97 m. ago I tried out a virtual Halloween festival – and got more than I bargained for

Ghost Town Pumpkin Festival began as a lockdown project and has now become an annual gaming tradition. My children and I paid it a visitIn an attempt to avoid spending £80 to walk around a local park with my children to see some underwhelming spooky decorations, and having failed for the fifth year in a row to secure a ticket to a Scottish farm to tramp damply around looking at pumpkins, I tried something different with my kids this Halloween: a virtual pumpkin festival.Ghost Town Pumpkin Festival was first created in the depths of the 2020 pandemic, when game developer Adam Robinson-Yu’s real-life neighbourhood pumpkin festival was cancelled. (Yu also made the excellent and equally autumnal A Short Hike.) Since then, it has returned for a few weeks every year, letting players come together as adorable ghosts to explore a creepy little micro-world filled with player-created pumpkins. It has improved slightly every year: 2024’s big addition was a haunted house escape room, which took...

Politics

3 h. ago 'I have lowest salary at work but I've been there longest so I'm taking action'

When a woman "accidentally" found out that she had the lowest salary on her team, despite the fact she'd worked there for nine years, she was left plotting her revenge

Economics

3 h. ago It's not me, it's Brexit! Rachel Reeves blames 'cost' of leaving the EU for Britain's inflation woe as she claims UK can reap 'huge benefits' from moving back closer to Brussels

The Chancellor admitted that inflation was 'too high' but said this was partly due to Britain officially severing ties with the EU almost six years ago.

Economics

4 h. ago 6 popular items that are getting 'smaller' in size but not cheaper

As inflation and rising production costs continue to squeeze manufacturers, many are quietly cutting quantities rather than raising prices outright.

Politics

4 h. ago Popular Manchester restaurant ‘sincerely apologises’ after announcing price hike

The price hike will come into effect from November 9

Politics

11 h. ago Triple lock update over 'review' of state pension increase calculation

State pension payments increase each April under the current rules

Politics

15 h. ago Shop price inflation slows despite soaring cost of fresh food

Overall shop price inflation has slowed to 1%, but fresh food is now 4.3% more expensive than a year ago, according to the BRC-NIQ Shop Price Monitor.

Economics

19 h. ago Tesla chair warns shareholders that Musk could walk if they don’t approve $1 trillion payday

Tesla’s board has received some criticism over its apparent close relationship with Musk, the company’s CEO

Events

20 h. ago Betting tax would destroy the working class with pubs, salons and hotels shutting

The effects of the Chancellor’s planned levy hike will extend far from the racecourse - and hit almost every aspect of ‘working class’ fun hit say worried experts

Economics

27 h. ago American protest is getting more playful. That doesn’t mean we’re not serious | Cas Holman

Play makes us more agile and resilient. Bring on the frog costumes and naked cyclistsWhen Donald Trump declared Portland, Oregon, “a hellhole” overtaken by “the Radical Left’s reign of terror”, Portlanders took to the streets not as an angry mob, but as frogs. They showed up in inflatable costumes by the dozens. Clowns came out dancing. Naked cyclists rode among unicycles, chiming bike bells and honking rubber horns. A band of gray-haired banjo players incited not a riot but a folk-song singalong. It seemed that the more absurd the accusation, the sillier the response.As the attacks on democracy and mischaracterizations of millions of Americans become more extreme, the reasons for outrage grow. Reading the news is infuriating. But while anger can temporarily mobilize us, it is exhausting and disempowering in the long term. Constant rage doesn’t feel good to most of us. As we buckle into this new normal of uncertainty, I’m glad to see we’re showing up with creativity, humor, music, a...

Events

27 h. ago Terrifying number of deaths in Wales if nuclear attack launched has been calculated

The UK is at risk of a nuclear attack as the US is set to house nuclear weapons in Suffolk, England, which would make the country a target in a US and Russia war

Events

27 h. ago How much of a salary hike do YOU need to keep up with inflation? Use our calculator to find out...

Chancellor Rachel Reeves' painful tax raid on businesses has pushed inflation to an 18-month high. Prices have jumped by 4.2% in a year in the UK

Economics

28 h. ago Quicksand nightmare as man trapped and rescuers find just head and arm visible

Rescuers found the man had become trapped in quicksand where only his chest, one arm and part of his leg were still visible - inflatable platforms were then used in a bid to save him

Events

49 h. ago HMRC can 'hike tax bill' if you make 1 error when claiming expenses

HMRC have the powers to hike your tax in some instances. If you fail to complete a simple financial task, it could impact your wallet in more ways than you may realise

Economics

50 h. ago Can Democrats harness the energy of the No Kings protests to fight Trump?

Millions took to US streets to oppose authoritarianism as Democrats acknowledge ‘People want to see us fighting’They marched in their millions. Some waved the Stars and Stripes. Some clutched signs with slogans such as: “Nothing is more patriotic than protesting.” And some donned inflatable costumes that included aliens, chickens, clowns, frogs, lobsters, mushrooms, penguins, seahorses, sharks, squirrels, starfish and unicorns.The energy of last weekend’s No Kings protests against Donald Trump’s authoritarianism was palpable and peaceful, drawing an estimated 7 million people to 2,700 rallies across the country. Among them were the Democratic senators Cory Booker, Ed Markey, Chris Murphy, Adam Schiff, Chuck Schumer, Raphael Warnock and Elizabeth Warren as well as the independent Bernie Sanders. Continue reading...

Politics

52 h. ago Major £25,000 hike to bank protection rules set to land within WEEKS – here’s how you’ll benefit

MILLIONS of people with savings in UK bank accounts will soon have more of their cash protected.  The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), which oversees banking in the UK, proposed increasing the amount of savings that are protected if a financial firm goes bust to up to £110,000 in March. If you put money into a bank, building...

Economics

54 h. ago How much would Labour's plan to increase income tax cost YOU? Find out how your pay will be hit if Chancellor goes through with plan to hike levy by a penny

The Chancellor is said to be considering ripping up the party's election pledge not to raise income tax paid by millions of Britons as she struggles to get a grip on public spending.

Economics

62 h. ago Cost of living blow as Britain's biggest supermarkets warn Reeves' tax hike plans will lead to food price rises

In a stark letter to the Chancellor, the nine major grocers said growing cost pressures meant grocery prices had been rising over the past year and were expected to rise further.

Economics

64 h. ago UK supermarkets warn business rates rise could push up food inflation

A letter to Rachel Reeves has been signed by executives including at Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Aldi.

Economics

3 d. ago Argentina goes to polls amid economic crisis and Trump ‘interference’

Poor showing in Sunday’s election would deal hammer blow to country’s radical libertarian president, Javier MileiArgentina’s radical libertarian leader, Javier Milei, is facing a pivotal moment in his presidency with voters set to deliver their verdict on his two-year-old administration on Sunday against a backdrop of political and economic crisis and accusations that his ally Donald Trump is meddling in the country’s affairs.A poor showing in Sunday’s midterm election would be a hammer blow to Milei, who took power in December 2023 pledging to kickstart “a new era of peace and prosperity” by slashing spending and inflation. Continue reading...

Politics