63 m. ago Scottish Government to hold emergency response meeting as wildfires ravage country

The disaster response came after a weekend of wildfires across the country, with a huge blaze that spread over a large area of forest in Galloway prompting evacuations.

Politics

2 h. ago Quangos could be forced to close or merge under Whitehall review

It comes after Sir Keir Starmer announced last month that NHS England would be abolished.

Events

2 h. ago Asda launches massive trial of live facial recognition technology that can pick up on thieves in SECONDS in an attempt to combat shoplifting 'epidemic'

The supermarket is introducing the scheme in five stores across the Manchester area in a move branded 'disproportionate' and 'chilling' by anti-surveillance groups.

Politics

3 h. ago Trump officials claim 50 nations want to start US trade talks as Starmer vows to protect UK businesses

Back in Britain, the Prime Minister has pledged to ‘turbocharge plans that will improve our domestic competitiveness’ in the wake of Trump’s tariffs and fears of a global trade war

Politics

4 h. ago Dozens of families join plan for class action over UK police contact deaths

Lawsuit would be first of its kind against police officers, police chiefs and government departmentsMore than 100 relatives of people who have died after contact with the police in the UK since 1971 have joined plans for a class action lawsuit in pursuit of compensation and justice.The plan for group legal action was announced at the People’s Tribunal on Police Killings, a two-day event in which bereaved families presented evidence to a panel of international experts on how their relatives died and the long-term impact this has had on them. Continue reading...

Events

4 h. ago Under Trump and Musk, billionaires wield unprecedented influence over US national security

Government officials and contractors long controlled spy operations. Now the likes of Musk and Bezos are in controlJust days before Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, Blue Origin, the space company owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, launched its New Glenn rocket, named for John Glenn, the Mercury astronaut who was the first American to orbit the Earth. Around 2am on 16 January, the 30-story rocket powered by seven engines blasted off into the Florida night from Cape Canaveral’s historic launch complex 36, which first served as a Nasa launch site in 1962.The flight’s end was marred by a failure to bring the booster rocket back for further use, but the successful launch and orbit still marked a watershed moment for Blue Origin in its bid to compete with SpaceX, the company owned by Elon Musk, for dominance over American spy satellite operations. During the Trump administration, it is likely that both companies will play significant roles in placing spy satellites into Earth orbit, ...

Politics

6 h. ago More than 50 countries seeking US trade talks after tariff move, says Trump adviser – live updates

Kevin Hassett claims tariffs will not have a big effect on US consumers and there will be no ‘political coercion’ over interest ratesStarmer orders economic reset amid Trump’s tariff mayhemIndonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy which faces a 32% tariff rate, said it will not retaliate against the levies and would instead pursue diplomacy and negotiations to find mutually beneficial solutions. Jakarta has said it would send a high-level delegation to the US for direct negotiations with the government.Cambodia asked the US government on Friday to postpone the 49% tariff rate on its products, the highest rate in Asia and second-highest globally.Vietnam’s leader To Lam and Donald Trump agreed on Friday to discuss a deal to remove tariffs (Vietnam will be subject to a 46% tariff).Brazil, which faces a 10% levy on its exports to the US, has said its “government is evaluating all possible actions to ensure reciprocity in bilateral trade, including resorting to the World Trade Organiza...

Politics

6 h. ago SNL's brutal takedown of Elon Musk leaves audience groaning in discomfort

SNL's cold open left fans uncomfortable after the show brutally took aim at Elon Musk. The tech CEO announced he would be stepping down from his high-profile government role on Wednesday.

Events

7 h. ago The alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO killer faces the death penalty. Will a jury impose that punishment?

Even if he’s convicted, a jury might decide on a lesser punishment for Luigi Mangione in the trial’s penalty phaseIt was a decision that everyone expected to come. But it still had all the drama of a made-for-television legal show: would the government seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione, the man accused of murdering a top health insurance executive on a Manhattan street?The answer came last week: yes. Continue reading...

Events

8 h. ago As a young man, I fell in love with the US. The country’s soul is still there, despite Trump’s best efforts to destroy it | John Harris

For many of us, the United States means music, progress, hope. Whatever their president does, plenty of Americans continue to believe in those tooIt seems as inevitable as the economic chaos let loose by Donald Trump’s mad avalanche of tariffs: a precipitous drop in the number of tourists visiting the US, which is now forecast to be even worse than initially feared. In February, overseas travel to the country was down by 5% compared with the previous year – and, now, reputable forecasters are predicting a drop of nearly twice that size.We all know why. Trump’s hostile words about Canada and Mexico have hit the US’s top two markets for tourism. Finnish, German and Danish transgender and non-binary people have been advised by their governments to contact a US diplomatic mission before travelling there. Note also a trickle of reports about outsiders falling foul of the cruel stringency apparently now gripping the American authorities: a 28-year-old woman from north Wales held for 19 da...

Politics

8 h. ago Josephine Baker: the superstar turned spy who fought the Nazis and for civil rights

Book highlights performer’s wartime contribution and how she used her fame to provide cover and promote equal rightsShe was, according to US wartime counter-intelligence officer Lt Paul Jensen, “our No 1 contact in French Morocco”, supporting the allied mission “at great risk to her own life – and I mean that literally. We would have been quite helpless without her.”The British intelligence agent Donald Darling had her down as an especially “cherished agent of [Charles] de Gaulle’s government”. Well aware of her importance, the UK foreign intelligence service MI6 called her “the pet lady agent” of the Free French. Continue reading...

Politics

10 h. ago ‘Deception, fraud and coercion’: the Miami property magnate brothers accused of rape

Alon, Oren and Tal Alexander used their money and influence to build a sex-trafficking network, prosecutors sayThe Alexanders are the ultimate Miami crime story: three brothers from one of Florida’s wealthiest families, opulent real estate, luxury yachts and fast cars; there are drugs, fashion models and A-list celebrities. And, ultimately, a trio who flew too close to the sun, only to crash back down to Earth.The downfall of the Alexander twins Alon and Oren, and their elder sibling Tal, is reflected in their current residence, a federal jail in New York ahead of their trial next year. They face charges including rape, sexual assault and the sexual trafficking of dozens of victims. Continue reading...

Events

11 h. ago Doge’s attack on social security causing ‘complete, utter chaos’, staff says

Understaffed agency sent into ‘death spiral’ as employees warn Musk-led cuts will lead to structural collapseOffice closures, staffing and service cuts, and policy changes at the Social Security Administration (SSA) have caused “complete, utter chaos” and are threatening to send the agency into a “death spiral”, according to workers at the agency.The SSA operates the largest government program in the US, administering social insurance programs, including retirement, disability and survivor benefits. Continue reading...

Events

11 h. ago ‘The financial strain of having a baby left me suicidal – it’s time for mothers to be fairly compensated’

Grace Carter says she is still in huge amount of debt after trying to keep her business as well as her young family afloat – with parental leave pay less than half National Living Wage, which has been set out to ensure basic standard of living

Events

11 h. ago Labour ‘right’ to suspend MP arrested on suspicion of rape, says minister

The party confirmed on Saturday night that it had suspended the 65-year-old MP for North East Somerset and Hanham.

Politics

12 h. ago Sierra Leone has a problem with the drug Kush. Why are these women not being helped?

Sierra Leone's government has declared a public health emergency over the drug Kush.

Events

12 h. ago Plane nearly clips lorry as it's forced to crash land in major motorway emergency

The pilot of a plane showed some serious skill when they were forced to crash land onto a motorway when their engine failed them, nearly clipping a lorry and multiple cars in the process

Events

12 h. ago Pilot dies after his helicopter crashes while extinguishing a fire in South Korea

A helicopter has crashed during an operation to extinguish a fire in southeastern South Korea on Sunday, killing its pilot

Events

13 h. ago Brazil plane crash horror as pilot makes brutal emergency landing on busy motorway

A pilot of a light aircraft in Gauramirim, Brazil, was forced to make an emergency landing on a busy motorway as incredible footage showed it landing among cars

Events

13 h. ago Russell Brand seen in public just hours after being charged with rape

Russell Brand was charged by The Metropolitan Police with rape and sexual assault.

Events