2 h. ago Local government reforms backed by MPs despite ‘power grab’ concerns

Transport, planning and housing will be devolved to new unitary local authorities, under the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill.

Politics

2 h. ago Jessica Pegula sweeps past Barbora Krejcikova and into US Open semi

American into last four after 6-3, 6-3 win over world No 62Pegula to face either Sabalenka or VondrousovaJessica Pegula continues to redraw the limits of her career in New York. The 31-year-old American swept into the last four of the US Open on Tuesday with a 6-3, 6-3 dismissal of Barbora Krejcikova, becoming the first woman to reach back-to-back semi-finals here without dropping a set since Serena Williams strung together four straight runs between 2011 and 2014.It was a performance of cool authority, built less on fireworks than on persistence and precision. Pegula needed only 86 minutes to subdue her opponent, whose serve collapsed under pressure with seven double faults and a first-serve percentage barely above 40%. Where Krejcikova unravelled, Pegula stayed the course, drawing energy from a nearly full Arthur Ashe Stadium that sensed they were watching a home contender gather momentum. Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago The 'one in 30 million' delivery from Scotland to Bolton Market

He was named Pumpkin - and is now in quarantine

Economics

2 h. ago Epping Council refused permission to appeal ruling over asylum seekers at The Bell Hotel in Supreme Court

The Court of Appeal refused the application of the local authority in Essex to appeal to the higher court

Events

3 h. ago Pentagon authorizes up to 600 military lawyers to serve as temporary immigration judges

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has approved sending up to 600 military lawyers to the Justice Department to serve as temporary immigration judges, according to a memo reviewed by The Associated Press

Events

3 h. ago The Guardian view on the dental divide: ministers must brush up their policy as well as children’s teeth | Editorial

Gaps in access to dentists mirror other health inequalities. And ‘golden hellos’ won’t solve the problem on their ownDisadvantaged primary school pupils at the government’s first wave of new breakfast clubs can expect to be trained in toothbrushing, as well as fed. Data showing that a fifth of all five-year-olds in England have experienced tooth decay persuaded ministers to make improved oral health part of the early years and reception class curriculum. But the prevalence of decay is not evenly spread across the country. And research showing how much worse the situation is for children in deprived areas is in line with other findings about widening health inequalities.New analysis from the Local Government Association highlights the differing availability of dental care across council areas – a situation sometimes described as a dental divide. It found no specific correlation between the numbers of NHS dentists and young children with tooth decay. But it adds to a body of...

Politics

3 h. ago Reeves’ tax hikes have hit ‘one in five job vacancies’ at small firms as Labour urged to fix ‘utter mess’

Exclusive: The Federation of Small Business has claimed Rachel Reeves does ‘not have the backs’ of its members as new analysis of official statistics by the Lib Dems has revealed the impact of the national insurance hike for employers

Economics

3 h. ago Argentina couple under house arrest amid search for painting stolen by Nazis

Daughter of former Nazi official and her husband to be questioned after raid on home failed to find masterpieceA federal court in Argentina has ordered house arrest for the daughter of a former Nazi official and her husband after a raid failed to locate a painting stolen from a Jewish art dealer in Amsterdam.Authorities raided a home in the coastal city of Mar del Plata last week after a Dutch newspaper identified a painting seen in a real estate photo as an Italian masterpiece registered on a database of lost wartime art. Continue reading...

Events

3 h. ago Jane Street revenue eclipses $10bn in a quarter for first time

Trading group’s results surge past big Wall Street banks as it takes over increasing share of market volume

Politics

3 h. ago No 10 insists Reeves’s authority not dented by reshuffle after market jitters

Downing Street underscored ministers’ continuing commitment to fiscal rules as government borrowing costs surge

Culture

4 h. ago Margaret Atwood releases short story critiquing book bans in Canada

Author quipped she wrote ‘suitable’ piece after Alberta school ban included her novel The Handmaid’s TaleMargaret Atwood has released a new short story critiquing elected officials for a wide-ranging book ban in the Canadian province of Alberta. The controversial decision to remove books purportedly containing “explicit sexual content” has seen numerous works of literature swept up in the dragnet, including Atwood’s, dystopian work The Handmaid‘s Tale.In a social media post, Atwood wrote that since her famed work was no longer permissible in Alberta schools, she had written a “suitable” short work for teens, adding the work was necessary because the province’s minister of education thought students were “stupid babies”. Continue reading...

Politics

4 h. ago Jeremy Clarkson says Britain is 'awful' but he'd rather stick it out here than move abroad

The Top Gear star, 65, complained about the country’s doomed economy, housing market and ‘useless’ police

Politics

4 h. ago Photos: Reeve Carney, Eva Noblezada, Ruthie Henshall, More in Rehearsal for London Cabaret

Photos: Reeve Carney, Eva Noblezada, Ruthie Henshall, More in Rehearsal for London Cabaret  Playbill

Culture

4 h. ago Devolution bill is ‘biggest transfer of power in a generation’, Rayner tells MPs

Deputy Prime Minister says new unitary authorities will get planning, housing and transport powers devolved to them.

Politics

5 h. ago Urgent warning over experimental 'Godzilla' weight loss jab after surge in demand on black market

UK law forbids the possession of any unlicensed medication like Retatrutide. Doing so could result in a fine and up to two years in prison.

Events

5 h. ago Portobello review – Marco Bellocchio’s glorious saga of TV stars, mafia prisoners and lace doilies

Venice film festivalIn the first two episodes of a six-part series, the stardom of 80s primetime host Enzo Tortora is cleverly crosscut with the scramble of a mob secretary who implicates him – and his parrot – in drug traffickingMarco Bellocchio, the tireless warhorse of Italian cinema, kicks up a swirling dust cloud of corruption with this fabulous, stranger-than-fiction account of an 80s TV star convicted of conspiring with the Camorra. Shot for the streaming service HBO Max, it is the director’s second historical miniseries after 2022’s Exterior Night, about the kidnapping of Aldo Moro, and features the same lead player in Fabrizio Gifuni, an actor who has surely cornered the market in playing glossy public figures whose lives are about to take a hellish turn. Bellocchio’s dramas typically inhabit this kind of shonky, venal moral universe. The ground is liable to drop away pretty much at any moment.Gifuni stars as Enzo Tortora, a primetime TV presenter in the twinkling Terry Wog...

Events

5 h. ago Starmer's unhappy birthday: Labour government's popularity crashes to new record low as markets ramp up borrowing costs after desperate reshuffle 'sidelining' Reeves

YouGov found Labour's approval rating has slumped to minus 59 - with 70 per cent satisfied with their performance and 11 per cent dissatisfied.

Events

5 h. ago Trump administration restrictions on Palestinian visa applicants means nearly all would be refused

The Trump administration is piling new restrictions on Palestinian visa applicants, making it nearly impossible for anyone holding a Palestinian Authority passport from receiving travel documents to visit the U.S. for business, work, pleasure or educational purposes

Politics

6 h. ago Yvette Cooper denies Rachel Reeves being ‘sidelined’ after No 10 shake

Monday's shake-up saw the Chancellor's deputy, Darren Jones, move into a new role

Politics

6 h. ago No 10 insists Reeves’ authority not dented by reshuffle after market jitters

Downing Street underscored ministers’ continuing commitment to fiscal rules as government borrowing costs surge

Culture