4 h. ago ‘It brings out the evilness inside you’ – the ‘horrible’ drug linked to sexual exploitation in a deprived city

Ben Bryant spent five months exploring the impact of synthetic stimulant ‘dust’ on Stoke-on-Trent, where women report incidents of rape and users trade sexual acts for the drug

Events

10 h. ago Half of profit warnings in April cite trade tariff impact, reports finds

A raft of firms worldwide have sent out alerts over their profits since the tariff hikes were unleashed by Donald Trump on April 2.

Events

6 d. ago Inside 12 hours of chaos in Spain during an unprecedented power blackout

From people being unable to withdraw money or fill up with petrol, to those hit by train and flight cancellations, Alicia Fabregas reports from Barcelona on the impact of Spain’s mass power cut

Events

9 d. ago Like many mothers, I struggled with breastfeeding. Now we know we’re not ‘failures’ | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

A study shows the impact of feeding challenges on maternal mental health. With official help in short supply, it’s time to support each otherAnyone who has struggled mentally knows it is often only with time and recovery that you can challenge the destructive thought patterns that once plagued you. That said, hindsight can also be a strange thing. While collecting Republic of Parenthood columns for a book, I spent time revisiting my old articles about my struggles with breastfeeding. I felt vindicated, as some of the things I wrote have since been confirmed.This week, the largest ever qualitative study on how difficulties with breastfeeding affects mothers’ mental health has been published in Scientific Reports. More than 2,000 mothers were surveyed with 65% reporting difficulties with infant latching, “which seemed to impact mental health”.. Feeling like “a bad mum” and “like I had failed my baby” were some of the common reasons given by participants.Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett is a Gua...

Events

1 week ago Xi announces plan for Chinese economy to counter impact of US trade war

Beijing will ‘strengthen bottom-line thinking’ as reports say it could drop tariffs on some US products Business live – latest updatesXi Jinping has announced a plan to counter China’s continuing economic problems and the impact of the US trade war, as reports swirl that it could drop tariffs on some US products, including semiconductors.Friday’s meeting of the politburo was convened to discuss China’s economic situation, which since the pandemic has faced difficulties fuelled by a housing sector crisis, youth unemployment, and Donald Trump’s tariffs on all Chinese exports. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Deadly floods and storms affected more than 400,000 people in Europe in 2024

European State of the Climate report ‘lays bare’ impact of fossil fuels on continent during its hottest 12 months on recordThe home-wrecking storms and floods that swept Europe last year affected 413,000 people, a report has found, as fossil fuel pollution forced the continent to suffer through its hottest year on record.Dramatic scenes of cars piled up on inundated streets and bridges being ripped away by raging torrents were seen around the continent in 2024, with “high” floods on 30% of the European river network and 12% crossing the “severe” flood threshold, according to the European State of the Climate report. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Trump tariffs will have little impact on London's services based economy says report

Only 3% of London exports are goods heading for the newly protectionist US

Politics