23 m. ago Britain braces for another tax bomb amid warnings UK economy is 'flashing red' as growth slows to 0.3 per cent while Rachel Reeves faces a £50bn black hole

The Office for National Statistics said gross domestic product grew by 0.3 per cent for the quarter after 0.7 per cent growth in the first three months of the year.

Events

50 m. ago Starmer to welcome Zelensky at Downing Street ahead of Trump meeting with Putin

The Prime Minister’s meeting with the Ukrainian president comes after he said Britain stands ready to ‘increase pressure’ on Russia if necessary.

Politics

51 m. ago Can’t pay, won’t pay: impoverished streaming services are driving viewers back to piracy

As subscription costs rise and choice diminishes on legal sites, film and TV fans are turning to VPNs and illicit streamers, with Sweden – home of both Spotify and The Pirate Bay – leading the wayWith a trip to Florence booked, all I want is to rewatch Medici. The 2016 historical drama series tells of the rise of the powerful Florentine banking dynasty, and with it, the story of the Renaissance. Until recently, I could simply have gone to Netflix and found it there, alongside a wide array of award-winning and obscure titles. But when I Google the show in 2025, the Netflix link only takes me to a blank page. I don’t see it on HBO Max, Disney+, Apple TV+, or any of the smaller streaming platforms. On Amazon Prime I am required to buy each of the three seasons or 24 episodes separately, whereupon they would be stored in a library subject to overnight deletion. Raised in the land of The Pirate Bay, the Swedish torrent index, I feel, for the first time in a decade, a nostalgia for the hi...

Politics

51 m. ago ‘I always loved a camera’: Maud Muir on life through a lens in England women’s rugby team

Red Roses prop on her creative endeavours and England expectations before the Rugby World Cup on home soil“I like capturing people’s laughs; I think being able to hear it through the picture is so cool,” Maud Muir says as she discusses her favourite photographs from hundreds she has taken behind the scenes in the England women’s camp over the past five years.Muir, the 24-year-old prop, and her teammates are preparing for a home Rugby World Cup, starting with the opener against USA in Sunderland next Friday. Continue reading...

Politics

51 m. ago ‘I have to believe I deserve to be here’: ‘Tesco TikToker’ Hannah Lowther on her path to West End stardom

The up-and-coming musical theatre star’s online audience of 1.2 million has been crucial in scoring her major roles. Her career is part of a shift in the industry towards performers with social media clout – but not everyone is happyIf you’re on TikTok, you’ll probably recognise Hannah Lowther. Known affectionately as the “Tesco TikToker”, she found viral fame during lockdown by filming herself singing and dancing in the aisles of the supermarket during her shifts there.“I got 10,000 views on a video and I thought: OK, that’s it, I’m famous, and I just never let it go,” the 27-year-old laughs. Since then, Lowther has built an audience of 1.2 million followers and leveraged her social media presence into a starry stage career, landing roles in West End musicals including Heathers and Six. “At the back of my mind, I was thinking: You know what? Maybe this could help me one day.” Continue reading...

Politics

51 m. ago You be the judge: should my girlfriend stop leaving so many lamps on and use the big light instead?

Mona likes her mood lighting and keeps at least two lamps on in every room; Monty feels it’s a waste of electricity. You decide whose argument is a turn-off?• Find out how to get a disagreement settled or become a jurorIt seems illogical to have so many lights on in a small room. She turns them on, then leavesI know it’s not energy-conscious to have all these lamps on, but I just love cosy mood lighting Continue reading...

Events

51 m. ago Truck drivers, doctors and bakers: ordinary Yemenis turn to veteran journalist when justice fails

Fatehi Bin Lazreq has used social media, newspapers and radio to expose corruption and everyday injustices since the country’s civil war started a decade agoWhen dozens of gas tankers near Yemen’s southern city of Aden were held up at a checkpoint by soldiers demanding heavy bribes, the frustrated drivers and traders turned to a man they trusted: Fatehi Bin Lazreq, a prominent Yemeni journalist.Known for using his media outlets and social media platforms to demand accountability, Bin Lazreq posted about the drivers’ ordeal on Facebook. It quickly went viral, generating thousands of likes and comments. Within hours, the post prompted a phone call from the prime minister and another senior official, both pledging to resolve the issue. Soon, the tankers were able to move on. Continue reading...

Society

51 m. ago Pink Oyster card reader rule could save you money while travelling around London

Here's how to make your journey to London cheaper when using TFL's pink card readers, but only if used correctly, most people know already about yellow readers, but many forget about the pink ones

Transport

52 m. ago Putin prepares for nuclear war on eve of Trump summit: Russia readys new cruise missile nuke for tests in satellite images after Donald warned of 'severe consequences' if Ukraine conflict continues

Experts say recent satellite images show intense preparations at the Pankovo test site on Novaya Zemlya, a remote archipelago in the Barents Sea.

Events

59 m. ago Veteran, 100, witnessed official ceremony marking Japan’s surrender

Reg Draper was a stores assistant on Royal Navy battleship HMS Duke of York, which was sailing off the coast of Japan in August 1945 when the country surrendered.

Politics

63 m. ago Good Morning Britain host says 'my mum hated me' after teenage decision

Good Morning Britain presenter Richard Madeley made a surprising confession about his time at school during Thursday's instalment of the ITV show.

Politics

68 m. ago Waterworld issues statement after young girl dies at Britain's largest aqua park

A four-year-old girl was tragically found unconscious at the Waterworld aqua park in Stoke-on-Trent last Monday. Now the executive chairman and co-founder of the Looping Group has spoken out

Events

81 m. ago 'Guests lined up to brag about bonking my new wife – I regret marrying her'

JUST JANE: Today our agony aunt Jane O'Gorman is dealing with a new issue from a Daily Star reader who finds himself wed to a woman he doesn't like or understand

Politics

82 m. ago Britain braces for another Reeves tax bomb as economic growth slows AGAIN to just 0.3% between April and June

The Office for National Statistics ( ONS ) said gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.3 per cent between April and June this year.

Economics

83 m. ago UK economy posts surprise 0.3% growth in three months to June

GDP figure slower than previous quarter but beats expectations thanks to 0.4% expansion last monthThe UK economy grew at a faster rate than expected in the second quarter, official figures show, despite pressure on households and businesses from tax increased and Donald Trump’s global trade war.Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed growth in gross domestic product (GDP) slowed to 0.3% in the three months to the end of June, down from a rate of 0.7% in the first quarter. Continue reading...

Politics

95 m. ago Good Morning Britain's Richard Madeley says 'my mum hated me' in on

During Thursday's episode of Good Morning Britain, presenters Charlotte Hawkins and Richard Madeley detailed the thousands of people waiting to get their A-Level results today.

Politics

1 hour ago Should Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice take on more royal duties? Have your say in the Palace Confidential poll

You've read the headlines and heard our experts' opinions - but what do YOU think?

Politics

1 hour ago ‘Censorship’: over 115 scholars condemn cancellation of Harvard journal issue on Palestine

In an open letter, writers denounced abrupt scrapping of a Harvard Educational Review issue dedicated to PalestineMore than 115 education scholars have condemned the cancellation of an entire issue of an academic journal dedicated to Palestine by a Harvard University publisher as “censorship”.In an open letter published on Thursday, the scholars denounced the abrupt scrapping of a special issue of the Harvard Educational Review – which was first revealed by the Guardian in July – as an “attempt to silence the academic examination of the genocide, starvation and dehumanisation of Palestinian people by the state of Israel and its allies.” Continue reading...

Politics

1 hour ago Katabasis by RF Kuang review – a descent into the hellscape of academia

The bestselling author’s sixth novel is far from perfect, but this journey into the underworld is delivered with heretical gleeThe more academia has broken your heart, the more you’ll love RF Kuang’s new novel. Katabasis knows the slow grind of postgrad precarity: the endless grant grubbing and essay marking; the thesis chapters drafted, redrafted and quietly ignored by a supervisor who can’t be bothered to read – let alone reply to – an email. Living semester to semester, pay shrinking, workload metastasising, cannon fodder in a departmental forever war. Katabasis knows how it feels to spend your best thinking years doing grunt work to further someone else’s ideas, clinging to the bottom rung of a ladder you will never be allowed to climb: less an ivory tower than a pyramid scheme.Academia is a hellscape; Katabasis just makes it literal. The American author’s sixth novel is an infernal twist on the campus farce: David Lodge with demons. Kuang’s previous book, 2023’s Yello...

Politics

1 hour ago A journey to belonging: asylum seekers reflect on 10 years in Europe – in pictures

Ten years ago, 1 million people fled into Europe, escaping conflict and poverty. Many had travelled for years in search of peace, prosperity or stability, and found it in countries such as Italy, Germany and Belgium. But the journey to truly belong continues.A decade on, after finding work and learning a new language, four asylum seekers feel torn. They recall the woodlands of northern Nigeria, a river that flows through a Syrian town – or the nightmare of child abuse in Afghanistan. They are still homesick and wrestle with the possibility – or impossibility – of return. They are part of a new, transformed Europe Continue reading...

Events