92 m. ago Media watchdog under fire as new tech chief launches blistering attack

Liz Kendall criticised the sluggish pace of the media regulator and said families across the country 'have been waiting too long for the protections' under the Online Safety Act

Events

2 h. ago Tribunal update after nurses claim transgender woman shouldn't use changing room

Seven nurses argued that Rose Henderson, born a man but identified as a woman, should not have shared a changing room with them at Darlington Memorial Hospital in Co Durham

Politics

2 h. ago Canada pushes to join Eurovision: ‘This is about protecting our identity’

Country explores taking part in the glitzy song contest as it distances from the US and seeks to deepen ties with EuropeWhen Canada released its federal budget this month, much of it was standard fare, from the plans to downsize the public service to the boost in defence spending.But one line tucked in the nearly 500-page document has captured imaginations on both sides of the Atlantic: a mention that the government is working with Canada’s national broadcaster to explore participation in the Eurovision song contest. Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago Suspect accused of killing mother of his children and smuggling her body into Mexico to dump it

Mexican prosecutors said the suspect has been identified as Erik N., an undocumented immigrant who had been living in the US for more than 20 years

Events

2 h. ago Good Samaritans and cops flip car to rescue juvenile pinned under the vehicle

Watch the moment that Good Samaritans and cops team up to flip over a car to rescue a juvenile trapped underneath.

Events

3 h. ago Keir Starmer under pressure over future of Morgan McSweeney amid briefing row

Ministers and Labour MPs point finger at PM’s chief of staff over No 10 operation that targeted Wes StreetingUK politics live – latest updatesKeir Starmer is facing intense pressure over the future of Morgan McSweeney after the prime minister’s chief of staff was blamed for No 10’s pushback against a possible leadership challenge.After Starmer dodged a question from Kemi Badenoch at prime minister’s questions about whether he had full confidence in his key aide, Downing Street later clarified that he did. Continue reading...

Events

3 h. ago The real reason you’re struggling to find work – and how to outsmart the system

Across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, automation now does the screening before a human ever has a look

Politics

3 h. ago What does my love for impossibly difficult video games say about me?

From Demon Souls to Baby Steps, challenging games keep a certain type of player coming back for more. I wonder why we are such suckers for punishment• Don’t get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereMost people who really love video games have the capacity to be obsessive. Losing weeks of your life to Civilization, World of Warcraft or Football Manager is something so many of us have experienced. Sometimes, it’s the numbers-go-up dopamine hit that hooks people: playing something such as Diablo or Destiny and gradually improving your character while picking up shiny loot at perfectly timed intervals can send some people into an obsessional trance. Notoriously compulsive games such as Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley, meanwhile, suck up hours with peaceful, comforting repetition of rewarding tasks.What triggers obsession in me, though, is a challenge. If a game tells me I can’t do something, I become determined to do it, sometimes to my own detriment. Grinding repetit...

Politics

5 h. ago Top diplomats will talk with Ukraine's foreign minister at the G7 meeting in Canada

Top diplomats from the Group of Seven industrialized democracies are meeting Ukraine’s foreign minister in Canada as Ukraine tries to fend off relentless Russian aerial attacks that have brought rolling blackouts across the country ahead of winter

Politics

5 h. ago Military examiners to carry out driving tests in push to cut backlog

Government seeks to bear down on long wait times to qualify in England

Events

5 h. ago Parking passes at 2026 World Cup will cost as much as $175 per vehicle

Fifa already under attack for high ticket pricesCosts are comparable to NFL parking passesWorld Cup ticket holders can expect to spend big to park their cars at next year’s tournament, with prices on Fifa’s official website reaching as much as $175 per parking pass.First reported by the Athletic, the figures are significant in the car-dependent United States – one of the tournament’s three hosts, along with Canada and Mexico – where many venues are not easily accessible by public transport. Continue reading...

Economics

6 h. ago Keir Starmer says any No 10 briefings against ministers ‘unacceptable’

Starmer defends Wes Streeting at PMQs but dodges question on his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeneyUK politics live – latest updatesKeir Starmer has condemned as “completely unacceptable” any briefings against cabinet ministers from inside Downing Street as he tried desperately to close a rift at the top of government.Questioned by Kemi Badenoch at prime minister’s questions, Starmer defended Wes Streeting, the health secretary, who was the apparent target of a pre-emptive No 10 push against a feared imminent leadership challenge against the prime minister. Continue reading...

Politics

6 h. ago ‘There’s fire all around us, this is it’ – This is climate breakdown

Working with jaguars in Brazil’s Pantanal was a huge source of joy. But the wildfires are getting worse. This is Abbie’s storyLocation Pantanal, BrazilDisaster Wildfires, a number of yearsAbbie Martin splits her time between captaining a boat in the Virgin Islands and doing research in Brazil’s Pantanal, a region that includes the world’s largest tropical wetland and where she founded the Jaguar Identification Project. Fires in the Pantanal have reached new extremes, killing at least 17 million vertebrate animals and burning 27% of the vegetation cover in 2020. Climate breakdown made the Pantanal drier between 2001-21, increasing the occurrence of above-average fires in the region. Continue reading...

Events

6 h. ago How World Cup expansion is driving Asia’s naturalisation arms race

As Asia’s allocation has now doubled, many nations look to foreign-born talent to push them towards qualificationWhen the United Arab Emirates line up against Iraq on Thursday for the fifth and final round of Asian qualification for next year’s World Cup, it is likely that over half of the home starting XI in Abu Dhabi will be foreign-born. The UAE are, however, merely another participant in a naturalisation arms race in the continent that has been boosted by the expansion of the World Cup from 32 teams to 48.Asia’s allocation has doubled from four automatic spots in Qatar to eight in North America, opening up the tournament to a new array of contenders desperate to play on the greatest stage of all. Japan, South Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Australia have historically dominated World Cup qualifying, with North Korea the most recent outlier in 2010. Those six are the only teams from the Asian Football Confederation to make more than one appearance at the tournament. Continue readin...

Politics

7 h. ago Why Edinburgh's Push the Boat Out poetry festival is going big on punk

Emma Collins, director of Edinburgh’s international poetry festival Push the Boat Out, explains why this year’s event will be infused with punk spirit

Politics

7 h. ago Yes, New York will soon be under new management. But Zohran Mamdani is just the start | Carys Afoko

Lina Khan outraged corporates and conservatives as head of the Federal Trade Commission. Expect more of the same now she’s with the mayor-elect’s transition teamA relatively unknown thirtysomething parachuted on to the national stage and into high political office. Energising to some of the Democratic base but lacking support from the party establishment. Not Zohran Mamdani but Lina Khan, who Joe Biden appointed to chair the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2021 when she was just 32. Khan, who left her role at the FTC when Trump returned to the White House, is now one of five women appointed to the mayor-elect of New York’s transition team.Khan is the most exciting pick for a few reasons. She entered the FTC with an ambitious mandate to transform the government agency, broaden its focus to increase scrutiny of corporate mergers and do more to protect consumers – and got results. She brought down the price of inhalers (routinely being sold for hundreds of dollars) by tackling price ...

Politics

7 h. ago Revealed: Raheem Sterling confronted masked burglary gang with a kitchen knife to protect his young children during terrifying break

Raheem Sterling confronted masked burglarers with a knife to protect his children during a terrifying break-in, it has been revealed.

Events

8 h. ago Cop can be torturous and tedious – but here’s why it’s worth paying attention

In this week’s newsletter: Critics have yet come up with an alternative that would truly bring all countries together to work to solve the climate crisis• Don’t get Down to Earth delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereWorld leaders – or at least about 50 of them – flew away from preliminary Cop meetings in the Amazonian city of Belém last week, where they met to discuss the climate crisis, the ravages committed on the planet’s biggest rainforest only too apparent beneath them, if they chose to look.Deforestation, drought and the climate crisis are pushing the Amazon to what could become a “tipping point”, where it changes state from a rainforest to a savannah ecosystem, and from a massive absorber of carbon to releasing carbon into the atmosphere, which would have devastating consequences for the whole world.‘It will never be forgiven’: UN climate chief warns world to act or face disasterTyphoon Fung-Wong becomes second in a week to hit the PhilippinesI wish we could ignore Bill Gates...

Politics

8 h. ago Everything you need to do in the next two weeks to protect your finances ahead of Rachel Reeves’ Budget

WITH the Budget just two weeks away, you might be wondering if there's anything you can do NOW to protect your finances. Every day new rumours are swirling about potential tax hikes, pension changes and cuts to different allowances. And while there is no shortage of speculation, there’s no way to know what measures the...

Economics

8 h. ago FTSE 100 Live 12 November: Index 10,000 push stalls, SSE surges on £33bn plan

The FTSE 100 index today opened near the 10,000 threshold as traders digested updates by BAE Systems, Taylor Wimpey and SSE.

Economics