12 minutes ago No 10 says Starmer won’t offer reparations or apology over Britain’s role in slavery at Commonwealth summit – UK politics live

Government opposed to idea of paying reparations for Britain’s historic role in slave trade and will not issue apology at Commonwealth meetingIn the past the weirdest budget tradition was the convention that the chancellor is allowed to drink alcohol while delivering the budget speech. But since no chancellor has taken advantage of the rule since the 1990s (and no one expects Rachel Reeves to be quaffing on Wednesday week), this tradition is probably best viewed as lapsed.But Sam Coates from Sky News has discovered another weird budget ritual. On his Politics at Jack and Sam’s podcast, he says:Someone messaged me to say: ‘Did you know that over in the Treasury as they’ve been going over all these spending settlements, in one of the offices, its full of balloons. And every time an indivi...

Politics

84 minutes ago Ambulance crews are being ordered to dump severely ill patients in hospital corridors if there are no emergency doctors around

Doctors have criticised the drop and go move saying 'it won't fix anything' and 'risks the lives of patients', but Stephen Kinnock, the care minister, said the policy had 'worked very well' in London .

Science

85 minutes ago Virgin Media O2 launches railcards for £10 offer with new codes released every day

The reward will be available for Virgin Media broadband and O2 customers from today until November 9, 2024 in the Priority app and website - here is what you need to know

Economics

87 minutes ago Inside weird world of Korean 'Muckbang' loved by fans for sadistic reason

Korean Muckbang was popularised in the west by Adam Richman on Man vs Food, or more recently by YouTuber Adam Moran (Beard Meats Food), but it's a whole other level in its native country

Politics

90 minutes ago Volkswagen fined £5.4m for mistreating customers; UK interest rates ‘to fall to 2.75%’ next year – business live

Volkswagen Finance has agreed to pay over £21.5m in redress to around 110,000 customers who may have suffered harm because of its failings.Volkswagen Financial Services has apologised for the failings identified by the FCA, saying (via Reuters):“We are in the process of concluding our remediation efforts as we continue to provide goodwill payments to affected customers and apologise for any detriment caused.” Continue reading...

Economics

92 minutes ago West Lothian zoo will welcome two lionesses rescued from 'heavy bombing' in Ukraine

The pair of lionesses that were saved from a private owner amidst “heavy bombing” in 2022

Events

1 hour ago ‘What is my faith? What am I doing?’ The American evangelicals ‘deconstructing’ their religion to save it

When a young Southern Baptist came out as gay, it prompted a ‘major reckoning’: could he reconcile his religion with his sexuality?In 2017, at the end of his first year at Samford University, a private Christian university in Birmingham, Alabama, Nathan Peace realized he’d never “pray the gay away” and he’d never “turn straight”.Peace had grown up in a “churchy” family in Georgia and attended Southern Baptist services his entire life. In high school, he showed up early for Bible study and participated in group prayers before marching band performances. In the 2016 election, he voted for Donald Trump. It’s what he thought he had to do to be a “faithful” Christian. Continue reading...

Politics

1 hour ago Racing world 'shattered' by sudden death of top jockey with more than 1,000 wins

Johnathan Parkes, 35, was one of the most successful riders in New Zealand where his victories included 62 in Black Type races of which 12 were at Group 1 level

Events

1 hour ago Girl, 10, saves grandma from ‘silent killer’ after safety workshop at school

Pauline had been experiencing headaches and ‘dizzy spells’ in recent weeks and even visited her GP

Events

1 hour ago Mike Tyson could receive rematch offer immediately after Jake Paul fight

'Iron Mike' is scheduled to make his return to the ring next month, nearly 20 years on from his last professional outing, and already has potential future offers should he choose to fight again

Sport