56 m. ago Edinburgh firm's new high street cataract treatment receives investment boost

Edinburgh Biosciences, the company behind a revolutionary new non-surgical treatment for cataracts has received a £2.3m loan investment from Contamac Ltd a company whose major shareholder is also a major shareholder in Edinburgh Biosciences.

Economics

63 m. ago Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata review – a future without sex

The Convenience Store Woman author imagines the creep of a new worldview, in a novel that highlights the weirdness of normal lifeIn Japanese writer Sayaka Murata’s fiction, characters do perverse things in order to “play the part of the fictitious creature called ‘an ordinary person’”. This description comes from Keiko, the 36-year-old narrator of Convenience Store Woman. Keiko’s conformist family and friends can’t believe she can be happy being single and working a dead-end job at a convenience store. Keiko finds an unexpected way to make it look as though she is normal: she keeps a man in her bathtub, hoping that everyone will simply assume they are a couple. A similar idea appears in Murata’s short story Poochie, from the collection Life Ceremony. A young girl takes a friend to a shed in the mountains to meet her pet; the friend is surprised to discover that the pet is a middle-aged man. Murata is interested in the lengths humans will go to in order to domesticate ...

Politics

63 m. ago Playing with words: why novelists are becoming video game writers – and vice

While the novel remains a high-status cultural form, video game writing is still seen as a throwaway art – despite some of the biggest names in fiction being involvedI’ve been working in games for a little more than 15 years, and the main thing I’d say about it at this point is that it’s a pretty annoying job to explain at parties. People often say something like, “Oh, I don’t really play games,” which is surely an odd thing to tell a game designer moments after you’ve been introduced; I don’t really eat croissants, but that’s not the first thing I bring up if I meet a patissier.So one of the joys of publishing my first novel last year was the option to sidestep all of that, and say: “Oh, I’m a writer.” I wrote a novel; I’m working on another one; job done, the conversation can move on. Nobody says, “Oh, I don’t really read books,” even though that’s at least as likely to be true. Continue reading...

Culture

65 m. ago House prices dip as 'jumpy' households contend with higher bills and end of stamp duty holiday

The market is likely to remain a ‘little soft’ in the coming months, as is expected after the end of a tax holiday

Economics

75 m. ago ALEXANDRA SHULMAN: Manolos were part of her identity for years, but here the former editor of Vogue laments... Who am I now that I can't wear HEELS?

ALEXANDRA SHULMAN: Certain things in life make us the person we are. And, for many years, wearing high heels has been one of those for me.

Politics

1 hour ago Meet the 'LATers' having better sex than you: Couples who 'Live Apart Together' tell TRACEY COX why separate homes have spiced things up in the bedroom

Tracey Cox explores why more couples are opting to LAT - Live Apart Together. She revealed LAT couples report higher desire, have more sex and experience higher levels of relationship quality.

Society

2 h. ago Russia says 'British blood must be spilled' in horror WW3 warning

British security have been accused of providing explosives in a series of high-profile assassinations without any supported evidence.

Events

2 h. ago Major UK high street store launches 'Rachel Reeves closing down sale' as it shuts for good

Having been a mainstay for 144-years, the Beales name will disappear for good on May 31, and its bosses have had a dig at Chancellor Rachel Reeves on its way out

Politics

2 h. ago This £45 floral M&S dress could easily pass for Kate Middleton's designer favourite

M&S has launched a gorgeous floral tea dress that looks remarkably like a £245 frock from Rixo - the designer label loved by the Princess of Wales.

Politics

2 h. ago Charity accuses NHS Wales of failing people with hearing loss

National charity, RNID, said some people face major barriers like not being able to book a GP appointment and not understanding what's happening to them in an emergency

Sport

3 h. ago Amazon shoppers race to buy 'better than AirPods' headphones reduced from £130 to £23

"Great sound quality, and the noise cancelling means I don’t need to have the volume too high to drown out any traffic or noise."

Economics

3 h. ago Russia sends chilling WW3 threat to UK and claims 'British blood must be spilled'

The Kremlin has accused British security services of being behind a series of high-profile assassinations in Russia and warned that "British blood must be spilled" as a result

Events

3 h. ago China's export orders dip in April as Trump's tariffs begin to bite

Monthly surveys of Chinese factory managers shows export orders slowed in April as higher tariffs on U.S. imports began to kick in

Politics

4 h. ago Parking drivers could be fined at least £1,000 for breaking night

The Highway Code's guidance on parking at night carries a warning for motorists who do not follow the rules

Economics

5 h. ago UK heatwave forecast: Exact date for 30C as Met Office predicts record breaker

Met Office weather forecasters say temperatures on one day this week could rise as high as 30C as a potential heatwave is on the cards across the UK - it's time to get the suncream ready!

Society

5 h. ago Asian shares rise after gains on Wall Street as corporate profits pile higher

Shares are mixed in Asia after U.S. stocks rose again as companies reported stronger-than-expected profits

Economics

6 h. ago Gardeners warned over UK fence rules and exactly how high they can be by law

Gardeners are being reminded of the rules around fence heights, and experts share exactly how you can raise your fence without breaking the law

Events

7 h. ago Early cancer warning signs of melanoma you should never ignore

The NHS is warning people that you should never assume and always be safe rather than sorry

Events

7 h. ago Cocaine, corruption and bribes: the German port under siege by Europe’s criminal drug gangs

After seizure in Hamburg of 16 tonnes of high-purity powder, state attorney is accused of being on payroll of gang he was supposed to be prosecutingIn Hamburg’s spring sunshine, 200,000-tonne cargo ships almost half a mile long, piled high with the same weight in shipping containers, are docked quayside along the Elbe River. Cranes slowly offload the metal boxes packed with everything from raw materials to food and electronics, and, in some, cocaine.Between 2018 and 2023 cocaine seizures rose by 750%, marking out Germany as another major European hub in the ever-expanding global trade. But the influx is not just ramping up addiction, it is also fuelling corruption in a country perceived as being one of the least corrupt in the world. Continue reading...

Events

8 h. ago Britain's girl gang problem: Increasing numbers of young women are committing violent crime, warn experts

Experts say there has been a surge in the number of girls and young women taking part in violence - after a series of high-profile incidents and emergency service alerts.

Events