32 m. ago Civil servants run up £170,000 bill as they enjoy 'boozy' work trip on French Riviera... as UK households brace for steep council tax rises

Dozens of officials spent three days in the sun at the annual Mipim real estate conference in Cannes in March.

Economics

46 m. ago 'The most disgusting vainglorious thing I've ever seen': Villagers' damning verdict on £7.5 million Grand Designs castle in the heart of Shakespeare country as they liken it to a Nazi fortress

The 'brutalist' structure, made of recycled bricks with a square-shaped tower, has been compared to a 'prison' and a 'multi-storey carpark'.

Economics

2 h. ago David Bowie and The Simpsons named among top icons and shows that predicted the future

DAVID Bowie and Kate Bush have been named among the top cultural icons who most accurately predicted how we live today, according to research. A poll of 2,000 adults found George Orwell, Roald Dahl, and even Ross from Friends – who in 1999 predicted AI would be smarter than us by 2030 – made the...

Politics

2 h. ago Kevin the Carrot is back in Aldi’s Christmas ad and this this time it’s a tale of LOVE

ALDI has unveiled its Christmas advert for the year and Kevin the Carrot has made a grand return in order to ask an all important question. The much-loved character is back on our screens for the tenth year - this time in three festive episodes. The teaser will go live tonight, with the advert hitting...

Politics

2 h. ago 156,000 at risk of being left without HOT WATER due to energy meter switch off

THOUSANDS of households are at risk of being left without heating or hot water this winter. Approximately 156,000 British households are still using old Radio Teleswitching System (RTS) meters and haven’t swapped to a smart meter, Energy UK warns.  Households with these meters are being urged to get in touch with their energy supplier as...

Events

3 h. ago Families will pay nearly £600,000 in income tax over their lifetimes, new figures reveal

FAMILIES will pay nearly £600,000 in income tax over their lifetimes, new figures reveal.  They will cough up £571,740 — part of a £1.28million lifetime tax bill once VAT, national insurance and other levies are included.  TaxPayers’ Alliance chief executive, John O’Connell, claimed most households were now “tax millionaires” after unveiling his group’s research findings....

Economics

3 h. ago British female hikers rescued from Himalayan valley after snowstorm left them trapped for days with limited supplies

BRITISH tourists have been rescued from a Himalayan valley after a massive snowstorm left them trapped for three days. Brits Catherine Jane Wilson, 53, Emily Jane Coates, 44, and Irishwoman Mary Reape, 65, got trapped more than 5,000 feet up Nepal’s Dhaulagiri Circuit after a freak blizzard cut off their ascent route. Hundreds of hikers...

Events

7 h. ago Series of solar panel rooftop fires put Miliband's green energy plans under scrutiny

Blazes involving the renewable energy devices and their batteries rose faster than the rate of installations in 2024, soaring by 60 per cent over the last two years.

Events

8 h. ago Waitrose job can wait for James Morrison after fairytale win as Euan Walker also secures DP World Tour card

40-year-old wins Rolex Grand Final with 13-year-old son on bag as three Scots secure step up to main tour

Society

8 h. ago Who does Anthony Taylor support? Referee's allegiances revealed amid Man City fume

Antony Taylor's display in Manchester City's Premier League clash against Bournemouth was met with furious protests by City players and supporters at the Etihad Stadium

Politics

9 h. ago Louvre jewel heist by petty criminals, not organised professionals, says Paris prosecutor

Laure Beccuau said ‘upper echelons of organised crime’ unlikely to be involved as one perpetrator remains at largeThe brazen daytime heist at the Louvre was carried out by petty criminals rather than professionals from the world of organised crime, the Paris prosecutor has said, describing two of the suspects as a couple with children.The assertion comes two weeks after thieves parked a stolen truck outside the world’s most-visited museum, used a furniture lift to reach the first floor, then smashed their way into one of the museum’s most ornate rooms. Less than seven minutes later, they escaped on scooters with crown jewels worth an estimated €88m (£76m). Continue reading...

Events

10 h. ago West Ham clinch vital first win under Nuno as Newcastle fade away

West Ham recorded a desperately needed victory and acquired perhaps just a modicum of belief in their battle against relegation as they picked off a surprisingly meek Newcastle in east London.A Tomas Soucek ram-raid in second-half added time put the seal on a victory that was earned with a determined first-half display, with Nuno Espírito Santo’s face a barometer for his team’s fortunes. From gritting his teeth furiously after a fourth-minute concession, the West Ham manager was smiling by half-time, and roaring as the final whistle blew. Likewise, a crowd that struggled even to be frustrated early on found its voice. Continue reading...

Politics

10 h. ago George Michael's secret £25,000 gift to tearful stranger revealed after his death

George Michael was known for his generosity, with many stories of his kindness emerging after he died in 2016

Economics

10 h. ago TreeHouse London Tie Rack Organizer – Holds 40 Large Ties – Solid Wood & Sturdy Metal Storage Holder for Closet – Wall Mounted Tie Display Hanger for Wall, Bedroom (White) 16''L x 4.25''H

TreeHouse London Tie Rack Organizer – Holds 40 Large Ties – Solid Wood & Sturdy Metal Storage Holder for Closet – Wall Mounted Tie Display Hanger for Wall, Bedroom (White) 16''L x 4.25''H  The San Joaquin Valley Sun

Events

13 h. ago British teen drug mule Bella Culley toasts bread over a candle and makes salt and pepper chicken behind bars, her mother claims

The British teenager has spent five months behind bars after she was found with £200,000 worth of cannabis in her luggage when she arrived in Tbilisi in May.

Events

14 h. ago ‘It’s not just a book, it’s a window to my soul’: why we’re in love with literary angst

Why did an obscure Dostoevsky novella sell 100,000 copies in the UK last year? And why are TikTokers raving about a 1943 Turkish novel? The way young people are discovering books is changing – and their literary tastes reflect our timesThe sales patterns for classic novels are normally a fairly predictable business. “Every year it’s the same authors,” says Jessica Harrison, publishing director for Penguin Classics UK. “Austen is always at the very top, and then all the school ones: Orwell, An Inspector Calls, Of Mice and Men, Jane Eyre.”But last year it was different. Penguin’s bestselling classic by far was a little-known novella by Fyodor Dostoevsky. White Nights sold more than 100,000 copies in the UK in 2024. It is an angsty story of impossible love, run through with characteristic Dostoevskian gloom. A young man and woman meet on a bridge in St Petersburg on consecutive nights: his love for her is unrequited; she is despairing because the man she really love...

Politics

15 h. ago The grim task of recovering thousands of bodies from the rubble of Gaza

Relatives and experts tell of the human and societal need to find and identify the dead, while images and data shed light on the scale of the jobIt has been described as one of the most gruelling recovery efforts in modern warfare.As negotiations over the fragile Gaza ceasefire continue, Palestinians have started to dig through 61m tonnes of debris, 20 times more than the combined mass of all debris generated by conflicts since 2008. Underneath, at least 10,000 people are thought to be buried. Continue reading...

Events

15 h. ago Mohamed Salah addresses Liverpool form amid ‘very tricky season’

The Egyptian scored his 250th goal for the Reds in the win over Villa, but he has been unable to replicate the scintillating form of 2024/25

Politics

15 h. ago 'Al Capone was a mobster but not a monster' insists great grand niece of mafia boss

He was regarded by many as the ultimate gangster, feared and respected in equal measure and the most famous inmate of Alcatraz. But what caused Al Capone to turn out the way he did?

Politics

16 h. ago Britain’s 7 best dead cars that drivers want BACK from £1,000 hot hatch to nation’s top

CAR models can be killed off for all sorts of reasons, be it tougher EU rules, changing tastes (hello, SUVs) or, dare we say it, the relentless march towards electric power. But that doesn’t stop drivers missing them, with nameplates earning a special place in the nation’s heart - long-running, affordable and loved by millions....

Economics