7 h. ago Several dead as mansion 'owned' by Russian millionaire exiled in the UK goes up in flames

The mansion in Balashikha, Russia, is said to be owned by a wealthy Russian living in the UK who had stopped paying energy bills for the property which was being used as a hostel

Events

9 h. ago Two Women Living Together by Kim Hana and Hwang Sunwoo review – the Korean bestseller about platonic partnership

A quietly revolutionary account of cohabiting captured a nation’s heart – but what does it mean for the rest of the world?When Sunwoo and Hana met on Twitter, they were in their 40s and committed bachelorettes. Both raised by the sea in Busan, they studied in Seoul before entering the city’s famously brutal rat race, Sunwoo as a fashion journalist, Hana as a copywriter. They shared the same taste in music and books, and importantly, both had rejected marriage. No wonder. In South Korea’s stubbornly patriarchal culture, women in dual-income families spend nearly three hours more a day on household chores than men. Instead, Sunwoo and Hana joined the large number of South Koreans living alone. At first, independence felt exhilarating. By middle age however, loneliness was beginning to gnaw, and their boxy studio apartments felt oppressively small.Two Women Living Together, a 2019 South Korean bestseller that spawned a popular podcast, charts Sunwoo and Hana’s ...

Politics

15 h. ago Australia’s heatwaves are getting deadlier – and renters are paying the price | Maiy Azize

Some are trapped in a vicious cycle: rising rents, rising energy bills and falling standards. But this is not inevitable Australians are struggling through one of the most brutal heatwaves and hottest summers on record. Day after day, temperatures into the high 30s are turning homes into ovens, workplaces into hazards, and everyday tasks into endurance tests.All of us are feeling it. But spare a thought for the millions of renters trying to survive this heat in homes that were never designed to cope with it. Continue reading...

Society

18 h. ago Record number of people in UK live in ‘very deep poverty’, analysis shows

Joseph Rowntree Foundation finds problem is ‘deeper and more damaging than at any point in the last 30 years’The UK’s poorest families are getting poorer, with record numbers of people classed as in “very deep poverty” – meaning their annual household incomes fail to cover the cost of food, energy bills and clothing, according to analysis.Although overall relative poverty levels have flatlined in recent years at about 21% of the population, life for those below the breadline has got materially worse as they try to subsist on incomes many thousands of pounds beneath the poverty threshold. Continue reading...

Politics

19 h. ago Over 500,000 households to be shielded from ‘unfair’ energy bill price hikes after Brits hit with 450% increases

OVER 500,000 households will be shielded from unfair energy bill price hikes after Brits were hit with price increases of up to 450%. Ofgem is introducing heat network regulation for the first time after customers experienced a significant hike in prices. As of tomorrow, Tuesday, January 27, the regulations will come into force. The previously...

Society

19 h. ago One thousand pubs face closing doors for final time as they struggle with ‘perfect storm’ of higher costs

A THOUSAND pubs face closure as they struggle with higher costs, industry estimates reveal. Business rates rises, beer duty taxes, employment costs and high energy bills are to blame. It means around 21 boozers a week could shut their doors for good over the next year. An enhanced financial package for pubs is imminent from...

Events

31 h. ago Households urged to apply for energy bill support worth £200 NOW ahead of scheme closing for good

HOUSEHOLDS are being urged to apply for energy bill support worth £200 ahead of a scheme closing for good. Hard-up families and individuals can get support via the government’s Household Support Fund (HSF). The scheme has been extended multiple times with the latest round running between April 2025 and March 2026. Each council in England has been allocated a share of the...

Economics

52 h. ago Simple way that you never overpay on your energy bill ever again

I HAVE a secret that might make the big energy bosses a bit hot under the collar. It is a simple trick that has saved me hundreds of pounds in "missing" cash over the last few years. I firmly believe that your money belongs in your pocket and not sitting in a multibillion-pound energy company’s...

Economics

60 h. ago ‘I was probably just as lost as my callers’: my six months as a telephone psychic

I sat there in my pyjamas, headset against my ear, and knew I was not doing the right thingI’m not psychic. During the six months I spent working as a telephone psychic, my only supernatural gift was the ability to sound fascinated by a stranger’s love life at 2.17am. Yet for hundreds of billable hours, I sat on my living room floor wearing plaid pyjamas and a telemarketing headset, charging callers by the minute for insights into their lives. Perhaps this made me a con artist, but I wasn’t a dangerous one.When it started, I’d recently quit my job as an editor at a publishing company to write a novel while doing telemarketing shifts from my kitchen table. Instead of knocking off a bestseller, I found myself cold-calling strangers about energy bills while gripped by writer’s block and an inconvenient yearning to have a baby. Continue reading...

Politics

64 h. ago Labour's Net Zero mission tipped to ramp up tenants' bills as Ed Miliband launches £10billion energy efficiency crackdown on rental homes

Critics say Labour's Warm Homes Plan runs the risk of landlords driving up rents to cover the hefty cost - or selling up and shrinking the rental market.

Economics

64 h. ago Reduce energy bills by never leaving 1 appliance on standby 5 experts say is the ‘worst’

Energy experts have shared the worst device to leave on standby - and it could be adding £30 a year to your electricity bills.

Science

64 h. ago Never leave ‘worst energy sucking device’ on standby or it will ‘raise your energy bills’

Simple tasks around the home can help save money on energy bills, and avoiding putting certain appliances on standby is one method to reduce electricity usage.

Science

5 d. ago How I learned Scotland is sitting on a goldmine while investing £2.6 billion in energy

Scotland’s energy transition is a smart bet for both investors and the planet, writes Eric Knight

Economics

5 d. ago How I learned Scotland is sitting on transformational wealth while investing £2.6 billion in energy

Scotland’s energy transition is a smart bet for both investors and the planet, writes Eric Knight

Economics

5 d. ago Why fewer lights can actually make your home look better and lower energy bills

Interior lighting experts explain why better-placed lights can transform how your home looks, feels and performs, while also cutting energy use

Science

5 d. ago Martin Lewis warns ditch 'demon appliance' for cheaper alternative to lower energy bills

"Do you know what the real demon appliance is in most people's houses? The one that you don't want to use because it's really expensive"

Events

5 d. ago Budget tips for heating your home without the huge energy bills

Here are expert tips for keeping warm at the lowest possible cost

Economics

5 d. ago What is the UK Government's Warm Homes Plan and will it bring down my bills?

The UK Government has called the programme “the biggest homes upgrade plan in British history” and said it will lower people’s energy bills.

Politics

6 d. ago ‘We installed a heat pump last year – here’s what I’ve learned’

Can a heat pump really keep a family home warm, cut bills and simplify energy management? Ten months after installing Octopus Energy’s Cosy 9 heat pump, one household shares what life with a heat pump is actually like

Politics

6 d. ago What you need to know about the warm homes plan as millions could cut energy bills

The plans also include upgrading protections for renters

Economics