25 h. ago Cost of living scheme giving struggling households payments up to £300

Running since 2021 and managed by the Department for Work and Pensions, the scheme has given local councils pots of cash to support struggling households in their area

Economics

44 h. ago Is Britain breaking international law over Israel to avoid offending Trump? We may find out in court this week | Yasmine Ahmed

The UK’s arms exports to Israel will be tested again as a Palestinian rights group challenges the governmentYasmine Ahmed is UK director of Human Rights WatchOn Tuesday, the British government will be in the high court defending the indefensible: its continuing approval of arms exports to Israel. As the government’s lawyers take the floor to deliver their opening remarks – in a case that was brought by the Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq and is supported by Human Rights Watch – thousands of children in Gaza will be starving. This is the result of an Israeli blockade on food, aid and medical supplies that defies the binding orders of the international court of justice.Thousands of mothers will be mourning the children they have lost in an assault on Gaza that is estimated to have cost the lives of more than 50,000 people, according to the Gaza ministry of health. Thousands of people will be homeless, forcibly displaced and living among the rubble of the towns and cities they no...

Politics

3 d. ago Koalas face death, attacks and starvation as blue gums chopped down in Victoria

The state government is aware of koala welfare problems but says it has ‘no cost-effective’ solutionsAustralia news live: latest politics and federal election updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThousands of koalas are being displaced each year as blue gum plantations are cut down in Victoria, worsening overcrowding in nearby forests and exacerbating the risk of injury and death during bushfires.An estimated 42,500 koalas live in blue gum plantations in south-west Victoria, data shows. Between 8,000 and 10,000 hectares of plantation are harvested each year, making thousands of koalas homeless.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago DWP shares new update on 2025 cost of living payments for struggling households

The pensions and benefits department shared the update on its GOV.UK page, which detailed the cost of living payments which were paid to low-income households between 2022 and 2024

Economics

8 d. ago Trump cuts will increase devastation after disasters, expert warns: ‘It is really scary’

Layoffs and funding cuts to Fema and Noaa will hamstring emergency managers, warns professor Samantha MontanoThe Trump administration’s sweeping cuts to disaster management will cost American lives, with hollowed-out agencies unable to accurately predict, prepare for or respond to extreme weather events, earthquakes and pandemics, a leading expert has warned.Samantha Montano, professor of emergency management at Massachusetts Maritime Academy and author of Disasterology: Dispatches from the Frontlines of the Climate Crisis, said the death toll from disasters including hurricanes, tornadoes and water pollution will rise in the US unless Trump backtracks on mass layoffs and funding cuts to key agencies. That includes the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), whose work relies heavily on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), which is also being dismantled. Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago Trump cuts will lead to more deaths in disasters, expert warns: ‘It is really scary’

Layoffs and funding cuts to Fema and Noaa will impact how they predict and respond to disasters, warns professor Samantha MontanoThe Trump administration’s sweeping cuts to disaster management will cost lives in the US, with hollowed-out agencies unable to accurately predict, prepare for or respond to extreme weather events, earthquakes and pandemics, a leading expert has warned.Samantha Montano, professor of emergency management at Massachusetts Maritime Academy and author of Disasterology: Dispatches from the Frontlines of the Climate Crisis, said the death toll from disasters including hurricanes, tornadoes and water pollution will rise in the US unless Trump backtracks on mass layoffs and funding cuts to key agencies. That includes the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), whose work relies heavily on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), which is also being dismantled. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago 'Cruel' Donald Trump's decisions 'will cost lives' as he 'walks away from responsibility'

EXCLUSIVE: The first 100 days of Donald Trump's second presidency have seen his pal Elon Musk take to government spending with a chainsaw, a metaphor he felt the need to explain to everyone

Politics

2 w. ago Tragic last minute decision that may have cost Idaho murder victims their lives

In a new court order in the capital murder case against Bryan Kohberger, the judge unveiled the most detailed timeline to date about the final hours of the four victims and their surviving roommates.

Events

2 w. ago Thousands of households can get free £425 cash to help with cost of living

Each authority decides how it wants to spend the money from the Household Support Fund and help can range from free cash payments to supermarket vouchers

Economics

2 w. ago Arne Slot issues blunt response after claims he could cost Liverpool millions

Arne Slot has denied reports that suggested he has deliberately not been playing striker Darwin Nunez in order to avoid paying Benfica another transfer instalment

Economics

2 w. ago School uniform help worth up to £200 now available for thousands of struggling families

The help comes from the Household Support Fund, which is a government-funded scheme that has given local councils pots of cash to support struggling households in their area

Economics

2 w. ago Will rising child poverty be Labour’s legacy? – Politics Weekly UK

The government began to roll out its free breakfast club scheme this week as part of plans to help struggling families. But with predictions that child poverty could increase by the end of this parliament, how serious is Labour about tackling the problem? John Harris hears from a headteacher, and speaks to our political editor, Pippa Crerar Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Arne Slot could cost Liverpool millions if he names Reds star in team again this season

Liverpool are on the cusp of winning the Premier League but one of their senior stars has struggled for minutes of late and could yet be on the move in the summer

Economics

3 w. ago ECB cuts rates for third time this year as Europe braces for Trump tariffs

Quarter-point cut in main rate to 2.25% aims to tackle slowing eurozone growth and impact of US border taxesBusiness live – latest updatesThe cost of borrowing has fallen across the 20-member euro area for the third time this year after the European Central Bank cut its main interest rate to 2.25% in response to slowing growth and Donald Trump’s tariffs.The Frankfurt-based bank cut its benchmark deposit rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Thursday, in line with City economist expectations, to tackle a slowdown in the bloc and the impact from the border taxes imposed earlier this month on all EU imports into the US. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Turnbull says negative gearing ‘examined by every government’ – as it happened

This blog is now closedPeter Dutton insists he ‘believes in climate change’ after refusing to say if impacts of global heating worseningAnywhere but Canberra: Australian voters on what matters to themInteractive guide to electorates in the Australian electionListen to the latest episode of our new narrative podcast series: GinaSee all our Australian election 2025 coverageGet our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcastBoth parties claim victory in last night’s debateThe political reaction to last night’s debate is coming in thick and fast. No surprises here that the Liberals believe their leader Peter Dutton won with flying colours, while Labor has backed Albanese for the victory.I saw a very weak, indecisive Prime Minister and a very strong Opposition leader. And I was particularly blown away, Bridget, by the prime minister not fessing up that his own government modelled changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax with respect to homeownership.The prime minist...

Politics

3 w. ago Australia news live: Turnbull says negative gearing ‘examined by every government’; measles warning issued for greater Melbourne area

Follow today’s news liveAnywhere but Canberra: Australian voters on what matters to themInteractive guide to electorates in the Australian electionListen to the latest episode of our new narrative podcast series: GinaSee all our Australian election 2025 coverageGet our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcastBoth parties claim victory in last night’s debateThe political reaction to last night’s debate is coming in thick and fast. No surprises here that the Liberals believe their leader Peter Dutton won with flying colours, while Labor has backed Albanese for the victory.I saw a very weak, indecisive Prime Minister and a very strong Opposition leader. And I was particularly blown away, Bridget, by the prime minister not fessing up that his own government modelled changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax with respect to homeownership.The prime minister says the government did not commission any advice on negative gearing or capital gains tax changes, but the t...

Events

4 w. ago The love that dare not speak its name: why I’m coming out as a gay man who loves Taylor Swift | Joe Stone

She is tragically mainstream, allergic to ‘serving’ on the red carpet and certainly hasn’t thrived against the odds. It’s the antithesis of gay culture – so why do I love her?As a self-evidently gay man, I’ve generally been spared the awkwardness of coming out. That was, until I became a Swiftie. In recent years I have become adept at gauging the temperature of a room before revealing my predilection. Is this a safe space? Will I be sidelined or treated as a pervert because of who I choose to love? Should I lie, or just be evasive? I want to live authentically, but at what cost?Taylor Swift is at once the closest thing we have to a monoculture and the most divisive pop star of modern times. As a self-identified Swiftie, I believe her gift lies in the ability to take hyper-specific experiences and render them universal. I’ve never performed a 149-date world tour while reeling from the heartbreak of having been ghosted by Matty Healy of the 1975, but listening to I Can Do It With a Br...

Politics