5 h. ago No plans to cap service charges for leaseholders, housing minister tells MPs

In the Commons, Matthew Pennycook argued a cap would ‘prevent necessary funds being raised for legitimate purposes’.

Politics

56 h. ago Orbán calls on EU to launch peace talks with Moscow over Ukraine

Hungarian prime minister tells EU Council president Costa that he will oppose any bloc-wide agreement

Politics

63 h. ago Starmer ‘will not order’ people to cut meat consumption to save climate

The Prime Minister said he was ‘not in the business of telling people how they should run their lives’.

Politics

3 d. ago Two priests 'plotted to assassinate' top Russian bishop known as Putin's personal 'confessor'

Clerics Denis Popovich, 27, and Nikita Ivankovich, 28, have been held by the Russian FSB security service and face life in prison if found guilty of terrorism charges

Politics

3 d. ago Trump administration quietly shutters online form for student debt repayment

Removal comes after court decision pausing Joe Biden’s Save program, leaving millions of Americans in the lurchDon’t let a billionaire’s algorithm control what you read. Download our free app to get trusted reporting.The Donald Trump administration has taken down the online application form for several popular student debt repayment plans, causing confusion among borrowers and likely creating complications for millions of Americans with outstanding loans.Those seeking payment plans are unable to access the applications for income-driven repayment plans (IDR), which cap what borrowers must pay each month at a percent of their earnings, as well as the online application to consolidate their loans on the US Department of Education website. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Mark Drakeford lambasted as 'scruffy old university lecturer with dirty shoes' by former Welsh secretary

Former Conservative MP Simon Hart has released a tell-all memoir in which he takes aim at former First Minister Mark Drakeford and reveals an extraordinary insight into life in frontline Welsh politics

Politics

4 d. ago Big Tech MUST pay to use artists' work for AI, MPs tell ministers

The Government's proposal to give AI developers an exception to copyright law was dealt a blow yesterday after the Commons culture and tech select committees criticised the plan.

Politics

6 d. ago NHS boss Amanda Pritchard quits – what 'new era' means for health service

Health Secretary Wes Streeting insists the NHS must ‘change or die’ and is taking more direct charge of the health service to make it happen following the departure of Amanda Pritchard

Politics

7 d. ago How much fees and charges for council services in Merthyr could increase next year

A standard 2.5% increase looks set to be implemented but some areas are under review

Politics

7 d. ago M23 militia’s advance in eastern DRC has killed 7,000 since January, UN told

DRC prime minister tells human rights council fighting has left about 450,000 without shelter after camps destroyedAbout 7,000 people have died in fighting in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since Rwanda-backed M23 rebels started renewed advances in January, the DRC’s prime minister has said.At a high-level meeting of the UN’s human rights council in Geneva on Monday, Judith Suminwa Tuluka also said the war had left about 450,000 people without shelter after the destruction of 90 displacement camps. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Apartment owners ‘living a nightmare’ after £8,800 per year ‘service charge’ shock

Leasholders at Canalside in Radcliffe face a 249 per cent rise in service charges to pay for balcony repairs

Economics

1 week ago Revealed: MP stuck in brothel with KGB agent and 12 naked women, Suella's Rishi diatribe... and the 'f***ing useless' minister we can't get rid of: Tory chief whip tells all

Barely a month into his tenure as Chief Whip and Simon Hart was roused from his slumbers in the early hours of a Thursday morning by the urgent ringing of his bedside telephone.

Politics

1 week ago 'I'm trying not to turn the heating on': The pensioner leaseholders seeing service charges rise by up to 2,500%

We have spoken to older leaseholders, including a 96-year-old who has seen her charge rise 223% since 2010 to £4,200 and another who has seen a 2,500% rise.

Economics

2 w. ago Ian Murray tells SNP ministers to ‘clear up mess’ on single sex spaces

Murray said ministers needed to “clear up the sheer mess that they’ve made of this whole this whole issue”.

Politics

2 w. ago Trump’s comments on Canada prompt surge of patriotism – in a Canadian way

Trump’s diplomatic trolling has sparked disbelief and defiance – but also revived questions of national identityA lone figure takes to the stage, a giant maple leaf flag rippling on a screen behind him as he gingerly approaches the microphone.“I’m not a lumberjack, or a fur trader,” he tells the crowd. “I have a prime minister, not a president. I speak English and French, not American. And I pronounce it ‘about’ – not ‘a boot’.” Continue reading...

Politics