23 m. ago Interactive map shows the London boroughs with highest council tax debts

£1.4bn owed to capital’s town halls in latest indication of cost-of-living crisis

Economics

26 m. ago Here's what would happen if China invaded Taiwan after Chinese president Xi Jinping vowed to 'reunify' Taiwan with the mainland

Chinese president Xi Jinping has vowed to 'reunify' Taiwan with the mainland - by force if necessary - and has told his military to be ready to do it by 2027.

Politics

28 m. ago Drivers told look out for 2 'dangerous' vehicle issues which are often ignored

Motorists should really check under the bonnet and around their vehicle

Politics

38 m. ago Business news live: Government faces criticism to Cash ISA cuts and latest Nationwide house data

Stock markets updates and business news from Monday

Politics

52 m. ago The man accused of killing 2 Idaho firefighters had once aspired to be one

A 20-year-old man’s life appeared to have begun to unravel in the months before law enforcement say he fatally shot two firefighters and severely wounded a third as they responded to a wildfire near Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Events

70 m. ago Another Central Asian country bans face veils as Muslim women told to embrace ‘national style’

New law prohibits women in majority Muslim country from covering their faces in public

Politics

98 m. ago Tech firms suggested placing trackers under offenders’ skin at meeting with justice secretary

Exclusive: Shabana Mahmood told companies she wanted ‘deeper collaboration’ to tackle prisons crisisAnalysis: Whitehall’s ambition to cut costs using AI is fraught with riskTracking devices inserted under offenders’ skin, robots assigned to contain prisoners and driverless vehicles used to transport them were among the measures proposed by technology companies to ministers who are gathering ideas to tackle the crisis in the UK justice system.The proposals were made at a meeting of more than two dozen tech companies in London last month, chaired by the justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, minutes seen by the Guardian show. Amid an acute shortage of prison places and probation officers under severe strain, ministers told the companies they wanted ideas for using wearable technologies, behaviour monitoring and geolocation to create a “prison outside of prison”. Continue reading...

Society

2 h. ago Bob Geldof told Freddie Mercury ‘don’t get clever’ before 1985 Live Aid set

Fellow Queen members Roger Taylor and Brian May say Geldoff told Mercury: ‘Just play the hits – you have 17 minutes’Freddie Mercury’s performance with Queen at Live Aid in 1985 is often seen as the crowning glory of one of the greatest showmen the world has ever seen.But he still needed some very clear instructions from Bob Geldof, the festival’s organiser, before going out on stage. “Don’t get clever,” the Boomtown Rats frontman told him, according to fellow Queen members Roger Taylor and Brian May. “Just play the hits – you have 17 minutes.” Continue reading...

Events

2 h. ago ‘A supermarket for sexual predators’: abuse scandal at elite boarding school shakes France

Legal complaints filed by former pupils accuse priests and staff of physical or sexual abuse from 1957 to 2004When 14-year-old Pascal Gélie saw a brochure for an elite French Catholic boarding school boasting swimming in summer and skiing in winter, he begged his parents to send him. He had just watched the American school drama Dead Poets Society and was expecting “sport and friendship”.“On the first night, I realised I’d made a terrible mistake,” said Gélie, now a 51-year-old office-worker in Bordeaux. “There were 40 of us in a dormitory with decrepit mattresses. When I whispered to another boy for some toilet paper to take to the bathroom, the supervisor grabbed me by the face and pointed to the stone terrace outside. Someone told me to take my coat because you could be forced to stand outside for hours in the cold and damp. I was made to stand there all night.” Continue reading...

Events

2 h. ago ‘My mind was shrieking: “What am I doing?”’ – when the digital nomad dream turns sour

Working remotely from a beach in a far-off land sounds like bliss – and the number of people doing it has soared since 2019. But between bouts of illness, relentless admin and crushing loneliness, many have found comfort in the 9-5 back homeJason, a 34-year-old American, is stumbling around the pool table, cue in hand. Five Saigon beers later, he will shuffle out, clamber on to a scooter and drive back to his beach hut. I know this because I’ve seen the same routine for the past four nights. Meanwhile, Eloise, 38, a French national, is gyrating on the dancefloor. Earlier, on the beach, she told me about her big bitcoin dreams – although she hasn’t got the funds she needs yet. Then there is Bex, a Briton in her late 50s whose eyes are large and wild because she has just popped a pill. She spends only a month a year in the UK – not because she wants to, she says, just to check in with family who are worried about her.Here we are together on this paradise island in south-east Asia, lap...

Politics

2 h. ago Exact date 'cold front' will replace 35C heatwave as UK weather maps turn blue

A 'cold front' of fresh Atlantic air is set to trigger a dip in temperatures in parts of the UK this afternoon - but one region will continue to sizzle, with possible highs of 36C

Society

4 h. ago Children could be banned from social media for LIFE if they share classmates' nudes under new proposal

Tech companies will be told to cover all bases to ensure offenders cannot re-register using a different name, by using identity verification systems and internet address tracking.

Events

4 h. ago EastEnders teases health twist for fan favourite after suffering two heart attacks

EastEnders is set to air more worrying scenes for one Walford resident in new health twist

Sport

5 h. ago Anna Wintour emerges for first time since bombshell Vogue shake

On Thursday, Wintour, 75, told staffers that she will be hiring a new head of editorial content at American Vogue.

Events

5 h. ago Tinder is testing facial recognition for users as a new security feature

The dating app is unrolling the feature in California, Canada, and Colombia

Events

5 h. ago Children could be banned from social media for LIFE 'if they share classmates nudes'

Tech companies will be told to cover all bases to ensure offenders cannot re-register using a different name, by using identity verification systems and internet address tracking.

Events

5 h. ago Trump to host Israel's Netanyahu at the White House as he increases pressure for a Gaza ceasefire

Trump told reporters Friday ''We think within the next week we're going to get a ceasefire' in Gaza.' He is set to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House Monday.

Events

5 h. ago Secrets of Britain's biggest Wetherspoons. It can fit 1,400 people and has 100 beers on tap. Now HARRY WALLOP exposes exactly what goes on... and why they constantly need to change the carpet

Nearly 75 years ago, George Orwell wrote that the pub was part of 'something distinctive and recognisable in English civilization', a place where all types could gather.

Politics

5 h. ago Woman recovers lottery ticket she threw away and ends up winning top prize

‘I just had this premonition – go get that ticket,’ the Shepherdsville woman told lottery officials

Politics

6 h. ago The truth about what happens to Britain's stolen cars: Map reveals smuggling routes used by gangs to sneak motors out of the UK

Stolen cars are then rapidly driven to Dover, where ferries to continental Europe run every 30 minutes, and then loaded up before victims can even react.

Events