18 h. ago Shootings of people who mistakenly go the wrong house test limits of stand your ground laws

The fatal shooting in early November of a house cleaner who mistakenly went to the wrong address in Indiana feels hauntingly familiar

Society

46 h. ago Migrants to UK will not get benefits until becoming citizens under new plans

Refugee Council says plans would create ‘expensive bureaucracy’ and keep people in limboUK politics live –latest updatesPeople who migrate to the UK will be eligible for benefits and social housing only when they become British citizens and those who arrive by small boats could wait up to 30 years for long-term residency under new plans outlined by the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood.The plans could result in migrants only becoming eligible for benefits and social housing if they first become British citizens, rather than upon being granted settlement as is currently the case. Continue reading...

Events

51 h. ago I’ve always wanted the perfect reason to declutter. Now I’ve found it | Adrian Chiles

It’s a radical but simple notion: ditch the dead weight of your worldly goods and get out there and live your best lifeI spend a lot of time worrying about stuff, as in physical, you know, stuff. Things I use, things I no longer use, things I’ve never used and never will, things I’d happily give away if anyone wanted them, things which will surely end up in landfill, dumped there by me or my children, or my children’s children. To misquote Larkin: Man hands on stuff to man, or in my case women. They’ll not thank me for it.Deborah has an interesting take on this, almost as an aside in a radio interview – she’d featured in the Guardian the week before – about how, at the age of 65, she’s renting a room in a house she’s sharing with three people whose ages, she says, barely add up to more than hers. She does so by choice, having no appetite for the upkeep of a house big enough to accommodate visiting grandchildren. Renting, she at least knows how much money is going out, and her childr...

Politics

4 d. ago This Nepal village has survived for 1,000 years. Now recurring floods threaten its future

Til, the remotest of three villages in the Limi valley on the Tibetan border, was already wrestling with a dwindling population but a series of natural disasters has led many to consider where their future should beOn the night of 15 May this year, the usual quiet of the Himalayan village of Til in the far north-west of Nepal was broken by a strange rumbling. Pemba Thundup came out of his house, barefoot, to see a deluge of earth, water and rocks coming down the mountainside towards the flat-roofed mud houses. The whole village was soon awake and, carrying the elderly people on their backs, members of 21 families scrambled to safety in a nearby field.After two weeks of sheltering in tents, with no sign of any government help to rebuild or resettle, they reluctantly moved back into their broken homes, but unanimously agreed to leave the centuries-old settlement for a safer location by the end of the year. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago Shabana Mahmood warns of asylum 'uncomfortable truth' as plan sparks backlash

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the UK has not been tough enough at removing failed asylum seekers as she unveiled the biggest shake-up in a generation - but faced criticism over the plans

Events

4 d. ago Backlash at the bed tax: Rachel Reeves plans to bring in an overnight tax on top of your hotel or Airbnb bed for the night

Rachel Reeves faced a furious backlash over plans to impose a 'bed tax' on hotel stays and holiday rentals.

Society

4 d. ago Mahmood reveals asylum plan as Labour backlash grows over ‘dystopian’ immigration crackdown

Labour backbenchers accuse government of ‘chasing Reform’ with new measures

Events

5 d. ago Starmer facing growing backlash from Labour MPs as Mahmood sets out asylum plans – UK politics live

Home secretary to announce a drastic tightening of rules, including requiring asylum seekers to wait 20 years before getting the right to permanently settle in UKMomentum, the leftwing Labour group, has also denounced the government’s asylum plans. In a statement it says:The home secretary’s new immigration plans are divisive and xenophobic.Scapegoating migrants will not fix our public services or end austerity.Draconian, unworkable and potentially illegal anti-asylum policies only feed Reform’s support.The government has learnt nothing from the period since the general election.Some of the legal changes being proposed are truly frightening:Abolishing the right to a family life would ultimately affect many more people than asylum-seekers. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago House explosion in Southern California injures 8 and damages nearby homes

A house explosion in a Southern California neighborhood has injured eight people and damaged two nearby homes

Events

5 d. ago Starmer braced for backlash from Labour MPs as Mahmood sets out asylum plans – UK politics live

Home secretary to announce a drastic tightening of rules, including requiring asylum seekers to wait 20 years before getting the right to permanently settle in UKMomentum, the leftwing Labour group, has also denounced the government’s asylum plans. In a statement it says:The home secretary’s new immigration plans are divisive and xenophobic.Scapegoating migrants will not fix our public services or end austerity.Draconian, unworkable and potentially illegal anti-asylum policies only feed Reform’s support.The government has learnt nothing from the period since the general election.Some of the legal changes being proposed are truly frightening:Abolishing the right to a family life would ultimately affect many more people than asylum-seekers. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago House of Lords blasted for 'talking out' Assisted Dying bill after Commons decision

A YouGov poll organised by Dignity in Dying reveals more than six in 10 people do not think it is right for the House of Lords to block a bill such as the Terminally Ill Adults (end of life) Bill which is facing around 1,000 amendments

Events

9 d. ago Steve McClaren’s Jamaica harbour World Cup dream amid storm devastation

The Reggae Boyz are well placed to play on the biggest stage for the first time since 1998 and lift a nation needing hope in a time of adversitySteve McClaren has spoken of a determination to put “a smile on people’s faces” in Jamaica. Over the next six days the former England manager has a golden chance to do so by guiding Jamaica to the World Cup when they play for the first time since Hurricane Melissa.The devastating category 5 storm that made landfall on the island on 28 October is known to have killed 45 people there and displaced tens of thousands of households, with hundreds still in emergency shelters. The prime minister, Andrew Holness, said it had caused damage to homes and key infrastructure roughly equal to the value of a third of the country’s gross domestic product. Continue reading...

Events

9 d. ago The rapid rise of renters in their 60s: ‘I hate the idea of house

It is often assumed that people of retirement age will no longer have housing costs to cover. But for a significant and growing group, this is far from the caseNow that she is retired, Deborah Herring’s days are hers to fill – usually with leisurely walks, museums and trips to the theatre. But she still manages to spare a thought for her ex-colleagues at the private boarding school where she taught religious studies for 14 years. “In their nice, expensive Oxfordshire village, I think they’d be frankly horrified about my situation,” she says with a laugh.Horrified that a few weeks ago she came home to find two strangers asleep on her sofa; horrified that she has to put up with an overflowing litter tray belonging to a cat that isn’t hers; above all, horrified that at the age of 65, she is about to leave a two-bedroom flatshare to move into a four-bedroom one where she will “probably be living with people whose combined age is less than my own”. Continue reading...

Society

9 d. ago Stamp duty should be abolished, TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp tells MPs

She told the Treasury Committee that people ‘should be able to move house cheaply and easily’.

Politics

1 week ago Millionaire property tycoon, 26, who runs dozens of HMOs around Britain for victims of domestic violence is targeted by vandals

Liv Cooke, 26, has amassed a £10million fortune by converting run-down properties into HMOs (Houses in Multiple Occupation) for up to five people.

Events

1 week ago The Gail's backlash continues: Businesses left 'trembling with fear' over plans for bakery giant's new branch in leafy London suburb

Cafe and restaurants say a store at the top of Crystal Palace hill could 'brain-wash' customers into buying elsewhere due to the influence of the corporate giant.

Politics

1 week ago QUENTIN LETTS: Relating the fall of the BBC boss, Lisa Nandy could have been burying the family gerbil

After teatime, at an hour when most people at Broadcasting House were probably on their fifth jolt of neat gin, the Commons got round to discussing the BBC crisis.

Politics

1 week ago Scared staff 'no longer feel safe' going to work next to old hotel housing homeless people

A number of firms have lodged objections against the former Ibis hotel in Cardiff being used to house homeless people and some said they may leave

Society

1 week ago Less than two thirds of Scots satisfied with local health services – survey

The Scottish Household Survey spoke to more than 10,400 people.

Politics

1 week ago 'I'm a single mum and I made my council property look beautiful within months'

A single mum has shared how she transformed her council house bathroom in just five days, and people have been left stunned by the results. She's been working on the property for three months

Politics