5 d. ago Minister Jonathan Reynolds makes major announcement after emergency recall of Parliament

MPs were dragged back to the Commons to vote on an emergency law - as Jonathan Reynolds outlined plans to rescue Britain's steel industry

Politics

1 week ago Pep Guardiola left to rue dropped points as Manchester derby ends in bore draw

Blunt and tame, this 196th ­Manchester derby was a curio that failed to ignite despite the cross-town rivalry. Towards the close, Joshua Zirkzee had the contest’s clearest opening: the No 11 swung a boot at Patrick Dorgu’s cross and connected cleanly but ­Ederson saved, cat-like, and ­Manchester City escaped; as they did, also, when a later penalty shout for Mateo ­Kovacic’s challenge on Casemiro was correctly waved away.So this finished as a non-event in the sun, with scant incident and only marginally more goalmouth action. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago 'Nearest thing to hell': British man held by Taliban with wife describes horrific conditions in Afghan jail

Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife Barbie, 76, were captured by the terrorist group while returning to their home in central Afghanistan

Events

2 w. ago Britain's asylum capital: We can't take any more, say locals in city where huge influx is 'damaging social cohesion' and putting 'unprecedented pressure' on public services

Scotland's second city is the largest dispersal area for asylum seekers in the UK after London - with some 3,953 sent to the city by the Home Office while their applications are being considered.

Events

3 w. ago Scots dad fighting for life after Rome B&B explosion has surgery to remove debris from body

Grant Paterson, from East Kilbride, remains in a critical condition following the horrific blast at his accommodation on Saturday.

Events

3 w. ago Britain's oldest rescue cat saved from horrific conditions seeks new home in Scotland

Cleo, the oldest rescue cat in the UK, was saved from horrific hoarding conditions.

Events

3 w. ago The Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz by Anne Sebba review – playing for their lives

The remarkable story of conductor Alma Rosé and the musicians who survived the Holocaust by performing amid horrific conditionsWhen 13-year-old Pearl Pufeles disembarked from the cattle car at Auschwitz in March 1944, she was surprised to hear the strains of Dvořák and Smetana wafting towards her. “Gosh,” thought the Czechoslovakian schoolgirl, “this can’t be that bad if they play music here.” But it was that bad and, indeed, so much worse. Pearl and her twin sister Helen were swiftly selected as laboratory fodder for Dr Josef Mengele’s grotesque medical experiments.It isn’t clear which orchestra Pearl had heard that day. Auschwitz was a 15 sq mile complex with multiple sub-camps and there were at least six “official” orchestras staffed by prisoners who had been funnelled into southern Poland from all over Europe. Some of these orchestras concentrated on the classical repertoire, albeit without the Jewish composers Mendelssohn and Mahler. Others specialised in Sunday ...

Politics

last month UN human rights chief voices horror at Israel’s new Gaza strikes

Volker Türk calls for immediate end to violence and unconditional release of hostagesMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe UN’s human rights chief has voiced horror at Israel’s resumption of airstrikes on Gaza that have killed at least 404 people, saying further misery was being inflicted on people “already suffering catastrophic conditions”.In a statement on Tuesday Volker Türk said he was horrified by Monday night’s airstrikes and shelling in Gaza. The decision to resume shelling in effect ended the fragile ceasefire that has paused the violence in the devastated Gaza Strip since mid-January. Palestinian authorities reported 404 deaths by about noon local time, nine and a half hours after the strikes began. Continue reading...

Events