13 minutes ago Storm Bert: environment secretary says flood defences in ‘worst condition on record’ after Tory government – live updates

Steve Reed has criticised previous administration and promised £2.4bn to improve facilitiesHave you been affected by flooding in the UK? Get in touchNorthamptonshire Police have warned people in the area “while the flooding remains ongoing, please avoid all unnecessary travel and do not drive through floodwater of any depth – it is not worth the risk.”In Yate in the west of England, BBC Bristol reports that about 100 properties were flooded overnight, and residents had to be evacuated. Continue reading...

Events

14 minutes ago UK politics live: McVitie’s boss says it’s hard to understand why businesses would invest in Britain

CBI chief Rain Newton-Smith said that business had been caught ‘off-guard’ by national insurance hikes

Economics

15 minutes ago Subtle warning signs that YOUR barber is filthy...after surge in ringworm linked to unsanitary haircuts

Cases of the contagious skin fungus that can cause disfigurement have jumped significantly in just a handful of months, some barbers have claimed.

Events

17 minutes ago Mark Wright rushed to hospital after suffering nasty head injury as he reveals scar

Mark Wright has revealed he was hospitalised after suffering an accident in his bathroom during his trip to Las Vegas, and the TOWIE star shared a snap of his injury

Events

20 minutes ago London council apologises for overcharging mother for care after family told of £7,000 debt

Woman’s daughter raised alarm after telling Kingston Council she was not aware family had fallen into arrears of more than £7,000

Economics

20 minutes ago Trump’s defense pick Pete Hegseth faces scrutiny over sexual assault claims and attacks on UN and Nato – US politics live

Hegseth comments on the Geneva conventions and new sexual misconduct allegations raise questions over suitability to lead PentagonTrump Pentagon pick urges US to ignore Geneva conventionsIn the last three days president-elect Donald Trump finished up making his major cabinet announcements.If you missed them, here is a quick roundup.Trump chose Brooke Rollins, president of the America First Policy Institute, to be agriculture secretary.Trump named Scott Bessent, a longtime hedge-fund investor who taught at Yale University for several years, to serve as Treasury secretary.Trump picked Russ Vought to lead the Office of Management and Budget. Vought was OMB chief during Trump’s previous term in office and has been deeply involved in Project 2025 in recent years.Trump announced Sebastian Gor...

Events

28 minutes ago Kevin De Bruyne provides Man City contract update after injury nightmare

De Bruyne is in his 10th season at the Etihad, but could leave on a free transfer with talks on hold over an extension

Events

33 minutes ago Ding Liren beats Gukesh Dommaraju in World Chess Championship 2024 Game 1 – as it happened

Ding wins Game 1 when Gukesh resigns after 42 movesExplainer: all your pre-match questions, answeredOur Leonard Barden has filed his final dispatch ahead of today’s opening game. Barden, who’s written the Guardian’s chess column every week since September 1955, doesn’t divert from the general consensus in his assessment of the match.The preliminaries are nearly over: who will win? I expect Gukesh to be cautious in the first few games, then to probe and push hard in the middle of the match. Ding’s 2024 form has been so wretched that it is difficult to see how he can keep his title. A 7.5-4.5 margin for Gukesh looks about right. Continue reading...

Sport

35 minutes ago I'm glad we got a deal at Cop29 – but western nations stood in the way of a much better one | Mukhtar Babayev

My negotiating team tried in vain to push up support for the global south. Lessons must be learned before the next summit in BrazilMukhtar Babayev is president of the Cop29 UN climate change conferenceChina was willing to offer more in climate finance, says Cop29 presidentNine years after the Paris agreement, and after 11 months of multilateral diplomacy and two weeks of the most intense negotiations at Cop29 in Baku, we have a deal. Under the terms of the Baku breakthrough, the world’s industrialised nations will provide $300bn (£240bn), which, combined with resources from multilateral lending institutions and the private sector will reach $1.3tn in climate financing this year. Cop29 also finalised, after years of failed attempts, a global framework for international carbon markets tra...

Politics

41 minutes ago Hollyoaks' Ali Bastain rushed to hospital after heartbreaking cancer diagnosis

Hollyoaks star, Ali Bastian, who played Becca Dean in the Channel 4 soap, ended up in A&E on the weekend amid her ongoing battle with breast cancer

Science