1 hour ago Can’t pay, won’t pay: impoverished streaming services are driving viewers back to piracy

As subscription costs rise and choice diminishes on legal sites, film and TV fans are turning to VPNs and illicit streamers, with Sweden – home of both Spotify and The Pirate Bay – leading the wayWith a trip to Florence booked, all I want is to rewatch Medici. The 2016 historical drama series tells of the rise of the powerful Florentine banking dynasty, and with it, the story of the Renaissance. Until recently, I could simply have gone to Netflix and found it there, alongside a wide array of award-winning and obscure titles. But when I Google the show in 2025, the Netflix link only takes me to a blank page. I don’t see it on HBO Max, Disney+, Apple TV+, or any of the smaller streaming platforms. On Amazon Prime I am required to buy each of the three seasons or 24 episodes separately, whereupon they would be stored in a library subject to overnight deletion. Raised in the land of The Pirate Bay, the Swedish torrent index, I feel, for the first time in a decade, a nostalgia for the hi...

Politics

1 hour ago Triumph and disaster for you, soft power for the Premier League: fantasy football is back | Jonathan Liew

Celebrities play it. Footballers play it. Gradually, insidiously, fantasy football has seeped into the way we consume the gamePerhaps you’re a template kind of guy. Perhaps, by contrast, you’re spurning the triple Liverpool consensus and stacking your team with handy differentials like Jarrod Bowen and Donyell Malen. Perhaps even Erling Haaland could be considered a differential given his historically low current ownership stats. Perhaps you’re feeling a cheeky BB GW1, followed by a FH GW2. Perhaps, by contrast, you’re furiously stabbing at the “close tab” button on your browser in the hope of purging these words from your eyes as expeditiously as possible.In which case, relax. This is actually a column about sport: what it is, what it isn’t, how we watch it, where it’s going. Most important, you can rest assured I shall not be relating any details of my Fantasy Premier League exploits, for the same reason I will not be sharing my dreams, my Wordle stats or the contents of my belly ...

Sport

2 h. ago Premier League supercomputer paints worrying picture for Man Utd with three

A Premier League supercomputer has cast its eye over the upcoming season with Liverpool aiming to retain their crown and the likes of Manchester United hoping for major improvements

Politics

2 h. ago Period drama 'as satisfying as a warm cup of tea' perfect for All Creatures Great and Small fans

The historical television drama was met with both critical acclaim and a passionate fan base, but was controversially cancelled after just two seasons

Events

2 h. ago Strictly Come Dancing's Alex Kingston's devastating four words after Ralph Fiennes left her

Before Alex Kingston found happiness with her current husband, the Doctor Who actress endured a painful split from an Oscar nominee after his affair with an older woman

Politics

2 h. ago Israeli airstrikes on Tehran killed inmates in ‘apparent war crime’ – report

Human Rights Watch also finds that Iran abused survivors of June attack, which killed 80 peopleIsraeli airstrikes on Tehran’s Evin prison in June killed scores of detainees, visitors and staff in what Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called an “apparent war crime”. Iranian authorities have since subjected survivors to abuse, enforced disappearances and inhumane detention conditions, the rights group said on Wednesday.HRW’s investigation, based on satellite imagery, videos and witness accounts, found the 23 June Israeli airstrikes destroyed visitation halls, prison wards, the central kitchen, the medical clinic and administrative offices. No evident military targets were identified in the facility, which held more than 1,500 prisoners at the time, many of whom had been jailed for peaceful activism. Continue reading...

Events

3 h. ago Sheridan Smith in floods of tears while filming new ITV drama after painful family death

Sheridan Smith has been left with raw emotions after filming her new ITV drama I Fought The Law following the death of her brother

Events

3 h. ago Urgent alert after 'worrying' rise in virus causing 'pain for years'

The UKHSA has also detected the first cases of another disease

Events

3 h. ago 'Silent killer' condition symptoms could be spotted with warning sign in eye

In some cases it can trigger a "painless" symptom in one eye - here's what you need to know

Events

3 h. ago Quirky Manchester city centre ice cream spot has just been named among the UK's best

The quirky ice cream bar has a permanent home in Affleck's palace as well as a mobile ice cream van

Politics

3 h. ago ‘No country is safe’: deadly Nordic heatwave supercharged by climate crisis, scientists say

Historically cool nations saw hospitals overheating and surge in drownings, wildfires and toxic algal bloomsThe prolonged Nordic heatwave in July was supercharged by the climate crisis and shows “no country is safe from climate change”, scientists say.Norway, Sweden and Finland have historically cool climates but were hit by soaring temperatures, including a record run of 22 days above 30C (86C) in Finland. Sweden endured 10 straight days of “tropical nights”, when temperatures did not fall below 20C (68F). Continue reading...

Events

3 h. ago Sheridan Smith battled pain over tragic family death while filming new ITV drama

Actress Sheridan Smith thought about her late brother while filming new ITV drama I Fought The Law, which is based on campaigner Ann Ming, whose daughter Julie was murdered

Events

4 h. ago In juvenile detention, these students say they're not learning — and it's keeping them incarcerated

Florida shifted to virtual learning for youth in juvenile detention — and parents and students say it's been a disaster

Politics

4 h. ago 'Painless' symptom in one eye could indicate dangerous high cholesterol

This lesser-known symptom could mean you are at greater risk of a heart attack or stroke

Politics

4 h. ago London museum tells forgotten story of African and Indian troops in second world war

National Army Museum’s Beyond Burma exhibition examines stories of soldiers from Britain’s coloniesThe forgotten story of African and Indian troops who fought in south Asia against Japanese forces during the second world war and who have largely been omitted from the official history is to be brought to life in a London exhibition.The National Army Museum’s Beyond Burma: Forgotten Armies show includes rare items from Indian and African soldiers who toiled in some of the harshest conditions seen anywhere during the conflict. Continue reading...

Events

5 h. ago MSP demands Donald Trump pay up to cover costs of policing for Scottish visit

EXCLUSIVE: The ex-Nat MSP said there is "no justifiable reason for the public to subsidise the commercial activity of the President".

Politics

5 h. ago Parents of woman who died in Texas flooding file lawsuit saying campground had ‘history of dangerous flooding’

The lawsuit accuses the campground of placing ‘guests in a known floodplain with a history of dangerous flooding’

Events

6 h. ago Father of New Zealand woman held in US by Ice along with six

Rod Price recounts ‘frantic’ call he received from Sarah Shaw after her detention at US border while returning from CanadaThe father of a New Zealand woman who has been held in a US immigration detention centre for three weeks with her six-year-old son is hopeful the pair will be released by the end of the week.US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) detained Sarah Shaw and her youngest son after they attempted to re-enter the US from Canada on 24 July. Continue reading...

Politics

6 h. ago Multiple police officers 'shot in Virginia' responding to 'active shooter' situation

Multiple police officers have reportedly been shot during a massive standoff with a barricaded suspect in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, according to Virginia State Police

Events

9 h. ago Heatwave reveals 'ghost' buildings at historic properties: Parch marks of long lost hall and buried wall show up in grounds of abbey and manor house

The marks in the grounds of Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire and Mottisfont in Hampshire give a view of both the foundations of a lost hall and the remains of walls.

Society