3 h. ago Chilean president declares state of catastrophe as wildfires kill at least 15

Fires blaze through 8,500 hectares, forcing 50,000 people to evacuate as firefighters struggle to extinguish flamesWildfires raging across central and southern Chile have killed at least 15 people, scorched thousands of hectares of forest and destroyed scores of homes, authorities said, as the South American country swelters under a heatwave.Chile’s president, Gabriel Boric, declared a state of catastrophe in the country’s central Biobío region and the neighbouring Ñuble region, about 500km (300 miles) south of Santiago, the capital. Continue reading...

Events

3 h. ago Chilean president declares state of catastrophe as wildfires kill at least 18

Fires blaze through 8,500 hectares, forcing 50,000 people to evacuate as firefighters struggle to extinguish flamesWildfires raging across central and southern Chile have killed at least 18 people, scorched thousands of hectares of forest and destroyed scores of homes, authorities said, as the South American country swelters under a heatwave.Chile’s president, Gabriel Boric, declared a state of catastrophe in the country’s central Biobío region and the neighbouring Ñuble region, about 500km (300 miles) south of Santiago, the capital. Continue reading...

Events

8 h. ago At least 5,000 have been killed in Iran during nationwide protests as judiciary hints at executions

At least 5,000 people have been killed during recent protests across Iran, an official in the region has claimed, including approximately 500 security personnel. The official, citing verified figures, accused "terrorists and armed rioters" of killing "innocent Iranians", though human rights groups offer significantly different tolls.

Events

15 h. ago Trump slams Supreme Leader as 'sick man' and Iran 'worst place to live'

US President Donald Trump has hit back at Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who blamed him for causing the anti-government protests where more than 3,000 people may have died

Politics

17 h. ago How the actions of two passionate sisters have helped hundreds of missing people

As The Independent’s SafeCall campaign hits its target of £165,000 alongside Missing People, it heard from those who witnessed the charity’s modest beginnings

Events

39 h. ago Collector issues warning over Queen Elizabeth coin on market for £70,000

Do you have this Queen Elizabeth II coin which was released to celebrate 25 years of Her Majesty's reign? People have spotted it with a mega price tag of £70,000

Events

41 h. ago He called himself an ‘untouchable hacker god’. But who was behind the biggest crime Finland has ever known?

How would you feel if your therapist’s notes – your darkest thoughts and deepest feelings – were exposed to the world? For 33,000 Finnish people, that became a terrifying reality, with deadly consequencesTiina Parikka was half-naked when she read the email. It was a Saturday in late October 2020, and Parikka had spent the morning sorting out plans for distance learning after a Covid outbreak at the school where she was headteacher. She had taken a sauna at her flat in Vantaa, just outside Finland’s capital, Helsinki, and when she came into her bedroom to get dressed, she idly checked her phone. There was a message that began with Parikka’s name and her social security number – the unique code used to identify Finnish people when they access healthcare, education and banking. “I knew then that this is not a game,” she says.The email was in Finnish. It was jarringly polite. “We are contacting you because you have used Vastaamo’s therapy and/or psychiatric services,” it read. “Unfortun...

Events

50 h. ago People could be due tax refund of nearly £4,000 after taking money out of pension pots

HMRC issued £48.7m in refunds between April and June last year for overpaid tax on pension withdrawals with the average refund worth around £3,800

Economics

58 h. ago At the root of all our problems stands one travesty: politicians’ surrender to the super

There are many excuses for failing to tax the ultra-wealthy. The truth is that governments don’t tackle the problem because they don’t want toThere is one political problem from which all others follow. It is the major cause of Donald Trump, of Nigel Farage, of the shocking weakness of their opponents, of the polarisation tearing societies apart, of the devastation of the living world. It is simply stated: the extreme wealth of a small number of people.It can also be quantified. The World Inequality Report (WIR) 2026 shows that about 56,000 people – 0.001% of the global population – corral three times more wealth than the poorest half of humanity. They afflict almost every country. In the UK, for example, 50 families hold more wealth than 50% of the population combined.George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Politics

58 h. ago ‘We’re in danger of extinction’: can Bolivia’s ‘water people’ survive a rising tide of salt and migration?

The Uru Chipaya, one of South America’s most ancient civilisations, are battling drought, salinity and an exodus of their people as the climate crisis wreaks havoc on their landIn the small town of Chipaya, everything is dry. Only a few people walk along the sandy streets, and many houses look abandoned – some secured with a padlock. The wind is so strong that it forces you to close your eyes.Chipaya lies on Bolivia’s Altiplano, 35 miles from the Chilean border. The vast plateau, nearly 4,000 metres above sea level, feels almost empty of people and animals, its solitude framed by snow-capped volcanoes. It raises the question: can anybody possibly live here? Continue reading...

Events

59 h. ago Zelensky declares state of emergency for Ukraine’s energy sector as temperatures drop

Some 200,000 people in Kyiv have been left without power as temperatures drop to -20C

Politics

60 h. ago 'Revolutionary' flat mop separates the clean water from the dirty and has a third off

More than 1,000 people have bought this mop in the past month

Politics

62 h. ago Iconic club night set to return to Glasgow as legendary DJs to headline

AN ICONIC club night is set to return to Glasgow in the coming months. Pressure was a hugely popular event at The Arches and was launched by Scottish techno duo Slam in 1998. The landmark monthly night attracted crowds of around 2,000 people to the legendary city centre club. Pressure stopped when The Arches closed...

Politics

3 d. ago Oleksandr Usyk could fight in front of WORLD RECORD boxing crowd at event with 150,000 people and a music festival

SAN FRANCISCO is reportedly gearing up to host a world-record boxing event which could feature heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk. The 38-year-old has not set foot in the ring for a professional bout since his fifth-round knockout victory over Daniel Dubois in July. But he is now in demand for a huge card which will...

Sport

3 d. ago Trump promised ‘Liberation Day’ was to bring back manufacturing jobs – but they have dipped every month since

72,000 fewer people work in U.S. manufacturing than when the president made his April tariffs announcement, data shows

Politics

3 d. ago Prado chief says Madrid art museum doesn’t need ‘single visitor more’

Record 3.5 million visited in 2025 and plans are afoot to ensure gallery does not become overburdened like LouvreThe head of the Prado has said the Madrid art museum does not need “a single visitor more” after it welcomed a record 3.5 million people last year, adding that plans are being drawn up to ensure it does not become a victim of its own success like the Louvre in Paris.In 2025 the Prado, which is home to such masterpieces as Velázquez’s Las Meninas and Hieronymus Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights, was visited by 3,513,402 people, an increase of more than 56,000 from the previous year. Visitor numbers have risen by more than 816,000 over the past decade. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Prado cannot be like ‘the Metro at rush hour’, says Madrid museum’s chief

Record 3.5 million visited in 2025 and plans are afoot to ensure gallery does not become overburdened like LouvreThe head of the Prado has said the Madrid art museum does not need “a single visitor more” after it welcomed a record 3.5 million people last year, adding that plans are being drawn up to ensure it does not become a victim of its own success like the Louvre in Paris.In 2025 the Prado, which is home to such masterpieces as Velázquez’s Las Meninas and Hieronymus Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights, was visited by 3,513,402 people, an increase of more than 56,000 from the previous year. Visitor numbers have risen by more than 816,000 over the past decade. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago More than 100,000 people urge MPs to ban social media for under

Letters sent using campaign group’s template as Keir Starmer indicates Australia-style move being consideredMPs’ inboxes have been flooded with letters calling for an Australia-style social media ban for under-16s, as the prime minister indicated such a move was being considered.More than 100,000 people have contacted their local MP since the grassroots organisation Smartphone Free Childhood launched an email campaign on Tuesday evening with a template calling for “reasonable, age-appropriate boundaries”. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago ‘It’s AI blackface’: social media account hailed as the Aboriginal Steve Irwin is an AI character created in New Zealand

More than 180,000 people follow the Bush Legend’s accounts across Meta platforms, but its Aboriginal host is a work of digital fictionGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastWith a mop of dark curls and brown eyes, Jarren stands in the thick of the Australian outback, red dirt at his feet, a snake unfurling in front of him.In a series of online videos, the social media star, known online as the Bush Legend, walks through dense forests or drives along deserted roads on the hunt for wedge-tailed eagles. Many of the videos are set to pulsating percussion instruments and yidakis (didgeridoo). Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago 5,000 residents are told to evacuate their homes and school is closed after two unexploded WW2 bombs are discovered across Devon

Around 5,000 people have been evacuated from 2,000 properties in Exmouth and Plymouth after the wartime devices were found.

Events