57 m. ago Michael Smith reveals what shocked him at Ally Pally as he makes winning start to World Championship title bid

Bully Boy makes winning start to his title bid and was thrilled with one feeling that he got as he beat Lisa Ashton

Events

68 m. ago Payment warning to pensioners in Scotland due up to £305 heating help this month

Social Security Scotland’s winter heating payments start landing in bank accounts from this month.

Economics

69 m. ago Celebrity Race Across the World star shares truth of final moment as they win by two minutes

The winners of the BBC One show were revealed as it came to an end in Colombia’s Peninsula De La Guajira

Sport

94 m. ago UK economy unexpectedly shrank in October in fresh blow for Rachel Reeves

Economy contracted by 0.1% in October, according to the Office for National Statistics

Politics

1 hour ago Economy shrinks by 0.1% following Rachel Reeves brutal Budget turmoil – what it means for YOUR money

THE economy slumped by 0.1% in October, in a blow for Rachel Reeves after the Budget. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is estimated to have shrunk by 0.1% in October. This follows 0.1% growth in September and no growth in August. The ONS said that...

Economics

1 hour ago As the UK looks to invest in nuclear, here’s what it could mean for Britain’s environment

In this week’s newsletter: The government’s bid to speed up nuclear construction could usher in sweeping deregulation, with experts warning of profound consequences for nature• Don’t get Down to Earth delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereWhen UK prime minister Keir Starmer announced last week that he was “implementing the Fingleton review”, you can forgive the pulse of most Britons for failing to quicken.But behind the uninspiring statement lies potentially the biggest deregulation for decades, posing peril for endangered species, if wildlife experts are to be believed, and a likely huge row with the EU.2025 ‘virtually certain’ to be second- or third-hottest year on record, EU data showsJust 0.001% hold three times the wealth of the poorest half of humanity, report finds‘Even the animals seem confused’: a retreating Kashmir glacier is creating an entire new world in its wake Continue reading...

Events

2 h. ago Grantchester star reveals surprise James Norton reunion ahead of season 10

Former Grantchester star James Norton was recently pictured on the show's set in Cambridge

Politics

2 h. ago Man United latest: Kobbie Mainoo gets fresh transfer update as club earn windfall

Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo has been linked with a move away from Old Trafford ahead of the January transfer window

Politics

2 h. ago AA warning to Christmas shoppers in these cities with parking fees cranked up to 50%

The AA examined parking charges at the UK’s top Christmas markets to reveal the most expensive places to park - one hotspot costs £44 for four hours

Events

2 h. ago The 14 Scottish communities awarded £20m to restore ‘pride in place’

Funding will start in April next year.

Economics

2 h. ago Police launch murder probe after receiving fresh information over death of woman electrocuted in her bath 25 years ago

An inquest in October 2000 heard Rhonda Anderson, 29, was found in the bath with the radio still switched on and floating beside her at her Northampton home.

Events

2 h. ago The facts are stark: Europe must open the door to migrants, or face its own extinction | George Monbiot

Plummeting birth rates mean that without attracting immigration, many countries are sliding towards collapseI know what “civilisational erasure” looks like: I’ve seen the graph. The European Commission published it in March. It’s a chart of total fertility rate: the average number of children born per woman. After a minor bump over the past 20 years, the EU rate appears to be declining once more, and now stands at 1.38. The UK’s is 1.44. A population’s replacement rate is 2.1. You may or may not see this as a disaster, but the maths doesn’t care what you think. We are gliding, as if by gravitational force, towards the ground.Civilisational erasure is the term the Trump administration used in its new national security strategy, published last week. It claimed that immigration, among other factors, will result in the destruction of European civilisation. In reality, without immigration there will be no Europe, no civilisation and no one left to argue about it.George Monbiot is a Guard...

Events

2 h. ago Air passengers exposed to extremely high levels of ultrafine particle pollution, study finds

Levels during boarding and taxiing were far above those defined as high by the World Health OrganizationA study has revealed the concentrations of ultrafine particles breathed in by airline passengers.A team of French researchers, including those from Université Paris Cité, built a pack of instruments that was flown alongside passengers from Paris Charles de Gaulle to European destinations. The machinery was placed on an empty seat in the front rows or in the galley. Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago Met police face independent inquiry over fears 300 recruits not properly vetted

Home secretary to order special investigation amid concern inadequate checks during hiring spree may pose criminal risk The home secretary is to order an independent special inquiry into whether the Metropolitan police allowed hundreds of recruits to join without proper vetting amid fears they may pose a criminal risk.The Guardian has learned that the inquiry will be carried out by the policing inspectorate, with concerns centred on 300 new officers hired between 2016 and 2023. Continue reading...

Events

3 h. ago Davina McCall says ‘it changed my whole life’ as she shares heartbreaking discovery

Davina McCall has revealed how a painful revelation "changed my whole life" as it was announced she secretly married her partner Michael Douglas in an intimate ceremony last week

Politics

3 h. ago Afghan polio survivor's sock factory provides hope by employing disabled workers

A childhood polio survivor in Afghanistan has set up a small sock factory that employs other disabled people

Events

3 h. ago Immigration crackdown leaves teens to care for siblings after parents get detained

An immigration crackdown in Louisiana has forced some teenagers to grow up fast after their parents were arrested by federal agents

Politics

3 h. ago Health and safety rules holding UK infrastructure back, says writer of government report

Exclusive: John Fingleton says regulators need to change their attitude to risk to end the country’s economic stagnationOverbearing health and safety rules are stopping Britain building new infrastructure, according to the economist whom Keir Starmer has cited as an inspiration for his growth strategy.John Fingleton, who recently wrote a report for government on how to encourage developers to build new nuclear power plants, told the Guardian regulators needed to change their attitude to risk if the country was to end its long economic stagnation. Continue reading...

Politics

3 h. ago Death row inmate apologizes for rape and murder of college student before being executed in Tennessee

Harold Wayne Nichols, 64, died by lethal injection at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution for the 1988 rape and murder of Karen Pulley, 20.

Events

7 h. ago Trump expands Venezuela sanctions as Maduro decries new ‘era of piracy’

Six more oil supertankers added to sanctions list, as well as members of Maduro’s extended family, amid rising tensions following tanker seizureDonald Trump has exerted more pressure on Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro, expanding sanctions and issuing fresh threats to strike land targets in Venezuela, as the South American dictator accused the US president of ushering in a new “era of criminal naval piracy” in the Caribbean.Late on Thursday, the US imposed curbs on three nephews of Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, as well as six crude oil supertankers and the shipping companies linked to them. The treasury department alleged the vessels “engaged in deceptive and unsafe shipping practices and continue to provide financial resources that fuel Maduro’s corrupt narco-terrorist regime”. Continue reading...

Politics