13 h. ago Macclesfield realise impossible dream in rise from ashes to a day of historic glory

Rob Smethurst’s resurrection of a troubled but proud club is timely reminder that football can still be the people’s gameFrom extinction to the impossible dream of becoming the greatest FA Cup giantkillers of all, Macclesfield’s story reminds that community will forever be football’s greatest asset. As fans celebrated victory over the holders, Crystal Palace, many took their time to peel away from the stadium. Not too long ago, many feared they may never return to Moss Rose.Macclesfield Town FC, 1874-2020 was the etching on the gravestone of the club that died, mourned quietly by a town that had slowly lost touch with events at the shambling football ground on its southern tip, pretty much the last stop before the long drive to London begins. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Remote Australian hotel run by ‘authentic outback character’ becomes a pub with no beer – for now

The Barrow Creek Hotel, where UK backpacker Peter Falconio was last seen alive, has lost its liquor licence, partly because the 76-year-old publican didn’t serve foodWarning: This article contains offensive language that will be distressing to some readersFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updates“There’s-a nothing so lonesome, morbid or drear” – the patron saint of Australian country music, Slim Dusty, long deplored – “than to stand in the bar of a pub with no beer”.Now a 200km stretch of highway through the heart of the outback and several remote Aboriginal towns are, in Dusty’s words, so lonesome, after a historic pub was stripped of its liquor licence from the first day of 2026. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago January 6, five years on: sustained effort by Trump to rewrite history

President and Republican allies have tried to make sure the deadly attack on the Capitol has been erased from memoryFive years after the deadly attackon the US Capitol, Donald Trump and other Republicans have engaged in a near-complete effort to rewrite the history of the day and erase it from the collective American memory.On his first day in office, Trump pardoned anyone involved in the attack, a move that affected some 1,500 people. His administration has paid $5m to settle a wrongful death lawsuit with the family of Ashli Babbitt, a rioter killed by a Capitol police officer as she attempted to breach doors near the House floor. Hundreds of other rioters are also seeking millions of dollars in compensation. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Taxpayers miss out on millions after ‘phoenixism’ at UK recruitment firms

Practice where companies are liquidated and reacquired, free of debts, thought to cost taxpayers about £800m a yearInsolvent recruitment businesses shorn of their debts then reacquired from administration by the directors or shareholders that presided over their demise are costing the exchequer tens of millions of pounds in lost taxes, a Guardian analysis suggests.The practice of “phoenixism” – the art of liquidating a company and allowing the directors to rise from the ashes with a new entity, free of debts – is estimated by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to have cost taxpayers about £800m a year. Continue reading...

Economics

5 d. ago History teacher who called Islam 'satanic' and told pupils that 'cocaine was purer back in the day' is struck off

Patrick Lawler, 62, told one Year 6 class how civil rights activist Martin Luther King was a 'fraud' and that Rosa Parks did not really exist.

Politics

5 d. ago ‘There’s this whole other story’: inside the fight to end slavery in the Americas

The Great Resistance, an expansive new book by author and historian Carrie Gibson, brings together often unheard narratives to tell the bigger picture of a difficult timeThe Great Resistance is Carrie Gibson’s third book, and her third about the history of the Americas, plural. It follows Empire’s Crossroads: A History of the Caribbean from Columbus to the Present Day, from 2014, and El Norte: The Epic and Forgotten Story of Hispanic North America, published five years later. The subtitle to the new book indicates its roots in the first two: The 400-Year Fight to End Slavery in the Americas.“I was led by both my own curiosity and also a frustration,” Gibson said, of how she came to retell that four-century fight over 500 absorbing pages. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago British fashion giant is shutting ‘truly historic’ superstore TODAY – bringing end to 100

A BRITISH fashion giant is shutting its “truly historic” superstore, bringing the curtain down on a site with more than a century of history. Matalan has confirmed that today, January 3 is the final day of trading at its Cricklewood Broadway store, with shoppers urged to grab last-minute bargains before the doors close for good....

Culture

1 week ago Coronation Street spoilers as Debbie and Ronnie's wedding day leads to horror crash and Carla's on mission

The couple's wedding day leads to the drama of Corriedale, ITV's historic Corrie and Emmerdale crossover

Events

1 week ago The Ashes inspiration, overpreparation and bold tactics: a history of Australia v England two

The old rivals have clashed in eight of the 27 Tests to finish inside two days – these are the tales behind the six matches played before the current seriesTo put in context the surprise that greeted the two-day Boxing Day Test just gone, consider the rarity by arithmetic. The match in Melbourne was Test number 2,615, and was two-day Test number 27. You don’t need a calculator to see that’s roughly 1%. And yet we’ve had two such matches in the current Ashes series, plus another in Australia three years earlier. We’ve had half a dozen two-day Tests worldwide since 2021. What gives?Nine two-day Tests – fully one-third of the total – happened in the 1800s, when pitches could become swamps or shooting galleries. The next few mostly involved weak teams in their early years of development. Australia and England each dished one out to South Africa in the tri-series of 1912, and the South African team was little stronger when ripped up by Clarrie Grimmett and Bill O’Reilly in 1936. Australi...

Politics

1 week ago EastEnders boss says 'things are not as they seem' ahead of major Max Branning twist

The BBC soap is preparing for a historic first on New Year's Day

Politics

1 week ago Chaos of Adam Peaty and Holly wedding – 'mobbed' bride, brutal text and blunt review

Adam Peaty and Holly Ramsay tied the knot in a lavish ceremony at the historic Bath Abbey, but the big day wasn't without its drama following weeks of a bitter family feud

Events

2 w. ago The perfect morning routine: how to build a happy, healthy start to the day – from showers to sunshine

You don’t have to wake at 5am or commit to hardcore exercise. But by working out a handful of habits that suit you, and introducing them slowly, you can change your life• Sign up here to get the whole series straight to your inboxThe first thing to say about the ideal morning routine is that it probably doesn’t exist. Yes, endless influencers promise that they have tweaked, tested and fine-tuned the process of revving up for the day, but how history’s most productive people actually get things done is so varied that it’s hard to draw definitive conclusions. Beethoven, reportedly, used to count out exactly 60 beans for his morning cup of coffee, while Victor Hugo downed two raw eggs after reading a daily missive from his mistress. Mark Wahlberg, on the other hand, wakes at 3am for pre-workout prayer, chasing up his gym time with a few holes of golf and a jolt in the cryo chamber before he even thinks about doing any work.It is clear, though, that having some sort of routine is key: a...

Politics

2 w. ago Wrexham and Sheffield United renew feud after Chris Wilder's 'absolute nonsense' outburst

Wrexham and Sheffield United will meet on Boxing Day in the Championship with the sides having a history of ill-feeling

Politics

2 w. ago People are only just realising where the name Boxing Day comes from

A history buff has pointed out several facts about Boxing Day, and unlike what many people presume, it has nothing at all to do with the sport of boxing - an in fact dates back centuries

Politics

2 w. ago Golfers queue up for a FREE round at historic Scots golf course on Christmas Day

MANY enthusiastic golfers would be happy with a set of new clubs, some new clothes or a set of lessons for Christmas. But for some golf-obsessed players, they spent their Christmas morning queueing up for a round on one of Scotland's most famous courses... because they could play it for FREE. Scotland is home to...

Politics

2 w. ago Adam Peaty and Holly Ramsay 'spark backlash after banning public from historic church for entire day to host their 90

The Olympic swimmer, 30, and the model, 25, are set to tie the knot at Bath Abbey on December 27, with the landmark reportedly closed to the public for the entire day.

Events

2 w. ago Adam Peaty and Holly Ramsay 'ban public' from historic Bath Abbey on wedding day

Adam Peaty OBE and Holly Ramsay have reportedly booked out Bath Abbey for the entire day of their wedding this weekend, despite the venue normally being open to the public

Politics

2 w. ago King’s Speech 2025: What time it’s on and how the tradition started

The King’s Speech is a festive tradition watched by millions every Christmas Day. Here’s when to tune in, the history behind it, and fun facts to make your viewing even more special

Politics

2 w. ago ‘I feel special, in my heart’: thousands gather at Stonehenge for winter solstice

People, including druids and pagans, come from across world to watch sunrise on shortest day of the yearThousands of revellers gathered at Stonehenge in the early hours of Sunday morning to celebrate the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year.Crowds amassed in the dark around the historical site in Wiltshire to watch the sunrise, with some dressed in traditional pagan clothing, just as they did to mark the sun rising on the summer solstice six months ago. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Thousands gather at Stonehenge to celebrate winter solstice: Crowds flock to historic monument for sunrise on shortest day of the year

Families and friends were heard cheering as they watched the spectacle at 8.12am this morning in Wiltshire.

Culture