11 m. ago West Lothian community centres given more time to look at funding plans

In an update to councillors the head of Housing Customer and Building Services Julie Whitelaw said that the revised saving plans which were scheduled to come to the council Executive in early March would be pushed back to the April meeting.

Politics

28 m. ago Donald Trump trolled in 'Putin's puppet' banner as thousands support Ukraine in London march

Thousands of people marched on the Russian embassy in London on Saturday - and a person who attended the protest held a banner branding Donald Trump 'Putin's puppet'

Politics

32 m. ago Andy Madley banned from refereeing game, sack calls and Man Utd controversy, penalty fury

Premier League referee Andy Madley was at the centre of controversy once again during Everton's 2-2 draw with Manchester United at Goodison Park on Saturday afternoon

Events

38 m. ago Waltz this way: rival venues in Vienna compete to celebrate Johann Strauss’s 200th birthday

As the Austrian capital honours the legacy of its dance king, the race is on to attract the most puntersThe music of Johann Strauss streams through Vienna like the stately Danube. Even the syllables of the composer’s name beat out the rhythm of a waltz, as all Austrian dance teachers know. In their lessons, the words “Jo-hann Strauss” are often swapped in to replace the conventional “one, two, three” step count.Viennese children learn to waltz just like they learn to ride a bike, so the muscle-memory never leaves them. Just as well, because the city is still famous as the home of a 19th-century dance craze that shaped its international image. In this 200th anniversary year of the birth of the “waltz king”, there are rival bids jostling to become the focus of the swirling celebrations. Continue reading...

Politics

38 m. ago My boiler has broken and I’m finding solace in a slice (or several) of toast | Rachel Cooke

There are whole chapters in cookbooks dedicated to it and now an endless variety of new things to spread on top, including butters with a waiting listMy subject today is toast, which is much on my mind right now, a buttery ticker tape that calls me constantly to the kitchen. Our boiler has packed up, the new one won’t be installed for a week, and though it’s only the central heating that’s down (the cooker’s fine), the freezing cold has turned me into a toast monster. It’s all I want, a feeling I haven’t had since I was a student and living in a house that was so badly insulated, we sometimes had to break the ice on the water in the loo. How many loaves can a person get through in a week? Come back to me in a few days for an answer. I’ll give you a tour of my chilblains at the same time.What is amazing about toast is the way it has lately become so pimped. This started a few years ago: I first noticed it in Moro Easy by Sam and Sam Clark, a cookbook that came out in 2022 and whose o...

Politics

54 m. ago West Lothian Council claim empty building rates relief change will save them '£1m a year'

West Lothian’s Executive has agreed the changes which will see an end to rates relief on empty properties after six months, and in some cases three months.

Economics

60 m. ago Newport council 'not pushing hard enough' to get new businesses into city centre, says councillor

She said "we need to see something positive happening" in the area following the departure of big-name brands

Politics

68 m. ago Zelensky 'refuses to sign' US surrender deal as Trump rages at Ukraine 'theatre kid'

Donald Trump has made several scathing comments against Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and says he will only support Kyiv's war in exchange for access to the country's mineral resources

Politics

77 m. ago Arsenal vs West Ham LIVE: Premier League latest score and updates as Bowen goal stuns Gunners

The Gunners hope to close the gap on Liverpool with win over the Hammers

Sport

98 m. ago Creative industries are among the UK’s crown jewels – and AI is out to steal them | John Naughton

The tech firms’ efforts to change copyright laws and gain free access to intellectual property is patently wrongThere are decades when nothing happens (as Lenin is – wrongly – supposed to have said) and weeks when decades happen. We’ve just lived through a few weeks like that. We’ve known for decades that some American tech companies were problematic for democracy because they were fragmenting the public sphere and fostering polarisation. They were a worrying nuisance, to be sure, but not central to the polity.And then, suddenly, those corporations were inextricably bound into government, and their narrow sectional interests became the national interest of the US. Which means that any foreign government with ideas about regulating, say, hate speech on X, may have to deal with the intemperate wrath of Donald Trump or the more coherent abuse of JD Vance. Continue reading...

Events

98 m. ago Sports club sparks neighbourhood row as locals fume over 'gunshot' noises

A picturesque neighbourhood in Winchester has been at the centre of a row over noise from a fitness club - and some locals say their lives are being made intolerable

Politics

1 hour ago "The tram hit the van and it just didn't stop": Shock as girl, 3, dies in city centre collision tragedy

The M.E.N understands police are hunting the van driver after a three-year-old girl died of her injuries

Events

1 hour ago Usain Bolt reveals how quick he could run 100 metres now eight years after retiring

The eight-time Olympian has revealed that he wouldn't get close to running sub-10 seconds if he ran the 100 metres now, years after hanging up his spikes

Politics

2 h. ago Arsenal vs West Ham LIVE: Premier League latest score and goal updates as Mikel Merino starts in attack

The Gunners hope to close the gap on Liverpool with win over the Hammers

Sport

2 h. ago Garry Ringrose red card: Why was the Ireland centre sent off against Wales in the Six Nations?

Ringrose saw red towards the end of the first half in Cardiff after making contact with the head of centre counterpart Ben Thomas

Politics

2 h. ago Keir Starmer's 'ironclad support' for Ukraine: Prime Minister vows to back Zelensky and discuss safeguarding Kyiv's sovereignty with Trump amid tensions

Keir Starmer today vowed to back Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and promised to discuss safeguarding the nation's sovereignty when he meets with US president Donald Trump,

Politics

3 h. ago What Ruben Amorim learned as 'embarrassing' Man Utd salvage draw against Everton

Manchester United fought back late at Goodison Park to draw 2-2 with Everton - but Ruben Amorim won't be happy with his team's performance especially their defending

Politics

3 h. ago Girl, 3, killed after tram and van crash in Manchester city centre

The child was a pedestrian and was not travelling in either the tram or van during the collision on Mosley Street

Events

3 h. ago Landlady who replaced the rotting windows of her listed pub with double glazing left with £70,000 bill after council demanded she rip them out

Owners of the Botanic Hotel in Hull, Kerry and Shaun Fitzgerald have been hit with a £70,000 bill for replacing the 172-year-old windows with modern double-glazing.

Economics

3 h. ago 'Our council spent £1million on outdoor planter scheme that they said would boost cafe culture

Darlington Council forked out thousands on the rusted-metal planters as part of a £1million regeneration scheme for a key street in the town.

Economics