11 h. ago Starmer faces Labour revolt over plan to raid bank accounts of benefit claimants

Welfare fraud bill would allow funds to be taken from bank accounts and driving licences to be cancelledShould benefit claimants risk having their bank accounts spied upon and driving licences revoked? I don’t think soKeir Starmer is facing a rebellion over his plan to use direct deductions from people’s bank accounts and the cancellation of driving licences as part of a government crackdown on welfare fraud and over-claiming.In an attempt to claw back the annual £9.7bn in benefit overpayments made by the Department for Work and Pensions due to fraud or error, the government has adopted Conservative plans for debt recovery. Continue reading...

Economics

13 h. ago Xi announces plan for Chinese economy to counter impact of US trade war

Beijing will ‘strengthen bottom-line thinking’ as reports say it could drop tariffs on some US products Business live – latest updatesXi Jinping has announced a plan to counter China’s continuing economic problems and the impact of the US trade war, as reports swirl that it could drop tariffs on some US products, including semiconductors.Friday’s meeting of the politburo was convened to discuss China’s economic situation, which since the pandemic has faced difficulties fuelled by a housing sector crisis, youth unemployment, and Donald Trump’s tariffs on all Chinese exports. Continue reading...

Events

49 h. ago London ISD plans for continued growth as student population expected to double within the next decade

London ISD plans for continued growth as student population expected to double within the next decade  KRIS 6 News

Politics

59 h. ago New Jersey wildfire forces evacuations and reaches closed nuclear power plant

Stretch of major highway shut as 3,000 people moved to safety and homes left without powerA fast-moving wildfire burning in New Jersey has forced thousands of people to evacuate, closed a stretch of a main highway and reached a shuttered nuclear power plant.Flames from the Jones Road wildfire in Ocean County had reached buildings on the campus of the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant, according to the local Lakewood Scoop newspaper. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Vladimir Putin offers to halt Ukraine invasion along current front line

US floats recognition of Russian annexation of Crimea as peace plan efforts continue

Politics

3 d. ago Putin offers to halt Ukraine invasion along current front line

US floats recognition of Russian annexation of Crimea as peace plan efforts continue

Politics

5 d. ago Melting glaciers will harm us all. Yet still we watch, unmoved | Robin McKie

The degradation of the Arctic tundra has triggered a terrible chain reaction that can only lead to greater mayhemThe problems that now afflict attempts to establish a military presence in the far north of Canada and Greenland provide timely warnings about the miseries that lie ahead for the rest of the planet as global warming continues its remorseless spread.The Arctic has suffered especially early impacts because temperatures here are rising faster than in any other part of our planet. Crucially, this process threatens to trigger even greater climatic mayhem. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago ‘I don’t want to give money to this America’: tourists’ fears of US travel under Trump

With US visits down 11.6% in March compared with last year, people share their views and experiences on the US borderLast year, while Joe Biden was US president, Jenny and her husband booked a trip to Boston for June 2025.The British couple had been to New York before and wanted to see more of the country. But after Donald Trump’s re-election in November, Jenny said a “shadow” began to fall on their travel plans. Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago Haitians face record hunger as gang violence grips country in throes of economic crisis

A new report has found that more than half of Haiti’s population is expected to experience severe hunger through June, and another 8,400 people living in makeshift shelters are projected to starve

Events

8 d. ago ‘They act with total impunity’: Paris city hall declares war on graffiti vandals

Officials promise to track down and prosecute those who ‘tag’ city’s historic monuments, statues and grand buildingsIn Paris’s central Place de la République, the magnificent lions at the feet of the statue of Marianne are once again covered in graffiti.Along the nearby Boulevard Saint-Martin – part of the Grands Boulevards that bisect the north of the city – the trunk of every plane tree has been crudely sprayed with a name. Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago Conservationists sue Trump administration over rollback of green policies

Lawsuit focuses on day-one executive order claiming to ‘unleash American energy’ by boosting oil industryConservationists on Wednesday sued the Trump administration over its attempts to boost the oil industry by rolling back green policies.Filed by the environmental non-profit Center for Biological Diversity, the litigation focuses on Trump’s day-one “unleashing American energy” executive order. In an effort to boost already booming US energy production, the emergency declaration directed federal agencies to identify all policies and regulations that “unduly” burden fuel producers and create “action plans” to weaken or remove them. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Man charged in fire at Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro’s mansion voiced Palestine support

Cody Balmer faces terror and arson charges after fire and 911 call voicing pro-Palestinian viewsThe man charged with setting fire to the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion called emergency responders after the attack and made comments signaling support for Palestinians, the New York Times reports.According to a search warrant in the case, 38-year-old Cody Balmer identified himself by name in a 911 call and said that Pennsylvania’s governor, Josh Shapiro, “needs to know that he ‘will not take part in his plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people’”. Continue reading...

Events

9 d. ago Elon Musk's X to 'remove direct messages' as new XChat could be close to launch

Elon Musk's 'X' continues to make big changes to features, this time with the planned removal of Direct Messages (DMs) — here's all we know about the latest Twitter changes

Politics

9 d. ago We are being forced out of beach huts we've owned for decades after the council DOUBLED our rent to match that paid by rich out

Locals of Hayling Island in Hampshire accused the local authority of having a preconception that they must be 'really rich' for owning the wooden sheds and so can afford the huge price increase.

Society

9 d. ago You too can look as good as Donald Trump in your dotage. Here’s how | Arwa Mahdawi

The 78-year-old president is in great shape, says the official White House physician. Must be all those ‘hamberders’Forget yoga, pilates or eating leafy greens. If you want to improve your health, just look to Donald “My Body Is a Temple” Trump for pointers. The US president just had his annual checkup and emerged with flying colours. “President Trump remains in excellent health, exhibiting robust cardiac, pulmonary, neurological, and general physical function,” White House physician Sean Barbella said in a report released on Sunday.How does the 78-year-old, who is the oldest person in history to be inaugurated US president, stay in such great shape? The report cited an active lifestyle, noting Trump’s many speeches and “frequent victories in golf events”. But if you’re not a golfer, don’t worry. I have put together a four-point Donald John Trump Wellness Plan so that you can be as perky as the president. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago US military aid for Ukraine is about to cease. Is Europe ready? | David Shimer

Putin is planning for this war to continue. That leaves two key questions for Ukraine’s European alliesDavid Shimer was the director for eastern Europe and Ukraine on Joe Biden’s National Security CouncilThe war between Russia and Ukraine is approaching a historic turning point: unless the Trump administration adjusts course, US military aid for Ukraine is about to cease.In the months before leaving office, Joe Biden made a series of decisions to augment Ukraine’s stockpiles of vital munitions. Toward the end of 2024, the Department of Defense surged hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds, thousands of rockets and hundreds of armored vehicles to Ukraine, and that December, he approved an additional $1.25bn security assistance package for Ukraine, which has enabled the continued flow of US arms ever since (with the exception of the damaging pause ordered by Donald Trump in March).David Shimer served on the White House National Security Council from 2021-25, including as the direct...

Events

1 week ago British Steel to deploy emergency measures to save Scunthorpe furnaces

Firm in race against time to get key materials as business secretary says no guarantee it will get what it needsBritish Steel is to deploy emergency measures in a race against time to save the blast furnaces at Scunthorpe, as the business secretary refused to guarantee the plant could get what it needed in time.The company is understood to be looking at offers of help from more than a dozen businesses to obtain materials such as iron ore and coking coal, potentially allowing it to avoid the temporary shutdown of one of the two furnaces. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Trump rolls back some more tariffs as his ‘Liberation Day’ plans continue to face scrutiny: Live updates

Electronics exemption to Trump’s tariffs are boost for high-tech companies like Apple and Tesla, as well as China, which still remains under 145 percent levy

Politics

1 week ago ‘As an environmental scientist, I’m horrified’: Should supersonic passenger travel be making a comeback?

Twenty years after Concorde was grounded, a new wave of ‘quiet’ supersonic aircraft are in development – but not everyone welcomes the return of this costly, carbon-intensive technologyWhen I call Blake Scholl from New York, he says it’s a shame we couldn’t have met at his office in Colorado. If only there were a supersonic jet that could cruise at 1.7 times the speed of sound, and get me there two hours quicker than the typical JFK-to-Denver route.There soon might be. Scholl is the CEO of Boom Supersonic, a company betting that ordinary civilians want to shoot across the sky at 1,100 miles (1,700 kilometres) per hour. After the pandemic brought a slump to the skies, air travel has returned to its former levels, and in-person business events are back on track. As a faster option for these travellers, Boom is developing its breakneck jets to be operational by 2029 – nearly a quarter century after Concorde landed its last plane. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Grey’s Anatomy and Euphoria star Eric Dane, 52, reveals ALS diagnosis

Grey’s Anatomy and Euphoria star Eric Dane has revealed he has been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). He said he's grateful for the support of his family and plans to continue working

Politics