2 h. ago Zia Yusuf REJOINS Reform Party 48 hours after resigning over burka ban stance

Former banker Zia Yusuf has rejoined the Reform Party just 48 hours after dramatically resigning as chairman after calling out MP Sarah Pochin's 'dumb' questioning over banning the burka.

Politics

5 h. ago Riot cops storm Glasgow city centre streets as man arrested amid 'disturbance'

Pictures show a heavy police presence hours after emergency services were called to Kent Road, near St Vincent Street, around 4.45am on Saturday.

Events

14 h. ago Online ‘guru girlies’ promise a better life, but is it too good to be true? | Zandile Powell

Level up and access your feminine energy, say these influencers to young women. This is self-delusion, not self-improvementAbout two years ago, a self-professed “goddess coach” called Jaelyn posted an eight hour-long “sleep affirmation” video which, according to many a satisfied viewer, has worked wonders for them. In a somewhat sultry, meditative voice she repeats mantras and welcomes her listeners to attract “the kind of men and people who will always treat you like a goddess”.The video, boldly titled Attract Men Who Spend Money, Provide and Love You! is one of many in a genre of content that is booming on YouTube and social media. I call them “guru girlies”, and they are proving a force to be reckoned with. In their rather austere imparting of wisdom, guru girlies have become many young women’s go-to guide for all manner of modern conundrums. Continue reading...

Politics

25 h. ago ‘Spiteful’ boss cut pregnant accountant’s hours after she told him she had morning sickness

Sadia Shakil’s employment was then terminated when she was due to start maternity leave

Economics

34 h. ago Pregnant accountant wins £30k payout after her 'spiteful' boss cut her hours when she called in with morning sickness before she was sacked in 'sham' redundancy

A pregnant accountant has won more than £30,000 after her boss cut her hours and sacked her the day after she called in with morning sickness.

Economics

40 h. ago CMAT, pop’s gobbiest, gaudiest star: ‘Everyone else in music needs a kick up the hole!’

Playing stadiums and causing dance crazes, the Irish singer-songwriter is going supernova – and whether opining on trans rights, body shaming or capitalism, she’s more forthright than everCiara Mary-Anne Thompson, or CMAT as she’s professionally known, says she can clearly remember writing the song that changed her life. She was 22 and having moved from Ireland to Manchester, was working in TK Maxx and, at the weekends, as what she’s fond of calling a “sexy shots girl”: “Cash in hand, £8 an hour, 11pm to 3am, teetering up and down the stairs of a nightclub in the building where Joy Division shot the video for Love Will Tear Us Apart with a tray of Jägermeister shots they’d put a bit of dry ice in – burned your skin if you got it on your hands – selling them for three pound each. Terrible job. And just getting absolutely stoned out of my bin all the time, doing whatever drugs anyone would give me for free. I had absolutely no friends.”An attempt to get her musical career off the grou...

Events

57 h. ago New search for Madeleine McCann enters final hours as police hunting rundown buildings prepare to call off the hunt tonight

A collection of sinister, ramshackle derelict barns and cottages on scrubland covering more than eight square miles, covered with thick vegetation.

Events

62 h. ago Russian strike kills 5, including 1 year old, hours after Trump calls Putin

At least five people, including a one-year-old child, were killed in a Russian drone strike on the northern Ukrainian city of Pryluky overnight, regional governor Viacheslav Chaus said Thursday

Events

8 d. ago Polish presidential election too close to call as campaigning enters final hours – Europe live

Polls show difference between pro-European Rafał Trzaskowski and nationalist Karol Nawrocki within the margin of errorBoth candidates are out and about from early hours today, as they fight for every single vote they can get.Speaking in Włocławek, Trzaskowski rallied his voters and urged them to “convince all those who are not convinced yet.” Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago Shakira's gig cancelled last minute as 'structural issues' discovered at venue

Shakira's Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran Tour concert at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts was called off just hours before she was due to take to the stage on Thursday night

Politics

8 d. ago Dad who beat his son, 7, until he couldn't see jailed for his gruesome murder

WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT Murtadah Mohammad, 27, waited 12 hours to call for help after he subjected his son to a "sustained campaign of abuse" - in court he blamed the use of drugs and alcohol for his actions

Events

9 d. ago 'Optical illusion' swimsuit leaves people amazed by how it flatters figure

Julie Ellen, who is over the age of 60, says that the so-called 'optical illusion' swimsuit will make women's figures look more 'hourglass', and people have been left amazed

Politics

9 d. ago Moment injured climber rescued by helicopter after fall on Welsh mountain

An Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation statement said members were called after the climber fell in the early hours of Saturday, leading to a dramatic rescue operation

Events

1 week ago David Martindale on why he would 'cut the VAR cable' as Livingston boss performs U

The Lions boss couldn't hide his fury about a penalty that was awarded against his side against Ross County last Thursday

Politics

2 w. ago Mountain marvel: how one of biggest batteries in Europe uses thousands of gallons of water to stop blackouts

‘Much-loved’ Dinorwig hydroelectric energy storage site in Wales has a vital role to play in keeping the lights onSeconds after a catastrophic series of power outages struck across the UK in the summer of 2019, a phone rang in the control room of the Dinorwig hydropower plant in north Wales. It was Britain’s energy system operator requesting an immediate deluge of electricity to help prevent a wide-scale blackout crippling Britain’s power grids.The response was swift, and in the end just under million people were left without power for less than 45 minutes. While trains were stuck on lines for hours and hospitals had to revert to backup generators, that phone call prevented Britain’s worst blackout in a decade from being far more severe. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago European unity against Putin in peril if Trump moves to ease sanctions

EU’s hopes of US increasing pressure on Kremlin have been dashed, and Hungary could yet make situation worseEuropean leaders – who have promised to impose “massive” new sanctions on Russia after Vladimir Putin’s rejection of a ceasefire in Ukraine – face the prospect of having to introduce their planned expansion of economic restrictions on the Russian war economy without the United States.European hopes that Donald Trump might increase the pressure on the Kremlin were dashed after the US president’s two-hour inconclusive phone call with Putin on Monday. Trump did not follow through on previous threats to introduce “large-scale” sanctions on Russia if there was no ceasefire, but instead extolled the prospect of restarting trade with Moscow. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump’s calls with Putin are worth nothing – no matter how much the US president enjoys them

Donald Trump claims his two-hour phone call with Vladimir Putin went ‘very well’, but it is the Russian president who calls the shots, writes Sam Kiley, The Independent’s world affairs editor

Politics

2 w. ago 'Humiliated' Trump will let Putin off the hook on Ukraine to get Russia trade deal, says Ben Wallace

The Former Defence Secretary made the prediction after a two-hour phone call between the US president and Russian leader

Politics

2 w. ago Trump and Putin hold phone call but Kremlin refuses Ukraine ceasefire

Trump describes call as ‘excellent,’ despite Putin’s lack of support for ceasefire that US said was primary objectiveTrump says Russia-Ukraine ceasefire discussions to start immediately but Kremlin denies timeline for talks – liveVladimir Putin and Donald Trump have held a rare phone call, which the US leader described as “excellent,” but the Kremlin refused to agree to a ceasefire in the war with Ukraine, despite pressure from Washington and European allies.Speaking to reporters in Sochi after the two-hour conversation on Monday, Putin described the call as “very meaningful and frank,” and said he was prepared to work with Ukraine on drafting a memorandum for future peace talks. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Putin addresses Russia Ukraine ceasefire hopes after phone call with Trump

Vladimir Putin has said Russia is ready to work towards ending the fighting in Ukraine, following his two-hour phone call with Donald Trump.

Politics