24 minutes ago Inside Strictly star Dr Punam Krishan's poignant promise to her parents

Dr Punam Krishan has been making history on Strictly Come Dancing - and the TV medic has previously opened up about her parents' concerns while she was growing up

Politics

27 minutes ago Bargain Hunt pair floored over unexpected windfall as £14 item turns into huge profit

One Bargain Hunt couple were left speechless as a £14 item made them a huge profit on the BBC show after their expert Roo Irvine bought the item for them as a bonus buy

Economics

37 minutes ago Sydney Sweeney to play boxing icon shot and stabbed by husband in evil murder attempt

Hollywood star Sydney Sweeney is set to portray legendary women's boxing champion Christy Martin, who was nearly murdered by her husband in a horrific attack, then married one of her biggest rivals

Events

41 minutes ago Liam Payne's staggering net worth and incredible fortune he promised to son Bear, 7

As the world continues to mourn the death of Liam Payne who tragically died this week after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina, ex Cheryl has spoken out

Politics

43 minutes ago ‘The bully of the bird table’: how the humble starling conquered the world

Some celebrate them, others despise them. Yet this mimicking, competitive and acrobatic songbird still exerts a powerful fascinationA stream of people heads steadily down the path, towards the viewpoint over the reedbed. As I walk alongside them, I’m reminded of a crowd ­heading to a football match, or a ­gathering of medieval pilgrims hoping for a miracle.There is usually a moment, about 20 minutes before sunset, when the gathering falls strangely silent, anticipating what we are about to witness. Then, just as some are ­wondering if they’ve come to the wrong place, or on the wrong day, the first birds appear in the far ­distance. A small flock of starlings, flying determinedly in our ­direction. A collective sigh of relief ripples through the crowd. We can relax. Continue re...

Politics

43 minutes ago ‘He lashed out. He was scared’: the fight to save vulnerable UK children from being kicked out of school

Two hundred lawyers have come together to challenge a wave of discriminatory exclusionsWhen he started secondary school in Hackney, east London, at the age of 11, Sam* had high attainment levels and loved learning. At the end of the introductory week, he was given an award for being a “star”. Less than two weeks later, a courier delivered a letter to his home saying that he had been ­permanently excluded.Government data released this summer showed there were a record 9,400 permanent exclusions in 2022-23, up 45% from 6,500 in 2021-22. Sam, who lives on a council estate with his Cameroonian mother and has been diagnosed with ADHD and autism, is among the most likely ­children in the country to be thrown out of school. Continue reading...

Politics

43 minutes ago ‘Appreciate winter for what it is, without wishing it were something different’: psychologist Kari Leibowitz on beating the seasonal blues

The researcher spent 10 years studying how attitude affects mood and behaviour, and her new book shares ways in which we can learn to value the colder monthsKari Leibowitz holds a PhD in social psychology from Stanford University, where she studied the role of our mindsets on our health and wellbeing. For the past 10 years, Leibowitz has been investigating people’s attitudes to winter and the ways they can powerfully affect our mood and behaviour – research that has culminated in her debut book, How to Winter: Harnessing Your Mindset to Thrive in Cold, Dark Or Difficult Times.As a Fulbright scholar, you moved from Atlanta to the University of Tromsø in Norway. The polar night there lasts for almost two months. How did that experience inform your views of winter?I was looking for a resea...

Politics

43 minutes ago Ken Hom: ‘I was petrified of being in front of the camera. Doing TV was a nightmare’

The chef and broadcaster on peeling prawns by the kilo, his bicultural pride and being ‘addicted’ to fish and chipsDucks don’t like me when they look at me. I’ve cooked countless peking ducks, probably several thousand. On my first TV series [Ken Hom’s Chinese Cookery on BBC Two, first broadcast on 29 October 1984] we did peking duck in the first programme and there was a run on ducks the next day in all the supermarkets. I’m their nemesis.My father died when I was eight months old, he had a heart attack. So I grew up in Chicago with a single mum who, because she came from China, never spoke English. I had to speak Cantonese to her and it’s been a blessing in disguise. Because of that, I became bicultural. I spoke English in a western world, but at the same time...

Politics

43 minutes ago The podcast Kill List doesn’t reflect badly on the internet – it reflects badly on us | John Naughton

A gripping audio series about a killer-for-hire scam on the dark web is a reminder of how technology holds up a mirror to human natureThis column comes to you as a break from listening to a riveting podcast series called Kill List. It’s about a secret website that journalist and author Carl Miller discovered on the dark web, the slimy underbelly of the internet. The site essentially runs what one might call an “assassination market” or a murder-for-hire service. Customers identify and profile someone whom they wish to have killed and pay (in bitcoin, natch) for the service they require. Hence the title of the podcast series.The story starts in 2020 in the early days of the pandemic lockdown when a gifted IT expert and hacker, Chris Monteiro, was browsing the site and found a security vu...

Events

43 minutes ago Former top judge demands help for prisoners ‘left to rot’ under ‘morally wrong’ indefinite jail terms

Exclusive: John Thomas, who was once Britain’s most senior judge, has said IPP jail terms are ‘inherently unfair’ as he backs The Independent’s call for a review

Events