulations

Politics

Russia is treating North Korean troops as ‘expendable’ in fight over Kursk region, officials say

Events

Jessica Hobson reached the semi-finals of Britain's Got Talent at just 19 years old in 2011- and had a memorable emotional outburst - but the singer looks very different nowadays.

Politics

Darts star Gerwyn Price survived blowing a three-set lead against Joe Cullen to reach the last 16 of the PDC World Darts Championship at the Alexandra Palace

Events

Gunners will need to show much more creativity without their injured talisman, who is unlikely to return until March

Politics

US Department of Housing and Urban Development reports largest increase among families with childrenThe US saw a dramatic rise in homelessness at the start of 2024, counting 18% more unhoused people during its annual tally in January than the year before, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (Hud) reported on Friday.Cities reported counting a total of 771,480 unhoused people in January, a number that is larger than the population of Seattle. Representing 23 out of every 10,000 Americans, the number is the highest ever recorded during the tally. Still, experts consider the number an undercount, since it reflects one point in time and misses many people staying with friends or family. Continue reading...

Events

The Premier League season has not reached its halfway point and yet Arsenal knew this was a game they had to win. Liverpool’s stunning form at the top of the table had seen to that. It was scrappy for long spells, Ipswich digging deep, determined to show a response to the 4-0 home drubbing against Newcastle from last Saturday – the only time they have taken a real battering this season.Arsenal were restricted. They found chances difficult to come by. But in the end, one goal was enough – together with another clean sheet for David Raya, his 23rd in 50 league appearances for the club. Kai Havertz was the scorer, turning home a Leandro Trossard cross midway through the first half; he made it look simple. Continue reading...

Politics

Jonny Clayton beat Daryl Gurney 4-3 to reach the last 16 of the Paddy Power PDC World Championship on Friday - but he nearly quit the sport entirely after suffering a personal tragedy

Events

When Brighton produced a stirring comeback to defeat Manchester City here at the start of November and move into the top four, Fabian Hürzeler could have been forgiven for thinking that being a Premier League manager is a pretty straightforward business. But after another disappointing performance from his side that made it six matches without a victory and allowed Brentford to pick up only their second away point of the season, the 31-year-old may have a different opinion now.Despite creating a plethora of chances, Brighton could not find a way past Thomas Frank’s battling side, who lost their goalkeeper Mark Flekken to injury in the first half and handed a Premier League debut to Hákon Valdimarsson. In the absence of their top scorer, Danny Welbeck, who has been sidelined with an ankle injury, and for all their positivity and possession under Hürzeler, Brighton lack a cutting edge in attack that was exposed again by Brentford. They have not won at home since beating City and it wa...

Politics

Vladimir Putin is said to be plotting a 'land grab' to 're-establish the former Soviet Union' and the US and European leaders have been told to prepare for World War 3

Events

Manchester United have had a mixed start under new head coach Ruben Amorim following Erik ten Hag's sacking in October

Politics

Security assistance package in works as North Korean troops are deployed in Kursk after Putin-Kim agreementThe Biden administration is pledging to approve fresh military aid to Ukraine in the coming days, including crucial air defense systems, as North Korean forces face mounting casualties in their first major deployment to a European conflict.John Kirby, the US national security communications adviser, told reporters on Friday that in just the last week North Korean troops had suffered more than 1,000 casualties in what he referred to as failed “human wave” assaults near the Kursk border-region, which confirms similar figures reported by South Korea. Continue reading...

Events

Brits could enjoy an extra Bank Holiday in 2025 to celebrate 80 years since the end of the Second World War - a Mirror poll shows most Brits are keen for an extra day off to mark the occasion

Politics

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

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

Dr Tess McPherson, from the British Association of Dermatologists, told Sky News that the Gen Alpha fixation on anti-ageing creams and retinols could cause irreversible damage that is 'life long'.

Events

The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) said around 3,800 of its members based in 14 offices were being given the new working hours.

Politics

A Brazilian man known as 'Living Nostradamus' after making a number of accurate predictions now claims World War III could be 'imminent' and 'the worst is yet to come'.

Events

Following years of insomnia and struggling to reach deep sleep, Emilie Lavinia dives into the latest viral wellness trend and discovers it may actually be doing more harm than good

Politics

Shocking footage shows a police officer arresting an alleged child rapist, having worn a bushy camouflage suit to blend into the background to reach him across a field

Events