9 h. ago Tourist's horror condition after bite from Australian spider that reached UK

Hugh Marsh, aged 30, was in the Cotswolds for their cousin's wedding when they reached into their shoe to find a spider from Australia had hitched a ride all the way to England

Events

22 h. ago Libyan migrant, 24, who arrived in Britain by small boat is arrested after three people injured in knife attack

Khalifa Eissa Benyzeed, 24, originally from Libya, is being held by police on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm after one man suffered a 'potentially life-threatening' stab wound to his chest.

Events

23 h. ago Thugs caged for 101 years after 'gangland' attacks left man with hand 'hanging off' and prison cars torched

Michael Heep is a trusted lieutenant of Edinburgh crime boss Mark Richardson.

Events

28 h. ago Australian spider with an 'excruciating bite' arrives in Britain: Cotswolds tourist is left with a hand 'like a balloon' after encounter

A Cotswolds tourist was left with his hand swollen 'like a balloon' after a spider from Australia followed him from the other side of the world.

Politics

7 d. ago ‘She’s the one that matters’: the growing influence of Melania on Donald Trump

First lady is facing increased scrutiny as political experts suggest she is behind US president’s recent volte-faces on Gaza and PutinWhen Melania Trump arrives in Britain for her husband’s second state visit next month, it will not just be the photographic pack straining every lens for clues as to her opaque mood or signs of froideur in their marriage. It will also be British officials.Six months into his second term as US president, a period in which Donald Trump has pirouetted on just about every big international issue, mandarins in Whitehall have realised they need to focus less time on trying to tame him, and more on looking at his wife. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Catastrophe! Heroism! Paranoia! The dangerous romance of survivalist stories

Authors have been imagining societal collapse for decades – but could the reality be as dreadful as they think?The man who claimed to have coined the word “survivalist” called himself Kurt Saxon. The sinister godfather of survivalism was actually born Donald Eugene Sisco, a former journalist who spent the 1960s floating between far-right groups in California before deciding that none of them were serious enough. Sisco’s passion for making his own bombs, which he advocated using on student demonstrators, cost him the fingers of his left hand. He liked to say that he was the reincarnation of a soul whose previous lives included a Roman legionary, a Nazi stormtrooper and the revolutionary philosopher Thomas Paine.Survivalism, or prepping, is experiencing a boom, from Silicon Valley billionaires to users of the Reddit board r/collapse. Elon Musk’s entire career, for example, has been partly driven by apocalypse anxieties and his conviction that he alone can save the human race (details ...

Events

9 d. ago Woman buys £2 leggings on Vinted and is astounded when they arrive

A woman who ordered three pairs of leggings for just £6 on second-hand clothing website, Vinted, has claimed she was left baffled by what she reportedly received

Economics

9 d. ago England’s Chris Woakes: ‘It’s not the way you want to be front

The pace bowler says of risking his career by going out to bat against India after dislocating his shoulder: ‘You just know you’re part of something bigger’“I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I didn’t try,” says Chris Woakes, just 48 hours after he walked out to a standing ovation at the Oval, left arm in a sling, bat in hand, ready to push through the agony of a dislocated shoulder to get England the win.It may have been thwarted, with India victorious by a slim six runs to bring one of the most thrilling series in recent times to an end in a 2-2 draw. But the selfless act of crossing the boundary with a potentially career‑threatening injury meant Woakes entered cricketing folklore – echoing Colin Cowdrey in 1963, Paul Terry and Malcolm Marshall in 1984, and Rishabh Pant at Old Trafford just a week earlier. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Next up, the Ashes – and England will need Ben Stokes at his all

England’s batting lineup looks settled for the trip to Australia, but their fast-bowling stocks were stretched against India and the captain can help ease the burdenThe England-India epic that ended up like two weary prizefighters trading blows will live long in the memory – a 2‑2 classic for which the players on both sides deserve immense credit. Not that Mohammed Siraj, still hitting 90mph on the speed gun on the 25th day, showed weariness. If anything, he could well hold the key to solving the world’s energy problems.Plaudits in particular go to three men who stepped up bravely when other sports would have simply subbed them off: Shoaib Bashir bowled with a broken left hand at Lord’s; Rishabh Pant batted with a broken foot at Old Trafford; and then Chris Woakes, Horatio Nelson armed with a Gray-Nicolls, followed him in folklore at the Oval. Don’t be fooled by the white flannels and the stoppages for tea – Test cricket is a brutal sport. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago 'Keep your doors closed!' Experts urge Brits to stay indoors as amber warning for Storm Floris is issued with winds of 85mph feared for Scotland

The sixth named storm of the 2024-25 season has arrived in time for August and will batter Britain tomorrow.

Events

3 w. ago Grinning small boat migrant chronicles his journey across the Channel to the UK

A small boat migrant posting to a TikTok account of a man, believed to be from Iraq and called Youssef Hassan, has been documenting his 'best life' in Britain since arriving on UK shores.

Events

3 w. ago Oleksandr Usyk wraps Ukraine’s flag around himself and his fists around Daniel Dubois | Barney Ronay

No boxer has ever represented his country to this degree: Usyk is a living embodiment of his nation’s defiance of the Russian invasionPerhaps the most striking part of the surge of controlled fury that ended this heavyweight title fight wasn’t the short right or the clubbing left that took Daniel Dubois down midway through the fifth round.It was Oleksandr Usyk’s smile before the second of those shots. More of a snarl perhaps, or a baring of the gumshield, as Dubois let his arms drop, giving Usyk time to freeze the moment, load up, take aim and unleash a fully extended left hand to the side of the jaw that made Dubois crumple, legs folding under him as his father, Stan, threw in the towel. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago What did they think would happen? The Bell Hotel has stood in a leafy village for decades. Dozens of migrants moved in. Then a sex assault charge sparked angry riots

The Bell Hotel in Epping has become the focus of anger against migrants after an asylum seeker staying there was charged with sexually assaulting two teenage girls just days after arriving in Britain.

Events