6 h. ago U.N. food agency to suspend food aid for 750,000 people in Somalia next month

The U.N. food agency has announced cuts to food assistance for hundreds of thousands in Somalia, where millions face the devastating effects of climate change and severe hunger

Politics

7 h. ago Young people on disability benefits to get an extra £255 payment next week

Child Winter Heating Payments will be issued automatically to almost 45,000 young disabled people in Scotland.

Economics

8 h. ago New Motability Scheme update for disabled people considering an Electric Vehicle for their next car

Around 815,000 people across Great Britain are now leasing a vehicle or equipment through the Motability Scheme.

Politics

20 h. ago Blue Badges stripped from tens of thousands of Brits in major new crackdown

The government has revoked at least 22,000 blue badges issued to people with mobility or other disabilities who had since died as part of a record-breaking anti-fraud campaign, officials said

Politics

23 h. ago Wildfires are getting deadlier and costing more. Experts warn they’re becoming unstoppable

Of 200 fires in the past 44 years, half of the fires that cost US$1bn or more were in the last decadeWildfires tore through central Chile last year, killing 133 people. In California, 18,000 buildings were destroyed in 2018 causing US$16bn (A$24bn, £12bn) in damage. Portugal, Greece, Algeria and Australia have all felt the grief and the economic pain in recent years.As the headlines, the death tolls and the billion dollar losses from wildfires have stacked up around the world, so too have the rising temperatures – fuelled by the climate crisis – that create tinderbox conditions. Continue reading...

Events

28 h. ago Devon and Cornwall police launches new £350,000 boat to stop people traffickers targeting their coastline

The Home Office hopes the vessel will act as a deterrent to organised crime groups and allow officials to intercept and board vessels when dealing with high-level threats.

Events

34 h. ago The families of Syria’s disappeared are asking for the truth. Our country cannot rebuild until we have it | Wafa Mustafa

Over 160,000 people, including my father, were abducted by the Assad regime. The country’s new commission for the missing must be inclusive and independent to restore our trustFor more than 11 years, I told myself it was too early to grieve. My father, Ali Mustafa, was arrested by Bashar al-Assad’s forces in Syria on 2 July 2013 and disappeared. Since that day, we have had no word, no trace, nothing.Every morning since he was taken I made my first thought after waking up: “He is alive.” Every night I went to sleep repeating it. Continue reading...

Events

36 h. ago Council agrees cash grant of £435k to 'important' town centre theatre

More than 87,000 people attended the Octagon in 2024

Economics

49 h. ago YouTuber Alfie Deyes shocked to discover his acid reflux problem is actually a rare swallowing disorder which affects 12 in 100,000 people

For a decade, YouTuber Alfie Deyes has vlogged about acid reflux for his millions of fans-unaware he was actually suffering from a much rarer, and more serious, condition.

Events

50 h. ago Autism should not be seen as single condition with one cause, say scientists

Those diagnosed as small children typically have distinct genetic profile from those diagnosed later, study findsAutism should not be viewed as a single condition with a unified underlying cause, according to scientists who found that those diagnosed early in childhood typically have a distinct genetic profile to those diagnosed later.The international study, based on genetic data from more than 45,000 autistic people in Europe and the US, showed that those diagnosed in early childhood, typically before six years old, were more likely to show behavioural difficulties from early childhood, including problems with social interaction, but remain stable. Continue reading...

Politics

54 h. ago ‘This is strength’: stories of enslaved Africans in Grenada made into searchable archive

Depths of Paradise project backed by British family and created by Stephen Lewis, a descendant of survivorsThe stories of enslaved African people and more than 1,000 British plantation owners who were compensated after abolition have been brought together in a searchable archive for the first time.The project is backed by a prominent British family who have owned up to their ancestors’ role in slavery. It was created by Stephen Lewis and focuses on his native Grenada where the British Trevelyan family has publicly apologised for its “crimes against humanity” for their ownership of more than 1,000 enslaved Africans. Continue reading...

Politics

55 h. ago Simple test could reveal dementia risk decades before symptoms appear

A new study of 130,000 people found that protein in the urine may act as an early warning sign for memory problems

Events

56 h. ago New Motability Scheme update for people on PIP, ADP and other disability benefits

Around 815,000 people across the UK are now leasing a vehicle or equipment through the Motability Scheme.

Politics

56 h. ago Crowded camps, stagnant water and not enough doctors: first the floods, now disease stalks millions in Pakistan

As the waters recede, a surge in cases of cholera, diarrhoea, malaria and dengue has compounded the misery of people who have already seen their homes and crops disappearOn a sweltering afternoon in Head Muhammad Wala, a riverside village near the Pakistani city of Multan, Rubina Nawaz is nursing a sick child in a temporary home of damp blankets and plastic sheeting.Her two-room house disappeared under flood waters in September when the Chenab River burst its banks in the torrential rains that have been deluging parts of Pakistan since late June. More than 6 million people have been affected, with nearly 1,000 killed, including 250 children, according to the UN. Nearly 2.5 million people have been displaced. Continue reading...

Events

59 h. ago The Santa Claus effect: how expanding tourism ate into Lapland’s green space

The number of visitors to the region has risen 160% in 30 years as concerns grow for its fragile ecosystem and indigenous practicesRevealed: Europe losing 600 football pitches of nature and crop land a dayOnce upon a time, Lapland was a word that conjured up the home of Santa Claus in the imagination of British children, but increasingly it has become a tourist destination.Last year, more than 700,000 people came to the region, with 100,000 of them coming from Britain. That number is up 160% compared with 30 years ago. Continue reading...

Politics

62 h. ago Three bathroom signs that could indicate colon cancer, doctor says

Colon cancer affects over 44,000 people every year in the UK, but early diagnosis can drastically shift treatment and prognosis for patients

Science

64 h. ago Philippines earthquake: dozens dead as rescuers search through wreckage

Rescuers search for casualties in coastal city of Bogo, where power was knocked out and buildings and roads damagedThe death toll from a magnitude 6.9 earthquake in the central Philippines has risen to 26, authorities said, with fears the toll could rise as rescuers searched for survivors from Tuesday night’s quake which damaged buildings and roads and knocked out power in parts of the region.The epicentre of the earthquake, which was set off by a local fault, was about 17km (10 miles) north-east of Bogo, a coastal city of about 90,000 people in Cebu province where at least 14 residents died, disaster-mitigation officer Rex Ygot told the Associated Press by telephone. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Over 750,000 people could be owed thousands of pounds and not know about it

Some 758,000 18 to 23-year-olds have yet to claim their matured child trust fund, HM Revenue and Customs said

Politics

3 d. ago HMRC issues alert as 750,000 young people could be owed £2,240

The average Child Trust Fund account is worth £2,240

Economics

3 d. ago DWP urges Brits to check if they're owed £8,300 in State Pension back payments

More than 370,000 people have been contacted to say they could be owed an average of £8,377 in State Pension back payments

Economics