The total spent on staff in the Housing Ministry and its associated quangos has gone up by £20 million since Angela Rayner took over the department.

Economics

Taylor Swift has reportedly lost nearly 150,000 followers on Instagram after she was booed while attending Super Bowl LIX earlier this month in New Orleans.

Politics

Billionaire Mark Cuban candidly revealed his biggest takeaway from supporting Kamala Harris in the wake of the 2024 election last year in a scathing critique about Democrats.

Politics

The show also took a gruesome turn when horror-themed act Auzzy Blood began to insert a number of metal items into his face.

Culture

Notorious 'drug kingpin', Mohamed Amra, known as 'The Fly' has been arrested in Romania after staging a deadly escape killing two guards and leaving others seriously injured nine months ago. 

Events

Trump celebrated what he called the 'great liberation of America' in front of thousands of supporters, as he took a verbal victory lap, listing his achievements after a month in office.

Politics

Recovering Shiffrin misses first cut in GS since 2012Italy’s Brignone wins second straight on home snowMikaela Shiffrin is not yet competitive in her tentative return to racing in giant slaloms. Federica Brignone is currently close to unbeatable.In just her second GS race Saturday three months after a serious crash, Shiffrin did not qualify for a second run for the first time since 2012 by placing outside the top 30. Continue reading...

Events

Scottish star off the mark with last-gasp conversion to deny his side unprecedented fifth straight win in famous fixture

Economics

A little more than a month after a general election was called following a vote of no confidence against chancellor Olaf Scholz, Germans will have their chance to vote tomorrow.

Politics

Unai Emery recently graded Aston Villa’s season as a seven out of 10 at best, acknowledging while their progress in Europe has been eye-catching, they needed to kick-start their Premier League campaign. Just as it seemed they would extend their winless run to six matches, the Chelsea goalkeeper Filip Jörgensen made a mess of a routine save, inadvertently giving Villa the leg-up they had been looking for, allowing Marco Asensio’s side-foot volley from Marcus Rashford’s cross after a short corner to slip through his gloves. Rashford’s half-time arrival proved inspired given he also laid the ball on for Asensio to cancel out Enzo Fernández’s opener.Thousands of Villa fans had spent the previous 24 hours plotting their second trip to Brugge in four months but for all of its pluses the Champions League has undoubtedly damaged their league form. Unai Emery has highlighted as much, unable to hide his mixed feelings on their season so far. Villa won six points from a possible 24 after midwe...

Politics

Melania Trump will join the President for dinner after he addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday afternoon

Politics

When contraception has stagnated for decades, it is hardly surprising it’s fallen victim to culture wars and a wellness cultSomething is changing when it comes to contraception. Lots of people aren’t using it. Last week we heard that this includes a third of young Irish people. Meanwhile, there has been a significant rise in abortions in England and Wales. Prescriptions for the contraceptive pill in England dropped from 432,600 in 2014 to 188,500 in 2021. And this month data from abortion clinics found that demand is being fuelled by women coming off the pill and using natural methods instead.When the study compared contraception used by women seeking abortions in 2018 and in 2023, it found that the proportion using smartphones to track their menstrual cycle had increased from 0.4% to 2.5%. The use of hormonal contraception among this group fell from 19% to 11%, while the group not using any form of contraception when they became pregnant increased from 50% to 70%. Continue reading...

Politics

Currys is most commonly associated with white goods and TV but has now launched a "wellness" technology range of sex devices. Items on sale include 'Massage Wands' and 'Pleasure Stimulators'

Politics

Ashley Pavett had exceeded the 90-minute limit at a car park in Green Meadow near Pontyclun in South Wales. He paid the fine promptly, but a letter months later turned his life upside down.

Politics

The Chancellor is reportedly mulling over a reduction

Economics

Group B: Australia 356-5 bt England 351-8 by five wicketsHighest successful run chase in ICC tournament historyThey say good things come to those who wait and after nearly three decades without a global tournament in their city, the people of Lahore saw their patience rewarded. A good number are too young to remember the 1996 World Cup but they will not forget Australia’s five-wicket win over England in a hurry.Set 352 to win this Group B encounter after Ben Duckett’s sublime 165 from 143 balls – the highest individual score at a Champions Trophy – Australia wobbled initially. Travis Head and Steve Smith were wiped out for single-figure scores during a fiery new ball burst from Jofra Archer and Mark Wood. Continue reading...

Politics

Cardiff University announced last month that it could axe 400 academic jobs as well as shutting the school of nursing, music and modern foreign languages as the university contends with a deficit of £31m

Events

Everton thought they had a chance to claim a last-gasp victory against Manchester United from the penalty spot, only for a VAR overturn to deny David Moyes' team

Politics

Prosecutors in England and Wales are failing to obtain orders requiring the deletion of intimate content shared without consent, analysis revealsPerpetrators of “revenge porn” offences are being allowed to keep explicit images of their victims on their devices, after a failure by prosecutors to obtain orders requiring their deletion.An Observer analysis of court records in intimate image abuse cases has found that orders for the offenders to give up their devices and delete photos and videos are rarely being made. Of 98 cases concluded in the magistrates courts in England and Wales in the past six months, just three resulted in a deprivation order. Continue reading...

Events

Miller Homes’ donation to The School Bank West Lothian will go towards providing schools with “camp clothing packs” to ensure that every child has a chance to fully participate in school camp trips.

Politics