12 h. ago Parents divided over school leavers' prom theme as bosses insist it was 'entirely age appropriate'

The school has defended the 'Vegas' theme and said there was no actual gambling, but there's been criticism

Politics

38 h. ago 'Shambolic' nationwide meter replacement 'could leave households without hot water'

Energy bosses insist they are doing all they can to prepare households for a meter switch-over but concerns remains that people could be caught out

Politics

4 d. ago US supreme court rules schools must let kids opt out of hearing LGBTQ+ books

Court sides with parents in Maryland who protested exposure to storybooks they found objectionableThe US supreme court has ruled that schools must give children the chance to opt out on faith grounds from listening to storybooks being read out loud that feature gay and transgender characters, in a landmark decision that will be seen as striking a blow for religious rights in education.In a case that exposed the passions surrounding the US’s religious-secular divide, the court sided with parents in Maryland who protested that they were left with no means of shielding their children from the contents of six storybooks they found objectionable. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago US supreme court rules schools must let kids opt out of LGBTQ+ book readings

Court sides with parents in Maryland who protested exposure to storybooks they found objectionableThe US supreme court has ruled that schools must give children the chance to opt out on faith grounds from listening to storybooks being read out loud that feature gay and transgender characters, in a landmark decision that will be seen as striking a blow for religious rights in education.In a case that exposed the passions surrounding the US’s religious-secular divide, the court sided with parents in Maryland who protested that they were left with no means of shielding their children from the contents of six storybooks they found objectionable. Continue reading...

Events

5 d. ago ‘Basically impossible to get them back’: Russia’s mass abduction of Ukrainian children is a war crime, say experts

As territories shift and divide families, desperate parents are travelling to Russia to find their children, many of whom have been moved into military camps or orphanagesAs many as 35,000 Ukrainian children are still missing and thought to be held in Russia or Russian-occupied territories, according to an American team of experts, with families saying they are being forced to take desperate and risky measures to try to rescue them.As Russian forces began their invasion in February 2022, children were abducted from care homes, from the battlefield after the death of their parents, or under coercion directly from their families. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago More than nine out of 10 school leavers in West Lothian go on to work, further education or training

Over 91 per cent of last year's 2,201 leavers reached a positive destination

Politics

2 w. ago Brooklyn Beckham turns back on UK and splurges £11m on LA mansion as rift deepens

Brooklyn, 26, has reportedly bought a stunning US mansion with his wife Nicola Peltz— in a move likely to deepen the divide with his parents

Economics

2 w. ago How Brooklyn Beckham is aiming to emulate David's empire as he follows in his father's footsteps with multiple brand deals amid trademark dispute with Beck's beer

While a devastating feud has driven a deep divide between Brooklyn and his parents, one thing is for sure the eldest son certainly knows how to 'Brand It Like A Beckham'. 

Economics

2 w. ago Cal review – grieving Helen Mirren superb in compassionate Troubles romance

Mirren won best actress at Cannes in 1984 for her role as Marcella, who forms a relationship with John Lynch’s Cal – a man complicit in her husband’s murderPat O’Connor’s Northern Irish movie from 1984, adapted by author Bernard MacLaverty from his own novel, holds up very well for its rerelease; better in fact than most of the movies and TV drama made about and during the Troubles. It has an unhurried, thoughtful and very human quality; Helen Mirren won the best actress award at Cannes for her performance here and in fact it is very well acted across the board by a blue-chip cast.Mirren plays Marcella, a woman from a Catholic background, married across the sectarian divide to a reserve police officer murdered at his parents’ farmhouse by an IRA man who had bullied a bewildered local guy into being his getaway driver; this is Cal, played by the gauntly intense John Lynch. Cal lives with his widowed father; a gentle performance by Donal McCann, who was Gabriel Conroy in John Huston’s...

Events