12 h. ago ‘I do – again!’ Why are so many people renewing their marriage vows?

Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz are doing it, Guy Ritchie is doing it – and some people are even doing it with a Mary Poppins impersonator to officiate. Here, couples share why they’ve tied the knot for a second timeWhen Jade Foster-Jerrett married Dean in 2015, the couple decided that if they were still together in 10 years’ time, they would renew their vows. “We always said that it felt like a big milestone if we ever made it – which, luckily, we did.” This month, they held a ceremony in the forest behind their home, colourful bunting fluttering in the wind, with a Mary Poppins impersonator emerging from the trees to surprise their guests and officiate. “We love to have a laugh,” she says.Mary Poppins was Foster-Jerrett’s favourite film when she was a child, and she used to watch it with her father, who died in 2020. “We wanted to mark him not being there,” says the 42-year-old children’s entertainer from Romford, London. Her best friend, who was a bridesmaid at her first weddin...

Politics

14 h. ago Universal Credit migration leads to 340,000 benefit claims closing

DWP data shows that between July 2022 and June 2025 a total of 2,108,000 people in 1,593,856 households have been sent migration notices - they must move to UC or they'll get nothing

Politics

15 h. ago Nick Bostrom: 'People will look back on 2025 and shudder in horror'

Silicon valley’s favourite philosopher has dire warnings about the race artificial general intelligence. Is there still time for the tech bros to listen?

Events

36 h. ago Fire kills three people in Indonesia after protesters torch council buildings

Large cities in Indonesia rocked by protests after gig motorcycle driver run over by police tactical vehicleProtesters have torched parliamentary buildings in three further Indonesian provinces, a day after at least three people were killed by a fire started by demonstrators at a council building in the city of Makassar.Protests erupted across Indonesia after footage spread showing a motorcycle taxi driver being run over and killed by a police vehicle on Thursday night during earlier demonstrations over low wages for workers and perks for lawmakers. Continue reading...

Events

44 h. ago Fire kills three people in Indonesia after protesters storm council buildings in the wake of driver’s death

Major cities in Indonesia have been rocked by protests after footage spread of a gig motorcycle driver being run over by a police tactical vehicleAt least three people were killed by a fire started by protesters at a council building in the Indonesian city of Makassar, after demonstrations broke out across the country over the death of a motorcycle taxi driver hit by a police vehicle.Major cities in Indonesia, including the capital Jakarta on Friday, have been rocked by protests after footage spread of a gig motorcycle driver being run over by a police tactical vehicle during earlier rallies over low wages and perceived lavish perks for lawmakers. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago JAN MOIR: The pious saints of the Left are appalled by Farage's plans. But what's THEIR answer to the migrant crisis?

Keir Starmer promised to bring order to the border - but the situation has only worsened under his leadership. A record 111,084 people claimed asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025.

Events

3 d. ago People over 60: share your experiences of dating in later life

We want to hear from people in their 60s, 70s, 80s or even 90s who are actively dating other people over the age of 60We’d like to hear from both single people and members of couples who very recently met the love of their life on a date. What is the best and worst date you’ve been on? Any funny or shocking anecdotes to share?How do relationships compare to the ones you had at a younger age? How much does companionship or sex factor? What about exes – your’s and your partners’ children and grandchildren? Are you using apps and websites or relying on word of mouth? Have you been on a lot of dates? What about ghosting? Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago White House threatens sex education funds unless states nix references to transgender people in curriculums

The Trump administration sent a letter demanding states, territories and DC ‘remove all references to gender ideology’The Trump administration has told US states and territories they will lose federal funding for their sex education programs if they do not remove references to transgender people.In letters sent to 46 states, territories and Washington DC on Tuesday, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) demanded they “remove all references to gender ideology” within 60 days or risk losing funding from the Personal Responsibility Education Program, or Prep. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago Deforestation has killed half a million people in past 20 years, study finds

Localised rises in temperature caused by land clearance cause 28,330 heat-related deaths a year, researchers findDeforestation has killed more than half a million people in the tropics over the past two decades as a result of heat-related illness, a study has found.Land clearance is raising the temperature in the rainforests of the Amazon, Congo and south-east Asia because it reduces shade, diminishes rainfall and increases the risk of fire, the authors of the paper found. Continue reading...

Events

5 d. ago ‘People sleeping while walking’: inside Manston asylum centre in Kent

Six staff members speak of new arrivals’ exhaustion and ill-health and colleagues’ indifference to their plightWhen asylum seekers first arrive at Manston, a former military base outside Ramsgate in Kent, they are ushered from one enormous, grubby marquee to the next for a series of interviews and checks.As many as 1,000 people a day are processed at the site after crossing the Channel in small boats, and interviews continue through the night. Upon arrival in the UK, exhausted and disorientated, their phones and other belongings are taken from them and placed in distinctive blue plastic bags. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago Three people killed and one critically injured in Isle of Wight helicopter crash

One person in hospital in serious condition after crash during flying lessonThree people have been killed after a helicopter crashed on the Isle of Wight during a flying lesson.The helicopter carrying four people crashed into a field near Shanklin at about 9.20am on Monday. One person onboard was airlifted to hospital and remains in a serious condition. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago Israel bombed Gaza hospital a second time, killing rescuers, say health officials

At least 20 people, including five journalists, died as they rushed to help those wounded in the first strikeIsrael bombed the main hospital in southern Gaza on Monday and then struck the same spot again as rescuers and journalists rushed to help the wounded, killing at least 20 people including five journalists, health officials said.The first strike hit the top floor of a building at the Nasser hospital, killing Reuters journalist Hussam al-Masri and others. Journalists and rescuers then rushed to the scene to help the wounded, when a second bomb struck the same spot fifteen minutes later. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago Families in West Lothian receive £54.6 million in vital financial support to help with extra costs

The most recently published statistics from Social Security Scotland show that at the end of June 2025, the families of 4,015 children and young people in West Lothian were receiving Child Disability Payment.

Economics

6 d. ago Five journalists among 20 killed in Israeli attack on Gaza hospital, say health officials

Deaths take the number of Palestinian journalists killed in the conflict since 7 October 2023 to at least 193Five journalists were among at least 20 people killed by Israeli strikes on Nasser hospital in southern Gaza, health officials said.The strikes on Monday killed Hussam al-Masri, who worked for Reuters, Mariam Abu Dagga, who worked for the Associated Press, the Al Jazeera journalist Mohammed Salam, the photojournalist Moaz Abu Taha , and Ahmad Abu Aziz from Quds Feed. Another Reuters journalist, Hatem Khaled, was wounded in the attack. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago Four journalists among 20 killed in Israeli strike on Gaza hospital, say health officials

Deaths take the number of Palestinian journalists killed in the conflict since 7 October 2023 to at least 192 Four journalists were among at least 20 people killed by Israeli strikes on al-Nasser hospital in southern Gaza, health officials said.The strikes on Monday killed Hussam al-Masri, who worked for Reuters, Mariam Abu Dagga, who worked for the Associated Press, the Al Jazeera journalist Mohammed Salam, and Moaz Abu Taha from NBC. Another Reuters journalist, Hatem Khaled, was also wounded in the attack. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago Four journalists among 15 killed in Israeli strike on hospital in Gaza, say health officials

Deaths take to at least 192 the number of Palestinian journalists killed in the conflict since 7 October 2023Four journalists were among at least 15 people killed by Israeli strikes on al-Nasser hospital in southern Gaza, Palestinian health officials said.The strikes on Monday killed Hussam al-Masri, who worked for Reuters, Mariam Abu Dagga, who worked for the Associated Press, the Al Jazeera journalist Mohammed Salam, and Moaz Abu Taha from NBC. Another Reuters journalist, Hatem Khaled, was also wounded in the attack. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Buchenwald can refuse entry to people wearing Palestinian keffiyeh, German court rules

Court in Thuringia rejected woman’s request to enter concentration camp memorial while wearing the scarfA German court has ruled that a Nazi concentration camp memorial has the right to refuse entry to those wearing the Palestinian keffiyeh scarf.The higher administrative court in the eastern state of Thuringia on Wednesday rejected a request from a woman to be allowed entry to the Buchenwald concentration camp memorial while wearing a keffiyeh. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago At least 78 people killed as bus collides with fuel truck in western Afghanistan

Children among dead after bus carrying Afghans deported from Iran crashed and caught fire in Herat province 78 people have died in western Afghanistan in a collision between a bus carrying Afghans who had recently been deported from Iran and two other vehicles.The passenger bus hit a motorcycle and a truck transporting fuel on Tuesday night, causing an explosive fire in Herat province’s Guzara district, officials and witnesses said. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago More than 2.8m people in US identify as trans, including 724,000 youth, data shows

Exclusive: largest data analysis of its kind counters Trump’s aggressive efforts to deny trans minors’ existenceMore than 2.8 million people now identify as transgender in the US, including an estimated 724,000 youth, according to a new data analysis that is the largest of its kind to date.Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Williams Institute used federal surveys and data from state health agencies to identify the size and demographics of the trans population in each state.1% of the total US population aged 13 and older identifies as trans, including 0.8% of adults (more than 2.1 million people) and 3.3% of youth ages 13 to 17 (roughly 724,000 people).Young adults ages 18 to 24 are significantly more likely to identify as trans (2.72%) than those 35 to 64 (0.42%) and those aged 65 and older (0.26%).Of the 2.1 million trans adults, 32.7% (698,500) are trans women, 34.2% (730,500) are trans men and 33.1% (707,100) are trans non-binary people.The trans po...

Politics

1 week ago ‘It has echoes of happiness’: life for gen Z in the seaside town I once called home

The Guardian’s former north of England editor returned to Morecambe after 25 years to discover the place where she grew up has even fewer amenities for young people – and the feeling of being ‘left behind’ is stronger than everPhotographs by Polly BradenIf you had asked me as a teenager whether I saw my future in Morecambe, I’d have laughed you out of our faded seaside town. I’d been plotting my escape since I was 14. The sea was grey, the sand was treacherous and the wind was always messing up my hair. I was totally unmoved by the view across the bay of the Lake District fells.It felt like half of the world was cut off. You could go left or right on the prom but never straight ahead, unless you wanted to end up stuck in mud waving frantically for the coastguard. A whole compass point was out of reach. Continue reading...

Politics