41 minutes ago USAid website offline as Trump moves to put agency under state department

Move would threaten life-saving global humanitarian aid programs, from HIV/Aids treatments to clean water accessThe website for the US Agency for International Development, or USAid, appeared to be offline on Saturday, as the Trump administration moves to put the free-standing agency, and its current $42.8bn budget for global humanitarian operations, under state department control.A message stating that the “server IP address could not be found” appeared when attempts were made to access the website on Saturday. Continue reading...

Politics

2 hours ago Keir Starmer is urged to axe Yvette Cooper as Home Secretary amid No10 anger at 'timid' approach to Islamist terror

Tensions have risen in the fallout from the Southport murders, with No 10 understood to be frustrated the Home Office has shied away from focusing on Islamist violence.

Society

2 hours ago Hospital technician, 51, who stole £111,000 of lifesaving NHS equipment to sell on eBay is jailed

Mark Charters, 51, who stole equipment including anaesthetic devices and feeding pumps from operating theatres and wards from University Hospital of North Durham has now been jailed.

Economics

77 minutes ago Six people arrested as Tommy Robinson supporters and opponents face off

Commander Louise Puddefoot, in charge of the policing operation, said the force was ‘well prepared’ for both protests

Events

40 hours ago Lothian Buses staff mark end of partnership with local carer group in style

Colleagues with caring responsibilities will have a new resource to support them thanks to the launch of a Carer’s Passport, marking the end of the two-year partnership between the bus operator and VOCAL (Voice of Carers Across Lothian).

Transport

2 hours ago Robot firm to ship 100,000 AI bots that will learn 'complex' human roles but 'not fight'

Company which gives 'artificial intelligence a body' will be expanding their operation to secure new contracts in a variety of industries. This follows from the success of their contract with BMW

Politics

1 hour ago Trump orders airstrikes targeting ‘senior IS attack planner’ in Somalia

The US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, indicated multiple operatives were killed and no civilians were harmedThe US military has conducted airstrikes against Islamic State (IS) operatives in Somalia, the first attacks in the African country during Donald Trump’s second term as president.Trump said on Saturday that he ordered strikes on a senior IS attack planner and others from the organisation. Continue reading...

Events

3 hours ago 3 more massage therapists accuse Ravens' Tucker of sexually inappropriate conduct, report says

The Baltimore Banner reports that three additional massage therapists have accused Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker of sexually inappropriate conduct

Politics

2 hours ago Donald Trump ordered military airstrikes on ISIS attack planner in Somalia

"These killers, who we found hiding in caves, threatened the United States and our Allies," Trump posted on social media. "The strikes destroyed the caves they live in, and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians."

Events

6 hours ago AI is not just powerful. What’s really worrying is that DeepSeek has made it cheap, too | John Naughton

The AI startup has upended the industry by developing a model that costs much less to produce – and is available free to a universe of tinkerersNothing cheers up a tech columnist more than the sight of $600bn being wiped off the market cap of an overvalued tech giant in a single day. And yet last Monday that’s what happened to Nvidia, the leading maker of electronic picks and shovels for the AI gold rush. It was the biggest one-day slump for any company in history, and it was not alone – shares of companies in semiconductor, power and infrastructure industries exposed to AI collectively shed more than $1tn in value on the same day.The proximate cause of this chaos was the news that a Chinese tech startup of whom few had hitherto heard had released DeepSeek R1, a powerful AI assistant that was much cheaper to train and operate than the dominant models of the US tech giants – and yet was comparable in competence to OpenAI’s o1 “reasoning” model. Just to illustrate the difference: R1 w...

Politics

3 hours ago ‘I lost 10 years of my life’: how UK betting giant’s unlawful marketing kept suicidal gambler hooked

Sam found himself getting sucked deeper and deeper in to betting, sometimes risking £11,000 in a day. Now a judge has ruled he was unlawfully targetedAt 1.17pm on 15 August 2018, Sam* logged in to his online betting account and gambled five days’ worth of wages. Already deep in debt – having taken out 13 loans over three years, and with his marriage under strain – he had been desperate to quit.But Sky Betting & Gaming, operator of Sky Bet, Casino, and Vegas, had other ideas. Having labelled him a “high value” customer, and not realising he was at risk, it had sent him an email promising a £100 bonus if he spent £400 on a casino game. “Well done on making it past level 2. Can you make it even further this week?” it said. Soon after receiving it, Sam deposited £400. Continue reading...

Events

6 hours ago Emotional moment Israeli hostage is back in mother's arms after 15 months of captivity

Yarden Bibas was one of three Israeli hostages freed by Hamas today but his wife Shiri and sons Ariel, five, and Kfir, two, were not by his side – their captors claim they were killed in an Israeli airstrike

Politics

3 hours ago DC plane crash latest in series of US army helicopter training accidents

Aviation experts say piloting Black Hawk helicopters is a complex challenge but army defends training operationsIn March 2023, two US army Black Hawk helicopters collided and crashed into a Kentucky farmer’s field after a nighttime evacuation training mission, killing nine service members.That crash was among a dozen fatal crashes during army Black Hawk training missions since 2014 that claimed the lives of 47 service members and in April 2023 helped prompt Pentagon officials to temporarily ground and provide more training to all army aviators not involved in critical missions. Continue reading...

Events

10 hours ago Trump ally Peter Marocco behind evisceration of USAid: ‘He’s a destroyer’

Campaign ally sowed trail of enmity during first Trump presidency and allegedly was present at January 6 riotThe Trump administration’s evisceration of US overseas aid has been presided over by a campaign ally who sowed a trail of enmity at multiple agencies during the first Trump presidency and has been publicly identified as allegedly having been present at the January 6 insurrection when rioters stormed the Capitol.Peter Marocco has accumulated power in the office of foreign assistance, informally called “F”, that traditionally has helped coordinate US foreign aid programs. But under Marocco, it has enforced a full-scale freeze on overseas aid and a stop-work order that has in effect halted operations and already led to hundreds of layoffs in the United States and overseas. Continue reading...

Politics

4 hours ago With plans in the works and troops on the way, military assumes a mostly familiar role on the border

Until now, the military has limited itself to a supporting role at the border: surveilling for illegal crossings by ground and air, repairing vehicles and building barriers

Events

16 hours ago Campaigners hail ‘important victory’ in protection of England’s national parks

Minister says there was error when Manningtree station car park extension was approved under last governmentCampaigners have celebrated an “important victory” in a closely watched case that will determine whether the government will enforce new legislation aimed at protecting national parks and landscapes in England.Dedham Vale is a designated “national landscape” on the border of Essex and Suffolk, home to increasingly rare species including hazel dormice and hedgehogs. Within it is Manningtree station, where the train operator Greater Anglia built an extension to the car park to cope with increased traffic. Continue reading...

Politics

18 hours ago 'I had to wait seven and a half years for a routine operation and it was a complete mess

Michael Barnett was left in a nightmare following his long awaited procedure last year

Politics

5 hours ago Philadelphia plane crash: Medical jet crashes into homes killing all on board and car driver on ground

The Learjet 55, operated by Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, came down just four miles from take-off at Northeast Philadelphia Airport

Events

30 hours ago Regime change in Syria has Iraqi factions backtracking on push for US withdrawal

The fall of Bashar Assad in Syria has led Iran-allied factions in neighboring Iraq to reconsider their push for U.S. forces to exit the country, multiple Iraqi and American officials told The Associated Press

Politics

7 hours ago Army helicopter involved in DC plane crash was on a ‘continuity of government’ drill

Secretary of defense gave information about the military aircraft that collided with the passenger plane, killing 67Top US officials have said the military helicopter that collided with a passenger jet over the Potomac River on Wednesday was on a training mission for evacuating members of government in the event of a catastrophe or attack.The US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, told Fox News that the helicopter was performing a “continuity of government” drill designed to help pilots “rehearse in ways that would reflect a real world scenario”. Hegseth declined to go further, saying he didn’t want to get “into anything that’s classified”. Continue reading...

Events

32 hours ago Kobbie Mainoo's three options available to him as Ruben Amorim teases Man United move

Kobbie Mainoo was in scintillating form for Manchester United on Thursday as he operated in an advanced No. 10 role - but where does the English talent's future lie?

Politics

7 hours ago Helicopter involved in fatal Washington plane crash was on army training drill

Secretary of defense says mission was for evacuating government officials in the event of a catastrophe or attackTop US officials have said the military helicopter that collided with a passenger jet over the Potomac River on Wednesday was on a training mission for evacuating members of government in the event of a catastrophe or attack.The US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, told Fox News that the helicopter was performing a “continuity of government” drill designed to help pilots “rehearse in ways that would reflect a real-world scenario”. Hegseth declined to elaborate, saying he didn’t want to get “into anything that’s classified”. Continue reading...

Events

33 hours ago Moment air traffic controller screams as American Airlines plane collides with Black Hawk helicopter over Washington

Air traffic control (ATC) operators were directing the doomed Black Hawk Sikorsky H-60 helicopter - marked as a PAT 25 - to pass behind the plane just seconds before the deadly crash occurred.

Politics

10 hours ago Chilling American Airlines crash 'evacuation conspiracy theory' confirmed by defence sources

Wednesday's collision between an American Airlines flight and a US military helicopter in Washington DC was the US' deadliest aviation disaster in more than two decades, killing 67 people

Events

34 hours ago Doomed Black Hawk chopper was rehearsing Trump's evacuation to a nuclear bunker when it slammed into American Airlines jet, online sleuths claim as more wild conspiracy theories emerge

American Airlines Flight 5342 was approaching Washington's Reagan National Airport at around 9pm on Wednesday when the military chopper and plane collided in mid-air, killing 67 people.

Politics

10 hours ago Aung San Suu Kyi’s son pleads with Myanmar's military dictatorship to free his mother

Kim Aris calls for release of ‘last flame of hope for democracy’ in the country

Events

37 hours ago Scotland was 'subject rather than partner' in British Empire, according to Scots

A new poll conducted by YouGov has revealed Scottish attitudes to the British Empire, with Scots more likely to see the country as a victim rather than a participant.

Politics

13 hours ago Philadelphia plane crash: Medical jet carrying six, including ill child, crashes into homes killing all on board

The Learjet 55, operated by Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, came down just four miles from take-off at Northeast Philadelphia Airport

Events

37 hours ago The sickening sight of a lone female Israeli hostage jostled by this baying mob of men turns my stomach

These were the chaotic scenes yesterday as Arbel Yehoud was escorted by fighters from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad to a waiting Red Cross vehicle in the southern Gaza Strip.

Politics

14 hours ago Philadelphia plane crash operator's chilling five words after race to rescue passengers

Jet Rescue Air Ambulance has given a sad update after a plane carrying a family home to Mexico from Philadelphia suddenly crashed on Friday night, killing those aboard

Events

43 hours ago Karla Sofia Gascón apologizes for old tweets, says she is 'deeply sorry to those I have caused pain'

Karla Sofia Gascón, the Oscar-nominated lead of the movie “Emilia Pérez,” is apologizing for her old social media posts that denigrated Islam and that called George Floyd “a drug addict and a hustler.”

Politics

15 hours ago Philadelphia plane crash: Medical jet carrying six including child crashes into homes

The Learjet 55, operated by Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, came down just four miles from take-off at Northeast Philadelphia Airport

Events

45 hours ago Wynne Evans' girlfriend Liz is 'standing by him' amid his ongoing scandals

Earlier this week, the opera singer, 53, stepped down from the Strictly Come Dancing tour after coming under fire for making a vile remark aimed at Janette Manrara .

Politics

17 hours ago Medical jet carrying six people crashes in Philadelphia, setting homes on fire

Jet Rescue Air Ambulance said it could not ‘confirm any survivors’ aboard plane that went down near Roosevelt MallA medical transport jet carrying a child patient, her mother and four others including crew crashed into a north-east Philadelphia neighborhood on Friday evening, erupting in a fireball and setting several homes ablaze just 30 seconds after taking off.“We cannot confirm any survivors,” said a statement from Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, which operated the Learjet 55. “Our immediate concern is for the patient’s family, our personnel, their families and other victims that may have been hurt on the ground.” Continue reading...

Events

18 hours ago Alba MSP hopes Operation Branchform police probe into SNP finances will be resolved 'shortly'

Ash Regan, who is standing for the Alba leadership, said the investigation into SNP finances was "taking a long time".

Events

19 hours ago Young Rohingya men are being forced to fight as foot soldiers on both sides of Myanmar’s brutal civil war

Four years after Myanmar’s military coup sparked gunfighting, torture, rape and arson in Rakhine state, young Rohingya men are now being forcibly conscripted to fight for both the junta and the rebels. Shweta Sharma reports from Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh

Events

21 hours ago Hollywood turns its back on Ryan Reynolds: ALISON BOSHOFF reveals how war between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively has left the industry questioning her husband's carefully curated nice guy image

A one-time teen soap opera star, with perfect teeth and a year-round tan, until now nothing has seemed to rattle Ryan Reynolds.

Events

23 hours ago ‘Black box’ from helicopter involved in Washington plane crash recovered

Flight data and cockpit voice recorder ‘in good condition’ despite collision with American Airlines jet, official saysWashington DC plane crash – latest updatesThe National Transportation Safety Board has recovered the flight “black box” from the US military Black Hawk helicopter involved in Wednesday’s deadly crash with a commercial airliner, and it appears to be undamaged, NTSB member Todd Inman said Friday.The black box – containing a flight data and cockpit voice recorder – was “in good condition” despite its accident with an American Airlines jet in Washington DC, Inman said. But, he said, the NTSB would not be releasing information from the device immediately as investigations into the crash that killed more 67 people aboard both aircraft continued. Continue reading...

Events