3 d. ago Voices: ‘Give councils more money’ Independent readers weigh in on Birmingham bin strikes

Birmingham’s bin strikes are widely seen as the result of decades of political neglect and a worsening funding crisis in local government

Events

2 w. ago Usher: Race, reinvention, educating himself — and why he'd like to be Ed Sheeran

The superstar musician is in London for — count them — 10 nights at the O2. He speaks exclusively to Dylan Jones

Politics

3 w. ago ‘The physics community has never split like this’: row erupts over plans for new Large Hadron Collider

Ambitious project could soak up funding for subatomic physics for decades, say opponentsScientists are refining plans to build the world’s biggest machine at a site beneath the Swiss-French border. More than $30bn (£23bn) would be spent drilling a 91km circular tunnel in which subatomic particles would be accelerated to near light speeds and smashed into each other. From the resulting nuclear debris, scientists hope they will then find clues that would help them understand the detailed makeup of the universe.It is an extraordinarily ambitious project. However, it is also a controversial one – for many scientists fear the machine, the Future Circular Collider (FCC), could soak up funding for subatomic physics for decades and leave promising new research avenues starved of resources. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Arctic ends winter with lowest sea ice cover on record – scientists

The new record shows how Arctic sea ice has ‘fundamentally changed’ from earlier decades, scientists said.

Politics

3 w. ago Youth Music launches Rescue the Roots campaign to save grassroots projects: ‘The time for action is now’

New campaign launches as Ed Sheeran calls for urgent government funding of music education in the UK

Events

4 w. ago Ed Sheeran writes urgent open letter to Keir Starmer for music education funding: ‘The time to act is now’

British singer-songwriter is joined by fellow stars Harry Styles, Stormzy, Robert Plant and Eric Clapton in calling on Keir Starmer to provide a £250m music education package

Politics

4 w. ago Ed Sheeran spearheads call for music education funding after ‘decades’ of cuts

He has written to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Government officials calling for immediate, long-term funding for UK music education.

Politics