Leader of victorious conservative alliance says transatlantic alliance will be difficult with Trump’s ‘America alone’ mottoThe man expected to be Germany’s next chancellor has said Europe must act swiftly to increase its defence capability in the face of a US administration whose motto is moving towards “America alone”, adding: “This is really five minutes to midnight for Europe.”In a wide-ranging press conference after his conservative alliance’s victory in Sunday’s federal election, Friedrich Merz made it clear his focus was on the turbulent geopolitical landscape, saying that although he would seek good ties with the US he was also ready for “the worst-case scenario”. Continue reading...

Politics

Bryonie Gawith, 29, Denisty Birtle, nine, Oscar Birtle, five, and 22-month-old Aubree Birtle died following the fire at their home in Bradford, West Yorkshire, early on August 21 last year

Events

Holidaymakers have been told to expect flight cancellations and delays for national and international flights to and from the country

Events

Watch live as foreign secretary David Lammy is expected to announce new sanctions against Russia on the third anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine on Monday, 24 February.

Events

Pope Francis, 88, developed pneumonia in both lungs over the weekend and is expected to remain in hospital for the next few days as he receives treatment

Science

Hanna Zarytska said her friends and family in Ukraine “simply live each day without expectations”

Events

Cases in UK set to rise by 21% and deaths by 42%, while globally one in 20 women will be diagnosed with diseaseBreast cancer diagnoses and deaths are projected to surge worldwide by 2050, the World Health Organization’s cancer agency has said, with cases in the UK to rise by 21% and deaths by 42%.Globally, one in 20 women will be diagnosed with the disease in their lifetime, with cases up 38% and deaths up 68% over the next 25 years, according to an analysis by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Continue reading...

Events

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander expected to hand down her decision on Thursday

Politics

Watch live as foreign secretary David Lammy is expected to announce new sanctions against Russia on the third anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine on Monday, 24 February.

Events

Scots could face more drastic restrictions on transport and heating emissions to keep a legal net zero target on track.

Politics

By renewing early drivers could save hundreds of pounds.

Transport

In all similar democracies, left and right are having versions of the same argument: does ‘electable’ mean centrist or radical?As the German election results land, a lot of people are looking on the bright side: nearly 80% of Germans won’t entertain voting for Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). A nanosecond ago, however – as recently as Saturday – the idea that voters might go this far-right, in these kinds of numbers, for the first time since the second world war was terrifying. Some are calling this a victory over Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who vocally supported the AfD; others are calling it a victory for them.Nobody is puzzling much over the decline in support for Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic party – down 9%, almost equal to the AfD’s gains, although the numbers on switchers have yet to be crunched – because it was so long expected. The CDU/CSU alliance has won, with 28.5%, pretty much as the polls predicted. It’s an incredibly German story in its labyrinthine and laborious ...

Politics

The Prison Education Manager and his bride Amy Kenyon were dubbed the 'Barbie and Ken' of MAFS UK

Politics

Fashion is now all about bringing the old back to life as even stars are turning to recycled chic by returning discarded clothing to new glory - with the trend expected to rule London Fashion Week

Politics

Spending ranges from new AI server factory in Texas to film and TV content and may add 20,000 jobsApple said on Monday it would spend $500bn in US investments in the next four years that will include a giant factory in Texas for artificial intelligence servers and add about 20,000 research and development jobs across the country in that time.That $500bn in expected spending includes everything from purchases from US suppliers to US filming of television shows and movies for its Apple TV+ service. The company declined to say how much of the figure it was already planning to spend with its US supply base, which includes firms such as Corning that makes glass for iPhones in Kentucky. Continue reading...

Economics

Goal of increasing renewable energy generation 20-fold to be ditched, shareholders to be told this weekBP is expected to ditch a target to ramp up renewable energy generation by 2030 as part of a shift back towards fossil fuels when it presents its strategy to investors this week.The chief executive, Murray Auchincloss, is poised to tell shareholders that the oil and gas company is scrapping its target to increase renewable generation 20-fold between 2019 and 2030 to 50 gigawatts, Reuters reported. Continue reading...

Events

More redundancies are expected at Man United and staff morale is not improving under the co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

Politics

The Silicon Valley tech giant pledged its 'largest-ever spend commitment' after Trump pushed companies to shift their manufacturing back home.

Economics

Bills are forecast to rise because of an increase in the cost of gas across Europe, as Ofgem reveals the new energy price cap on Tuesday.

Economics

The January blazes wiped out a thriving communal food pathway unique to the Altadena neighborhood, but farmers are starting to plan for its renewalIn Choi Chatterjee and Omer Sayeed’s Altadena backyard, beehives produced pounds of honey, copious amounts of fruit and vegetables were harvested, and hens laid plenty of fresh eggs. A couple of pygmy goats and a pair of 100-pound tortoises, Layla and Manju, roamed the urban farm, keeping the weeds trimmed, the compost turned and the soil alive with microbes, much to the delight of the hundreds of visitors who have enjoyed free tours and home-cooked meals since the couple began offering them in 2020.Passersby were often drawn to the Chatterjee-Sayeed residence since the lush butterfly-filled parkway next to their home has served as a free communal garden for more than a decade. Neighbors were welcome to stop by for persimmons, guavas, nopal pads, herbs and varieties of citrus. “We’d get 100 to 200 pomegranates and just hand them out to wh...

Events