83 m. ago John Swinney challenged to fix Scots NHS and schools with £5.8bn cash boost from Rachel Reeves

EXCLUSIVE: Rachel Reeves' recent Spening Review will hand SNP ministers billions more in funding by the end of the decade.

Economics

7 h. ago Live Aid at 40: When Rock ’n’ Roll Took on the World review – the moment Bob Geldof bursts into tears is astounding

This fascinating portrait of a complex man’s attempt to solve an impossible problem is packed with amazing archive footage – from George Michael singing to Thatcher being beratedOn the evening of 23 October 1984, Bob Geldof, singer with the waning pop act the Boomtown Rats, had a social engagement. He had been invited to Mayfair for the launch of a book by Peter York, profiler of London’s most privileged bons vivants. But before he left the house, Geldof watched the BBC television news and a report by Michael Buerk about a hellish famine in Ethiopia.Among the many startling, blackly comic archive clips in Live Aid at 40: When Rock ’n’ Roll Took on the World is footage of Geldof at that glitzy party, reeling from what he had seen on TV and remarking to a fellow guest that it was “gross” for them to be enjoying champagne and canapes. That tension between glamour and guilt is at the heart of this three-part retrospective that doesn’t ignore the flaws in Geldof’s grand plan to use music...

Politics

10 h. ago Kneecap at Finsbury Park: 'infamy doesn't weigh heavily on them'

Jake Hawkes on the most controversial group of the moment hitting the big stage in Finsbury Park in typically outspoken form

Politics

11 h. ago Fontaines D.C. at Finsbury Park: 'the band of their generation'

A political set of performances in Finsbury Park ends in a cathartic performance by Fontaines

Politics

11 h. ago The Charlatans at Castlefield Bowl: 'that other Manchester band should take notes'

Oasis are not the only legendary band from Manchester on the comeback trail

Politics

11 h. ago Ben Stokes’ waning influence with the bat on display in England’s soggy defeat | Andy Bull

Captain was bamboozled by Jadeja’s bowling before falling to Washington Sundar in crushing second Test loss to IndiaIt was raining hard in Birmingham on Sunday morning. A weight of great black clouds broke over the city while it was feeling its way into the day. On the streets people pressed themselves together under the cover of bus stops and awnings: revellers off to the Queens Heath pride festival, heavy metal lovers making their way home after Black Sabbath’s farewell gig at Villa Park the previous evening, and cricket supporters bound for the ground, most of them with last-minute tickets, split between anxious Indian and wry English fans, the only people in the city who were happy enough to be getting wet.The bad weather was about the only way England were going to get out of this match with a draw. A team who have spent three years learning how to do the improbable were in no position at all to attempt the unremarkable and bat out the match, even after the rain had washed out ...

Politics

12 h. ago The Guardian view on the BBC’s future: the broadcaster’s independence and funding face challenges | Editorial

Lisa Nandy’s call for a modern Annan-style review offers a chance to renew the broadcaster for a fragmented digital ageThe BBC will soon charge US users for full news access. In Britain, it may seem a distant prospect, but if universality can be dropped abroad, how long before it’s tested at home? With the BBC’s charter due for renewal in 2027, the funding debate is intensifying. What becomes of the licence fee will define the broadcaster’s future.There is increased scrutiny of Auntie’s independence and impartiality after political pressure was applied through censure, funding freezes and contentious board appointments. What the BBC should look like in a fragmented media landscape is uncertain. A big question is whether the licence fee levied on households should be replaced by subscription, limited advertising or public funding. The last option is surely a non-starter, opening the door to more direct political control. Carrying adverts would force the BBC to compete with other broa...

Politics

16 h. ago Butler by Salena Zito review – how Trump won America’s heartland

From the site of the failed assassination comes a sharp-eyed account of Trump’s political gains – and Democrats’ failings The Democrats’ famed blue wall is more the stuff of nostalgia than reality. On election day 2024, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin voted for Donald Trump for the second time in three elections. Barack Obama’s upstairs-downstairs coalition lies in ruins, as Democrats struggle to connect with working-class voters across racial and ethnic lines.Last November, Trump came within just three points of winning a majority of Latino voters. Such Americans walked away from their presumed political home – in droves. A Trump endorsement by Roberto Clemente Jr, son of the late Pittsburgh Pirates baseball star, was a harbinger. Likewise, Trump posted double-digit gains among Catholics and Jews, once core constituencies in the Democratic party of FDR.Butler is published in the US by Hachette Continue reading...

Politics

17 h. ago Greg Taylor's final Celtic contract pitch from Parkhead teammate as 'empty space' left behind by PAOK transfer

The midfielder has opened up on the exit of his boyhood buddy and his ambitions for the new season

Sport

17 h. ago Luke McCowan opens up on World Cup dream as he sets fresh Celtic target

The Hoops midfielder has big ambitions after an impressive first season at Parkhead

Events

18 h. ago Miller & Carter defends drinks policy after diner vows to boycott restaurant

A Miller & Carter customer raged at the chain's alcohol policy and vowed to never return to the restaurant in a scathing review

Events

19 h. ago 'This Boux Avenue strapless bra solved my summer wedding outfit dilemma'

Shopping Writer Meghan recently put this Boux Avenue strapless bra to the test, to see if it could hide seamlessly under a backless halterneck dress she wore to a summer wedding, without sacrificing style for support

Politics

19 h. ago 'I wore this Boux Avenue bra to a summer wedding and it solved my outfit dilemma'

Shopping Writer Meghan recently had an outfit dilemma as she needed a bra that wouldn't be visible with the dress she was wearing to a summer wedding - and this Boux Avenue one that worked a treat

Politics

20 h. ago Met commissioner calls for the axing of 43 county constabularies and the forming of '12 mega forces'

In a damning review of UK's crime fighting set up, the Met Police boss said the current system has not 'been fit for purpose for at least two decades'.

Events

22 h. ago Review: Levoit Pedestal Air Circulator Fan is the quiet solution to summer heat

It's whisper quiet thanks to a brushless DC motor operating at 20dB, which is quieter than the sound of falling leaves!

Society

22 h. ago Review: Cosori Dual Blaze Twinfry 10 Litre Air Fryer brings you the best of both worlds

Fryer can easily toggle between two compartments and one large cooking space

Politics

22 h. ago The Latehomecomer by Mavis Gallant book review: Glittering tales of emotional truth

Mavis Gallant is back in fashion. Of course, for those paying attention, the late Canadian writer never went out of fashion in the first place. Be that as it may, she’s back, in the form of this Pushkin Press Classics edition of her short stories, complete with an introduction from author Tessa Hadley.

Politics

23 h. ago The UN is our best defence against a third world war. As Trump wields the axe, who will fight to save it? | Simon Tisdall

If the US cuts off the cash it will have world-changing effects, but it’s not the only country falling short in its obligations to the United Nations The United Nations and its agencies have long struggled with funding shortfalls. Now an entrenched problem is becoming an acute crisis in the shadow of Donald Trump’s executioner’s axe. The US is the biggest contributor, at 22%, to the UN’s core budget. In February, the White House announced a six-month review of US membership of all international organisations, conventions and treaties, including the UN, with a view to reducing or ending funding – and possible withdrawal. The deadline for decapitation falls next month.Trump’s abolition of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and scrapping of most aid programmes, has already badly damaged UN-led and UN-backed humanitarian operations, which rely on discretionary funding. Yet Trump’s axe symbolises a more fundamental threat – to multilateralism and the much-battered inter...

Politics

23 h. ago From swim schools to eye clinics: how families of 7/7 victims used heartbreak to help others

Relatives tell of their determination to see good come from the killing of their loved ones in 2005 London bombingsIn the city of Bhubaneswar, the capital of the north-east Indian state of Odisha, there is an eye clinic that has transformed the lives of thousands of children.Before the unit was established in 2008, according to its vice-chair, there was no dedicated children’s eye care centre in the entire eastern part of India, a country home to 20% of the world’s blind children. The clinic now sees about 3,000 children a month and performs 350 eye surgeries – a significant proportion of them at no cost to the often very poor families who need them. Continue reading...

Events

23 h. ago Marjorie’s, London W1: ‘Original, and truly, madly good’ – restaurant review | Grace dent on restaurants

Marjorie’s, London W1: ‘Original, and truly, madly good’ – restaurant review | Grace dent on restaurants  The Guardian

Politics