1 hour ago Hell is not other people – it’s being stuck in the ninth circle of an automated telephone service | Hilary Freeman

Tuvalu is celebrating its first ATM, but here’s a warning from the UK, where human contact has been lost to the self-service age Life is about to change on the remote island nation of Tuvalu. And not, in my opinion, for the better. To great fanfare, Tuvalu – an entirely cash-based society – has unveiled its first ever ATM, marking its move towards financial modernisation. But while the 10,000 people living in that country may be celebrating no longer having to queue at the bank, I fear their happiness will be short-lived. It’s the start of the slow erosion of human contact that heralds the dehumanisation of yet another society.The world’s first ATM was introduced in Britain in 1967, but for me the tyranny of machines that promise convenience but erode human contact really began about 20 years ago, in the form of self-checkouts in our local Sainsbury’s. Having watched the Terminator movie franchise during my formative years, I railed prophetically against them, aware that it was just...

Politics

3 d. ago Gregory Porter: ‘My worst job? Shovelling exterminated rats’

The singer on a precious photograph of his mother, losing his brother and the wonders of cooking with butterBorn in California, Gregory Porter, 53, released his Grammy-nominated debut album, Water, in 2010. He went on to receive best jazz vocal album Grammys for Liquid Spirit in 2014 and Take Me to the Alley in 2017. He sang for Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee and was the first celebrity to sing a lullaby on CBeebies Bedtime Stories. Next week, he begins a UK tour. He is married with two children and lives in California.What is your greatest fear? Immunity to cruelty. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Asian shares sell off as US curbs on Nvidia chip sales to China fuel trade fears; UK inflation slows to 2.6% – business live

Gold surges nearly 2% to new record high; UK food inflation slows and fuel prices fall while clothes prices riseFinancial markets are betting on an interest rate cut from the Bank of England meeting at its May meeting, estimating an 86% probability.They have fully priced in three quarter-point rate reductions this year.A sharp pickup in inflation from April is all but guaranteed. Ofgem’s 6.4% increase to its price cap, after a large fall last year, means we expect the energy component will add 0.7ppts to CPI inflation in April. A significant increase in water bills means the contribution from the core goods category is also set to rise. In addition, we expect businesses to pass on some of the increase in labour costs caused by the recent rises in employers’ National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and the National Living Wage onto consumers. Inflation is likely to peak in the autumn, before starting to cool as the contribution from the energy category fades.The MPC has lowered Bank R...

Economics

6 d. ago Woman lived in fear of man who raped her, threw her on the floor and stamped on her head

Simon Morgan 'waged a campaign of violence and terror'

Events

6 d. ago Woman raped by man who threw her on the floor and stamped on her head

Simon Morgan 'waged a campaign of violence and terror'

Events

6 d. ago Man, 21, dies after stabbing on quiet residential street in Kennington

Man, 21, dies after stabbing on quiet residential street in Kennington  News Shopper

Events

7 d. ago Rylan Clark admits he was 'really close' to getting sacked from BBC Radio 2 show

Rylan Clark has been presenting Zoë Ball's Saturday afternoon show on BBC Radio 2 for six years, but he says he still lives in fear of accidentally getting himself sacked

Politics

7 d. ago What is foot and mouth disease? The outbreak that has closed borders in Europe

Foot and mouth disease – usually referred to by its acronym FMD – is the most feared livestock disease in the world

Politics

1 week ago Boca Raton plane crash LIVE: Three feared dead as aircraft smashes into street causing huge fire

A plane has crashed in Boca Raton, Florida, with concerns multiple people have died and witnesses reporting seeing plumes of grey smoke close to the site of the impact

Events

1 week ago Wes Streeting promises 'zero tolerance' to violence against NHS staff in key speech

The Health Secretary Wes Streeting will say 'no one should go to work fearing violence' as he addresses Unison union's annual conference in Liverpool on Wednesday

Events

1 week ago Balaclava clad thug left shopkeepers fearing for their lives in knifepoint robberies

Jack Dewhurst has been jailed

Events

2 w. ago Rumors fuel wild volatility on Wall Street as stocks meltdown persists in Europe and Asia

DAILYMAIL.COM LIVE BLOG: Wall Street is fearing Black Monday. 2.0. Read the latest

Politics

2 w. ago What Arne Slot would've told defeated Liverpool stars in dressing room in title race fear

Liverpool suffered just their second Premier League defeat of the season on Sunday as they were beaten 3-2 by Fulham and Gary Neville believes Arne Slot will have had words with his team

Politics

2 w. ago 14579671 Wall Street in huge turnaround as stocks surge into the green after S&P 500 had hit worrying milestone

DAILYMAIL.COM LIVE BLOG: Wall Street is fearing Black Monday. 2.0. Read the latest

Events

2 w. ago Trump tariffs live: FTSE sinks in market chaos as fears grow US president will trigger global recession

US president describes sweeping tariffs as ‘medicine’ as billionaire who endorsed Trump calls for pause to avert ‘economic nuclear winter’

Politics

2 w. ago Virgil van Dijk drops huge Liverpool contract hint with 'progress' message

Despite heading to a record-equalling 20th league title, Liverpool fans have spent much of the season fearing the Reds could lose one of the best defenders in Premier League history for free

Politics

2 w. ago Trump tariffs live: FTSE opens sharply down after Asian markets plummet over trade fears

US president calls sweeping tariffs ‘medicine’ as fears of global trade war lead investors to ramp up bets on risk of recession

Politics

2 w. ago Attempted murder investigation after man stabbed with machete in front of horrified shoppers

CCTV captured the suspect 'swinging the large machete' around during the horror incident

Events

2 w. ago Mark Bonnar: ‘I wanted to be a historian, then a drummer, and then I just wanted to be employed’ | Q&A

The actor on how an aside about sex became big news, getting let off for weed, and crying at advertsBorn in Edinburgh, Mark Bonnar, 56, studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. In 2017, he won a best actor Bafta Scotland for his role in Unforgotten, and his other TV work spans Line of Duty, Catastrophe and the Netflix series Department Q, which is released in May. His films include Ridley Scott’s Napoleon, Operation Mincemeat and Last Breath, which is out now. He is married to actor Lucy Gaskell, has two children and lives in Hertfordshire.What is your greatest fear? That we’re all going to hell in a handcart and Trump is driving. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Ukrainians who fled war fear deportation under Trump: ‘I am young, I want to live’

Trump’s moves have pushed hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians into a state of insecurity after they were welcomed to a safe havenNot long after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Danyil packed everything he could in a bag and traveled 15 hours by bus from the Zakarpattia region in western Ukraine to the Czech Republic.He fled the war at 17, just as the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, forbade men between the ages of 18 and 60 from leaving the country. Now aged 20, he watches from the US as the war drags on. In December, Zelenskyy said 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and another 370,000 have been wounded in the war. Continue reading...

Politics