9 h. ago Here’s a tip: eliminate US tipping culture and pay people a living wage

Our tipping culture was in place long before Trump, but his ‘no tax on tips’ promise – now law – is enabling itI’m here in Las Vegas for a conference where I just paid $7 for a cup of coffee and then was shamed into tipping another $1 to the server for pouring the coffee and handing it to me. Welcome to America. I feel like I’m tipping for everything, everywhere. And now it’s only going to get worse. And for that I blame President Trump.Of course, our tipping culture was in place long before Trump took office. But now that his “no tax on tips” promise became law, our government is officially enabling it. That’s good news for tipped workers and for small-business owners who may feel less pressure to pay higher wages if their workers are getting enough gratuities. But at the same time, it’s bad news for the rest of us who will likely feel even more obligated than ever to tip. Continue reading...

Economics

25 h. ago Nuns on the run! Three sisters are sprung from hated old people's home to return to convent they lived in for six decades before being evicted

Sisters Bernadette, 88, Regina, 86, and Rita, 82, had all taught at the convent and girls' school for more than six decades.

Society

34 h. ago London protests LIVE as 110,000 people march in Tommy Robinson far

London protests LIVE as 110,000 people march in Tommy Robinson far-right rally  The Mirror

Events

36 h. ago London protests LIVE as 50,000 people swarm city for Tommy Robinson rally

London protests LIVE as 50,000 people swarm city for Tommy Robinson rally  The Mirror

Events

41 h. ago The Guide #208: How theatre is holding its own in the age of artificial intelligence

In this week’s newsletter: Live performances offering authentic human connection are drawing crowds to the stage, as AI-driven drivel worms its way into other creative industriesLast year, more than 37 million people settled their behinds into the red-velvet upholstery, plastic chairs or wooden “I’ll only tolerate this because it’s the Globe” benches of a theatre. West End attendance has reportedly grown by 11% and regional audiences have increased by 4% since 2019 – pretty impressive amid a cost of living crisis and after a pandemic that had us all locked in our houses.The increase in attendance can be chalked up to all sorts of reasons: the post-Covid return of tourists to the UK, schemes offering more reasonably priced tickets, and big films such as Wicked leaving people wondering what that Defying Gravity note sounds like live. But I’d throw another contender into the mix: the rise of AI. Continue reading...

Politics

51 h. ago Seaside town 90 minutes from Wales locals say has become hotspot for worrying issue

Police have warned that people in an area where mostly affluent residents and retirees live

Politics

53 h. ago More people are avoiding retirement in a bid to live longer and avoid loneliness

The state pension age is currently 66, but is set to rise to 67 between 2026 and 2028, and then to 68 between 2044 and 2046

Politics

58 h. ago Theresa May says Assisted Dying Bill lacks safeguards to stop people being pressured to die

Theresa May has opposed the Assisted Dying Bill, saying she believes it does not have the safeguards in place to prevent people from being pressured to end their lives.

Events

62 h. ago Project aiming to tackle loneliness and food poverty coming to Dumfries and Galloway

The free Galloway Gathering Tour will bring people together through live music, shared meals and social connection.

Politics

62 h. ago Theresa May to lead opposition to legalising assisted dying as battle begins to block legislation in House of Lords TODAY

The former prime minister is among almost 200 peers expected to speak over two days of debate on the plan to allow doctors to allow terminally ill people to end their own lives.

Events

63 h. ago Cerys Hafana: Angel review – tracing the life cycle with the Welsh triple harp

(tak:til/Glitterbeat)On their third release in 18 months, this exceptional musician draws from folk story, Breton influences and nature to explore the sublime potential of its titleWelsh musician Cerys Hafana’s first release on the brilliant subsidiary of Hamburg-based global music label Glitterbeat explores the full sublime potential of its title, one all too often invoked to mean meekness and sweetness. Opening track Helynt Ryfeddol (An Incredible Ordeal) introduces a folk story about an old man drawn towards the purest music he has ever heard, sung by a bird, to which he listens until it stops. He returns home to find his house entirely changed and lived in by different people. Seven tracks later, the title track tells us that the bird was an angel, and that the man went away for 350 years, never to be seen again.Angel is the third release by this piercingly beautiful singer and exceptional, adventurous musician in 18 months. (Their collection of precise piano instrumentals, Difr...

Sport

2 d. ago Celebs narrowly missed in 9/11 tragedy including one star who overslept and missed meeting

The 9/11 attacks cost the lives of 2,977 innocent people, along with the 19 hijackers but a handful of celebrities had extraordinary escapes

Politics

3 d. ago ChatGPT may start alerting authorities about youngsters considering suicide, says CEO

Sam Altman admits company could be ‘more proactive’ to save lives of about 1,500 people a week talking to the bot before killing themselvesThe company behind ChatGPT could start calling the authorities when young users talk seriously about suicide, its co-founder has said.Sam Altman raised fears that as many as 1,500 people a week could be discussing taking their own lives with the chatbot before doing so. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago Four dead, including two children, attempting to cross Channel to UK in last 24 hours

Number of attempts to cross Channel has been particularly high for several days, say French authoritiesFour people including two children have died in two separate incidents while trying to cross the Channel to the UK in the last 24 hours, while three others are missing in a third incident.On Tuesday night off the coast of Sangatte, France, three people lost their lives while travelling on a dinghy with 38 people onboard. Three others are missing after an incident in Neufchâtel-Hardelot, France, on a boat with 115 people onboard. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago Appeal launched for panel members for Dumfries and Galloway children's hearings

Children’s Hearings Scotland is looking for volunteers who want to make a positive impact on the lives of young people.

Politics

4 d. ago A Splintering by Dur e Aziz Amna review – a woman’s ambitions in Pakistan

This novel fizzes with energy as it follows the parallel lives of two siblings and exposes the crushing divides of gender and classI admired Dur e Aziz Amna’s precise and lyrical first novel, American Fever; the protagonist – an exchange student from Pakistan to rural Oregon – staying with me long after I encountered her. She has now delivered a superb second novel that features another fascinating central character, though in a much darker, more disturbing context.A Splintering is the story of Tara, one of five siblings from a poor farming family in the hinterlands of Pakistani Punjab. This is the kind of landscape where age-old codes of manhood, with brother or son as provider and adjudicator of women’s lives, still rule. Tara, gazing at the stars from their courtyard at night, wants to get away from the squalor of Mazinagar (literally, past city), where most people live and die unnoticed, and build a life full of money and possessions in the city. She has no romantic notions...

Politics

4 d. ago Polish PM Donald Tusk vows nation is ready for Russian 'provocation' after eight million people are forced to take shelter during airspace 'violation': Live updates

LIVE UPDATES: Follow the latest developments after Poland shot down Russian drones that entered its airspace during an attack in Ukraine.

Society

4 d. ago Zohran Mamdani’s identity may seem complex but to Ugandans he is simply their ‘own son’

Mamdani, who was born in Uganda, has faced backlash in the US over his identity – but in Kampala, Ugandans of Indian descent are unquestioningly considered AfricanAmid the trees clustered with jackfruit and the boda boda motorcycles weaving precariously around Kampala’s congested roads earlier this year was a campaign poster for Katongole Singh, an immaculately coiffed candidate who positively beamed alongside the president, Yoweri Museveni.With a Sikh Indian surname and an indigenous Ugandan first name, Singh is no rarity in the Ugandan capital, where people of Indian descent have lived for more than 125 years. Many people here boast a multi-hyphenated “African Indian” identity – as indeed does the Zohran Kwame Mamdani, the 33-year-old running for mayor of New York City. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago ‘Binary thinking’: Why Zohran Mamdani’s African identity doesn’t fit US racial boxes

The New York mayoral candidate, who was born in Uganda, has faced backlash in the US over his complex identity – but here in Kampala, Ugandans of Indian descent are unquestioningly considered AfricanAmid the trees clustered with jackfruit and the boda boda motorcycles weaving precariously around Kampala’s congested roads earlier this year was a campaign poster for Katongole Singh, an immaculately coiffed candidate who positively beamed alongside the president, Yoweri Museveni.With a Sikh Indian surname and an indigenous Ugandan first name, Singh is no rarity in the Ugandan capital, where people of Indian descent have lived for more than 125 years. Many people here boast a multi-hyphenated “African Indian” identity – as indeed does the Zohran Kwame Mamdani, the 33-year-old running for mayor of New York City. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Signs near French beaches to warn against trying to reach UK

Exclusive: Refugee organisations dismiss Home Office-endorsed publicity campaign as a ‘gimmick’Asylum seekers in northern France who hope to reach the UK in small boats are to be targeted with Home Office-endorsed posters and leaflets telling them that they are risk of being returned under a new “one in, one out” deal.Signs in English and French will be mounted near French beaches around Calais and Dunkirk to tell people that they are risking their lives and are being deceived by smuggling gangs about the opportunities they will be given in the UK. Continue reading...

Events