84 minutes ago Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrison's More loyalty schemes ranked by Which?

From collecting points to dual-pricing, it's hard to not be enticed into the world of supermarket loyalty schemes. But, is it really worth signing up to become a member?

Politics

19 hours ago We built our world with fire. Now heat is destroying our lives | John Vaillant

We fell in love with the power and speed that fossil fuels brought us. But the price being paid in California, and around the world, has become too highZero per cent contained. In layperson’s terms, that means “out of control and burning at will”. It’s a common designation for a wildfire – in the wild. But when a fire like this enters an urban area such as Los Angeles County, the most highly populated metropolitan area in the US, it becomes an exploding bomb, and this one has been detonating since last Tuesday.By now, the energy release from this wind-driven, drought-fuelled firestorm turned urban conflagration is into the megatons, and the nuclear-scale destruction is there for all to see: block after block and neighbourhood after neighbourhood levelled – roughly 12,000 structures destroyed or rendered uninhabitable, 55 sq miles of city and mountain burnt, nearly 200,000 residents evacuated – so far. There is more to come. Continue reading...

Society

4 hours ago ‘A welfare state with a budget on the right side of zero’: Iceland’s youngest

Kristrún Frostadóttir, who entered politics just four years ago, speaks to the Observer about feminism, the far right and reopening talks on joining the EUNearly 45 years ago, Iceland made history by producing the world’s first elected female president of a country, setting it on a path to being the global feminist frontrunner it is today.Since then it has had multiple female presidents and prime ministers, but it wasn’t until three weeks ago, when social democrat Kristrún Frostadóttir took office, that the country’s two top positions were both held by women at the same time. It comes after Halla Tómasdóttir became Iceland’s second female president in August. Continue reading...

Economics

4 hours ago 60 seconds of chaos shows why Pep Guardiola is giving Man City fans a different kind of transfer rebuild

Pep Guardiola showed why Manchester City are looking for two central defenders in the January transfer window as the Blues beat Salford.

Sport

70 minutes ago Boob job leaves woman foaming at the mouth on operating table before tragic death

WARNING, GRAPHIC CONTENT: A 35-year-old woman went for a breast augmentation procedure but didn't make it off the operating table after an unregistered doctor injected hyaluronic acid filler

Events

11 hours ago India headteacher forces 100 'humiliated' schoolgirls to remove shirts after 'Pen Day' celebration

Around 100 schoolgirls at a school in Dhanbad, India, were ordered to remove their uniform tops after their pen day celebrations, when friends write on their outfits

Culture

13 hours ago Breast surgery horror as patient starts 'convulsing' on operating table but doctor continues

Beauty clinic manager Jean Huang tragically died following a botched breast augmentation surgery - unregistered doctor Jie Shao was jailed and has now been banned from providing health services

Science

5 hours ago BBC celebrity chef nicknamed 'Flamebaster' went from working as a carer to traveling the culinary world

Chris 'Flamebaster' Roberts' from Caernarfon began showcasing his cooking skills on Instagram in 2016, but has since garnered a glittering career as a chef

Transport

86 minutes ago Britain is a weak link in Donald Trump’s new world order, so it needs to find friends fast | Will Hutton

Amid deepening debt and an onslaught by the president-elect, Labour must calm the markets, then think big economicallyIt’s certainly not 2008, nor even Truss 2022, but the men and women who move the financial markets are suddenly darkly pessimistic. Some of the private emails and WhatsApp messages circulating last week matched any efforts by Cassandra. The mood has turned against Britain.It is not one single thing, but a toxic mix. There is the prospect of a long period of stagflation, the consequence, as even the markets recognise, of 14 years of epic misgovernment. The problem now is partly that Labour does not have a plausible growth story, partly that the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is painted as having an economic tin ear that douses capitalist animal spirits, and partly because Trump’s arrival has exposed just how dependent an indebted, economically wounded Britain is on the kindness of strangers. It’s not yet a crisis – the stock market has held up – but without some skilful e...

Politics

21 hours ago Elon Musk's links to Liverpool from scouse 'nana' to family he 'shows no interest in'

The world’s richest man Elon Musk spent his childhood in Merseyside with his scouse grandmother, a far cry from the upper echelons of society he now knows today

Society

7 hours ago Six household bills set to rise in the coming weeks including council tax and mobile phones

Households are set to be hit with a raft of price hikes in early 2025, including council tax, energy bills and mobile phone and broadband contracts

Economics

14 hours ago Outlander fans 'getting so tired' as season 7 finale won’t air for another week in major schedule shake

Fans of the hit Starz drama Outlander were left disappointed when the season seven finale failed to air this Friday

Sport

75 minutes ago LA wildfire death toll rises to 16 as devastation forces 150,000 to evacuate

The blazes have already destroyed more than 12,000 structures since Tuesday

Events

16 hours ago Couldn’t put it down: David Hurn’s photographs of people reading – in pictures

In 1983 David Hurn met one of his photographic heroes, André Kertész , and jokingly suggested that, when he reached Kertész’s age of 89, he would remake his seminal volume, On Reading. True to his word, the Magnum photographer has now done so. Wherever Hurn travelled as a photojournalist, he took images of people reading books, magazines and, lately, on mobile phones. “One of the things that happens in every country in the world is people read,” he says. “It’s lovely to read – the touch of the paper, the ease of being able to check back a few pages. But we’re at a time now where we’re not quite sure whether, in the future, books on paper are going to disappear.”David Hurn’s On Reading is published by RRB Photobooks (£35) Continue reading...

Culture

16 hours ago China's 'Batwoman' scientist 'still conducting risky coronavirus tests after lab leak'

Chinese scientist Shi Zhengli, 60, continues to work on bat coronaviruses in Wuhan - top virologists say her work could have a 'potentially catastrophic' impact five years on from the start of the Covid-19 pandemic

Science

86 minutes ago ‘It’s an enormous emergency’: the doctor saving Sudan’s most vulnerable

MSF medical teams provide vital care in the war-torn country where pregnant women, new mothers and newborns are dying needlessly at alarming ratesDonate to our charity appeal hereIn Sudan, where a war that has caused the world’s biggest humanitarian disaster is in its second year, Dr Javid Abdelmoneim has his own daily struggles, trying to save lives in a place where the health system has all but collapsed.Rockets and bullets have an immediate effect on people caught in the crossfire, but the wider consequences of war are wreaking havoc on the population’s health. Continue reading...

Politics

23 hours ago ITV presenter Nicki Shields says ’supportive husband’ is secret to balancing family and travel

EXCLUSIVE: Nicki Shields is the face of ITV and TNT Sports' coverage of Formula E motorsport and is able to travel the world with the series despite having three young children at home

Society

11 hours ago Rachel Reeves 'eyes hotel tax' to bolster UK's coffers: Families are facing surcharge on holidays to foot bill for Labour's economic chaos

Treasury officials are thought to have done 'modelling exercises' over the impact of introducing a 'tourist tax' similar to that in France as part of efforts by Rachel Reeves to stabilise finances

Economics

2 hours ago BREAKING: LA fires death toll rises to 16 as firefighters send 'cadaver dogs' into smoking ruins

Dogs have been deployed in Los Angeles to search for human remains among the tens of thousands of burned out acres, with six fires still raging in California after nearly a week

Events

26 hours ago Antiques Roadshow guest’s jaw drops as she discovers huge value of late husband’s worldwide hit children’s book

An Antiques Roadshow guest couldn’t contain her surprise when she was informed just how much a copy of her late author husband’s book and accompanying scrapbook were worth.

Culture

17 hours ago 'Batwoman' boffin at centre of Covid lab leak theory still doing 'dangerous' virus tests

Millions died, economies were destroyed and years of people's lives were lost to the Covid-19 pandemic – which some blame the Chinese 'batwoman' for bringing into the world

Science

2 hours ago At home with Simon Rattle: ‘There are still things I feel are beyond me’

The world-famous conductor, now 70, on family life in Berlin, why music keeps you young and the bleak outlook for the arts in BritainThe instruction was straightforward: “10.30am at home. Coffee and croissants.” Since timing, at least in part, is a conductor’s priority, a visitor feels the pressure – especially with the siren call of coffee – to be prompt. Simon Rattle lives on the edge of Grunewald, the expanse of forest and lakes to the west of Berlin, a haven for the prosperous who built villas there at the end of the 19th century, and a green lung for all Berliners today. I arrive a few minutes early – long enough to take issue with Christopher Isherwood who, in his Berlin Stories, complained about the “expensive ugliness” of the properties here, ranging from “the eccentric-rococo folly to the cubist flat-roofed steel-and-glass box”. Gables and turrets turn suburban houses into small castles, a reminder of Germany’s romantic folklore past. Fairy lights – we meet shortly before C...

Politics

19 hours ago White House working on hostage release deal between Hamas and Israel, says CIA director

Donald Trump hopes agreement will take place before his inauguration amid renewed optimismThe White House is working to reach a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas before president-elect Trump’s inauguration, William Burns, the director of the CIA, has suggested.“Negotiations going on right now are quite serious and do offer the possibility, at least, of getting this done in the next couple of weeks,” Burns said in an interview with National Public Radio on Friday. “This administration worked very hard at that right up until 20 January. I think the coordination with the new administration on this issue has been good. President-elect Trump has made clear his interest in trying to get a deal, you know, before his inauguration.” Continue reading...

Economics

2 hours ago LA fires death toll rises to 16 as firefighters send 'cadaver dogs' into smoking ruins

Dogs have been deployed in Los Angeles to search for human remains among the tens of thousands of burned out acres, with six fires still raging in California after nearly a week

Events

24 hours ago HMPV: Health expert's verdict on whether virus from China could trigger global pandemic

A surge in cases of HMPV (human metapneumovirus) has raised fears of another Covid-19 style pandemic after harrowing images in China show children in hospital beds needing urgent treatment

Science

2 hours ago Elon Musk and the new world order: the hijacking of the global conversation

How can we publicly debate policy in the face of the rising – and polarising – influence of the X owner and others whose only aim is to serve themselvesHow should we as a society interact with one another, debate, come to decisions? What impels politicians to focus and act on one thing and not another?The Athenians had the Agora, where (male, slave-owning) citizens gathered to debate and decide the issues of the day. In the early 20th century, John Reith envisioned the BBC, in a most patrician way, as a space where the nation could come together to enhance the (supposedly) British values of democracy, reasonableness and debate. Continue reading...

Politics

20 hours ago Uranium prices hit record as thirsty AI data centres add to market squeeze

Industry pressured to build new conversion facilities to cover end of US import waiver and impact of Ukraine war

Economics

3 hours ago Women’s Ashes: England fall to ODI defeat as Australia draw first blood

First ODI: Australia, 206-6, beat England by four wicketsHealy anchors run chase in multi-format series openerAlyssa Healy’s stated ambition on the eve of this Women’s Ashes was to “throw the first punch”. Mission very much accomplished. England limped away from North Sydney on Sunday evening with a bloody nose, whimpering to 204 all out in 43.1 overs – a total that despite their best efforts proved impossible to defend.England undoubtedly missed the parsimonious bowling of Kate Cross, whose back injury continues to plague her; her fitness for the remainder of the series remains in doubt. But the real blame lay with the England batters, who played in classic “Jonball” fashion (the aggressive style to which coach Jon Lewis lends his name), lacking the patience required to see off Australia’s world-class attack. The hosts’ eventual margin of victory was just four wickets. Imagine what alternative outcome we might now be contemplating had England scored even 30 more runs. Continue read...

Events

3 hours ago I saw a food guru to cure my daughter’s food phobias – here’s what happened next

Food phobias are on the rise, particularly among children. So can a three-hour session with one of the world’s most sought-after practitioners for those with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder help cure Charlotte Cripps’s eight-year-old daughter Lola, who won’t eat anything except fish fingers and pizza? She took Lola along to find out

Politics

24 hours ago OK! Style team shops– 'beat the blues' buys to lift your January mood from £3

Don't let the January blues seep in– we have just the mood-boosting buys you need to get a much-needed dopamine hit, priced from as low as £3

Economics

3 hours ago Burns Night celebrations in Edinburgh fall flat after festival is hit by funding problems

New event honouring ‘The Bard’ was launched in Edinburgh’s Old and New Towns in 2019.

Events

3 hours ago A director who I must protect texted me after Celtic vs Rangers and he has phrase fit for the 'irrational' – Hugh Keevins

The Irishman hit out at the fans last week before their humorous response in midweek and our man looks at their relationship

Politics

24 hours ago Darts star suspended after furious response to loss and calling PDC 'a disease'

Patrick Bulen, a previous participant at the World Darts Championship, has been kicked out and suspended after exploding at a qualifying event where he took aim at the PDC

Economics

3 hours ago Why abandoning Ukraine will usher in new world order in which great wars are inevitable

The current international legal order prohibits the use of force by countries to win territory. If this concept is shattered in Ukraine, a new world order based on threats and violence will emerge

Events

9 hours ago Laurie Anderson says artificial intelligence spells ‘the end of the world’

The artist and musician said you ‘can impersonate anyone’ with the technology.

Politics

4 hours ago Woman killed Disney worker husband 'for no reason' and buried him in backyard

Laurie Shaver pretended to be the man she’d murdered to cover up the horrific and bloody crime she later blamed on their young daughter in a crime that shocked locals and the entire court room

Events

10 hours ago Trump is trying to seal the border while his czar ‘tempers’ expectations for mass deportations

Trump has pledged to close the border and begin deportations on ‘day one’ — but it’s unclear how

Politics

11 hours ago Coronation Street star Rebecca Ryan announces she is pregnant with baby number

Rebecca Ryan played Lydia Chambers on ITV's Coronation Street from 2021 until 2022 and has appeared in a string of other hit shows - including Waterloo Road, Casualty and Shameless

Politics

4 hours ago Los Angeles fire chief at the center of public spat with City Hall as wildfires rage

Kristin Crowley was elevated to Los Angeles fire chief in 2022 at a time of department turmoil

Events

11 hours ago Coronation Street star Rebecca Ryan announces she is pregnant with second baby

Rebecca Ryan played Lydia Chambers on ITV's Coronation Street from 2021 until 2022 and has appeared in a string of other hit shows - including Waterloo Road, Casualty and Shameless

Politics

5 hours ago California fires latest: 16 confirmed dead and at least 13 missing as dangerous winds set to return after weekend

Palisades and Eaton fires continue to rage with more than 36,000 acres burned

Events

12 hours ago Jack Smith resigns from Justice Department after completing Trump reports

The Hague prosecutor was appointed to oversee federal criminal investigations into the president-elect

Politics

6 hours ago Ukraine war briefing: Ukraine ‘captures two North Korean soldiers in Russia’

Pair being interrogated in Kyiv, with intelligence agency SBU saying one had fake Russian military ID; Russia claims control of village near PokrovskSee all our Ukraine coverageUkraine said it was interrogating two North Korean soldiers after capturing the pair in Russia’s Kursk region – the first time it has announced the capture of North Korean soldiers alive since their entry into the war last year. The president, Volodymyr Zelensyy, said on X on Saturday the soldiers were captured by Ukraine’s special forces and were being interrogated by the SBU domestic intelligence agency in Kyiv. The SBU released a video showing the two men in hospital bunks, one with bandaged hands and the other with a bandaged jaw. It said their questioning was being done in Korean with the help of South Korea’s NIS intelligence agency. Neither Russia nor North Korea immediately reacted to the announcement.The SBU said the two captured North Korean men had told interrogators they were experienced army sold...

Events

13 hours ago Rudy Giuliani's Florida condo and World Series rings at stake in trial over assets

After he was found in contempt twice in one week, Rudy Giuliani faces another treacherous week ahead at a trial to determine whether his Florida condominium and three World Series rings must be turned over to two Georgia election workers

Politics

8 hours ago Los Angeles Getty Center’s priceless collection braces for wildfires as evacuation order expands to museum

The museum is considered the ‘safest place for art during a fire’

Events

13 hours ago Nigel Farage slammed over 'astonishing amount' of earnings from his NINE jobs

Nigel Farage earns more than any other MP from outside jobs, in less than six months

Politics

9 hours ago MAIL ON SUNDAY COMMENT: The last thing we need is meddlers like Elon Musk and Dominic Cummings causing chaos

MAIL ON SUNDAY COMMENT: Elon Musk, no doubt a brilliant businessman, is interested in involving himself in our politics, first with Nigel Farage and now with Dominic Cummings

Events

15 hours ago Joe Biden got plenty right at home, but on the world stage he let himself be taken for a fool | Simon Tisdall

In another era, the outgoing president would have made a great cold war leader. Instead, his tenure was dogged by errors, naivety and overcautionIn a week when the US bade a sad farewell to Jimmy Carter, presidential legacies came under particular scrutiny. Yet few presidents are widely remembered beyond their lifetimes, their “historic” achievements even less so. In the 20th century, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D Roosevelt, John F Kennedy and Richard Nixon make the truly memorable list. Most of the rest are mere school-book names and dates.Joe Biden’s standing in this unprepossessing pantheon is now being assessed, as he prepares to depart the White House on 20 January. Like his 44 predecessors, he reportedly frets about his “place in history”. All presidents do this. It smacks of vanity. They give valedictory lectures, endow foundations, build libraries, write memoirs. They confuse fame with continuing relevance. Continue reading...

Politics

9 hours ago Jennifer Garner serves food to Altadena neighborhood ravaged by LA fires with World Central Kitchen

Jennifer Garner lives in fire ravaged Pacific Palisades and she still had time to give back to people who have lost everything with Chef Jose Andres and his World Central Kitchen.

Events

16 hours ago Jeremy Clarkson jumps on Luke Littler trend as he makes major change at his pub

The Luke Littler-inspired darts craze hasn't bypassed Jeremy Clarkson, who has made a change at his Oxfordshire pub, after the teen made history by becoming the youngest world champ ever

Politics

10 hours ago Naomi Watts says she was told revealing that she'd hit the menopause at 36 would end her Hollywood career

Now, aged 56, British-born actress Naomi Watts has spoken of her experiences of menopause in a new book aimed at challenging the stigma older women face in Hollywood.

Events

16 hours ago BBC Gardeners' World's Monty Don makes personal life decision with wife Sarah

Monty Don, best known for presenting Gardeners' World, has opened up about his personal life

Politics

11 hours ago Police officer Rosie Prior killed after being hit by lorry on A19 while stopping to help motorists

PC Rosie Prior had stopped to help people on the A19 at Bagby, North Yorkshire, involved in a road traffic collision when she was suddenly hit by a heavy goods vehicle

Events

16 hours ago My labia were causing me discomfort so I had them reduced. When I woke the surgeon casually said 'I tightened you up a bit too': In world

The actress, 59, has spent most of her career as a sex object. She tells Sophia Money-Coutts how she's finally living life on her own terms.

Politics

11 hours ago Violence in prisons falls when inmates are watching the World Cup and F1 on TV

,A report into HMP Chelmsford found when its inmates watch major sporting events such as the World Cup, Euros and the Olympics violence behind bars falls, by around 14%

Events

16 hours ago Watch: Los Angeles County officials give wildfire update as fresh evacuation orders given

Watch again as Los Angeles County officials gave a wildfire update on Saturday (11 January) as fresh evacuation orders have been given.

Politics

12 hours ago The Masked Singer descends into chaos as a FURIOUS Macy Gray storms off stage after being booted off by the judges

The Masked Singer descended into chaos on Saturday night as singer Macy Gray furiously stormed off the stage after being voted off the show.

Events

16 hours ago Watch: Rachel Reeves and Chinese counterpart He Lifeng hold joint news conference after trade meeting

Watch again as Rachel Reeves and her Chinese counterpart He Lifeng held a joint news conference on Saturday (11 January), following earlier trade meetings.

Politics

12 hours ago New HMPV warning sign as doctor says check your skin for an unusual change

Cases of Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) have surged in the UK after causing healthcare problems in China, India and Malaysia - one doctor has shared an unusual warning sign

Events