68 m. ago Cost of paying civil servants in the Housing Ministry balloons by £20 MILLION in five months

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

75 m. ago Gino D'Acampo 'drew explicit photo of TV producer' in 'unsettling encounter'

Gino D'Acampo allegedly drew an explicit photo of a television producer, which she reported to ITV and told bosses she found a 'toxic culture of sexism and misogyny' at ITV

Culture

2 h. ago Alex Carey’s acrobatics lay foundation for Josh Inglis’ fireworks | James Wallace

A pair of of stunning catches to dismiss dangerous England batters helped set Australia up for making record run chaseCatches win matches? Well, they certainly help set them up. Alex Carey’s brace of afternoon wonder-grabs sent the dangerous duo of Phil Salt and Harry Brook trudging back to the sheds blinking not from the afternoon Lahore sun but in disbelief.Carey’s acrobatic, sinew straining exertions in the outfield (gloves? who needs ’em) exemplified a razor sharp Australian performance in the field that kept England’s progress constantly in check and eventually paved the way for a historic run chase, the highest ever in International Cricket Council tournaments no less. The Aussies can turn it on in major tournaments, who knew? Continue reading...

Events

3 h. ago Marco Asensio doubles up to steer Aston Villa to win over Chelsea

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

4 h. ago The pill hasn’t been improved in years. No wonder women are giving up on it | Martha Gill

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

4 h. ago The moment I knew: I thought I was too cool for love. My rock idol knew better | Trent Dalton

Trent Dalton had a crush on his sophisticated colleague Fiona. The lead singer of his favourite band helped him find the words to tell herFind more stories from The moment I knew series hereOn 10 January 2000 I started my first job in journalism at the Brisbane News. I was 20 years old, a starry-eyed rube from suburban Bracken Ridge who didn’t even know what a flat white was.On my first day my editor had the rest of the journos join us at a cafe to welcome me to the team. That’s when I met Fiona. Fi. She’d been out on assignment and arrived late; the only seat left was right next to me. She was so natural and warm in the way she chatted with me. What was just polite small talk felt to me like an enormous show of generosity; like a light shining on me. She also reminded me of my childhood screen crush Toni Pearen. I was instantly taken with her. Continue reading...

Politics

4 h. ago Fatboy Slim: ‘I was in the same class as Keir Starmer – he’s one up on me now’

The electronic producer and DJ Norman Cook talks about learning the violin with Keir Starmer, his love for his label maker and crossing swords with MobyGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailYou did violin lessons with Keir Starmer when you were a child. Who was better at violin?I can’t actually remember the violin lessons. But I was in the same class at school as Keir for five years, so I remember him well. He must have been better at the violin than me, because I did it for about one term. My parents could take no more noise, so I would say Keir was better. It is quite weird when one day you see someone on the telly and go, “Oh look, it is Keir Starmer from 4B.” I think he’s one up on me by becoming prime minister.Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Continue reading...

Politics

4 h. ago Only regret is we didn’t score more – Fabian Hurzeler pleased with Saints rout

Brighton claimed a 4-0 win to boost their play-off push.

Politics

5 h. ago Agonising final days of man who suffered most painful death ever after 'burning from the inside out'

After a horrific incident at a uranium processing plant, Hisashi Ouchi spent 83 hellish days in hospital, enduring what is widely believed to have been the most painful death on record

Events

6 h. ago West Lothian community centres given more time to look at funding plans

In an update to councillors the head of Housing Customer and Building Services Julie Whitelaw said that the revised saving plans which were scheduled to come to the council Executive in early March would be pushed back to the April meeting.

Politics

6 h. ago Inmates locked up in UK prison given dancing lessons and invited to 'film nights'

Female inmates at HMP New Hall in West Yorkshire have been offered line dancing lessons and can attend film nights featuring popcorn and fizzy pop as part of the prison's incentive scheme

Events

6 h. ago What Mikel Arteta got wrong as West Ham beat Arsenal in red card VAR nightmare

Arsenal have handed Liverpool a massive boost in the race for the Premier League title as the 10-man Gunners lost 1-0 to West Ham at the Emirates Stadium

Politics

6 h. ago West Lothian Council claim empty building rates relief change will save them '£1m a year'

West Lothian’s Executive has agreed the changes which will see an end to rates relief on empty properties after six months, and in some cases three months.

Economics

6 h. ago Newport council 'not pushing hard enough' to get new businesses into city centre, says councillor

She said "we need to see something positive happening" in the area following the departure of big-name brands

Politics

7 h. ago ‘Exploited’ migrant farm workers in UK paid for picks, not hours

Call for investigation into unfair payment for labourers on seasonal visa scheme When 26-year-old Ben* boarded a flight in Uzbekistan in June, he was looking forward to more than just a summer job picking fruit and vegetables on a British farm.“I wanted to see new places, cities I’ve never seen before,” he said. “I wanted to make friends, exchange ideas and make new memories.” Continue reading...

Events

8 h. ago I spent a YEAR locked in my body unable to move.. what my family did behind my back will scar me for life

For nearly a year, Jake Haendel couldn't move or speak, but could see and hear everything around him, including nurses calling him 'brain dead' and family members having a violent argument.

Politics

8 h. ago Woman charged in dating app druggings and one death of older men in Las Vegas

FBI says Aurora Phelps met men online for dating then drugged them and stole cars and moneyA woman used online dating apps to lure at least four older men to meet her in person, drugged them with sedatives and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in a “sinister” romance scheme, FBI officials in Las Vegas said on Friday.Three of the men died, authorities said, and she has been charged in one of their deaths. Continue reading...

Events

9 h. ago Detached home on sale for over £1million called 'awful' and a 'f****** mess'... but can YOU spot why?

Described as an 'ideal family home', the six-bedroom property is set on one of the picturesque town of North Berwick's 'most sought-after streets'.

Economics

9 h. ago ‘The bot asked me four times a day how I was feeling’: is tracking everything actually good for us?

Gathering data used to be a fringe pursuit of Silicon Valley nerds. Now we’re all at it, recording everything from menstrual cycles and mobility to toothbrushing and time spent in daylight. Is this just narcissism redesigned for the big tech age?I first heard about my friend Adam’s curious new habit in a busy pub. He said he’d been doing it for over a year, but had never spoken to anyone about it before. He had a furtive look around, then took out his phone and showed me the product of his burning obsession: a spreadsheet.This was not a record of his annual tax return or numbers he was crunching for work (Adam is a data scientist). Instead, it was a spreadsheet recording the minutiae of his life, with dozens of columns tracking every element of his daily routine. It all started, he told me, because of a recurring argument with his boyfriend. His partner didn’t think they spent enough time together, but Adam thought that they did. There was only one way to settle this, he decided: co...

Politics

9 h. ago Landlady who replaced the rotting windows of her listed pub with double glazing left with £70,000 bill after council demanded she rip them out

Owners of the Botanic Hotel in Hull, Kerry and Shaun Fitzgerald have been hit with a £70,000 bill for replacing the 172-year-old windows with modern double-glazing.

Economics