37 m. ago Zelenskyy joins EU leaders’ meeting over €800bn defence plan after Macron’s stark Russia warning – Europe live

Leaders gather to discuss €800bn plan to boost military capacity and help Ukraine as French president says Europe has to be ready to defend itself without US helpSee all our Ukraine war coverageFrance is offering intelligence to Ukraine, French defence minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Thursday, with Paris stepping in to help and fill the void left after the US suspended its intelligence sharing with Kyiv.Speaking to France Inter radio, he also said that president Macron asked him to accelerate the French aid packages “to compensate” for the suspended US aid.In a famously cautious political culture, Mr Merz’s bid to bypass legal restrictions on government debt represents a seismic shift. It would permit a step-change in defence spending for years to come, putting Germany in a leadership position as Europe seeks strategic autonomy from the United States.Mr Merz, a former investment banker, has been a deficit hawk and economic liberal throughout his career. It is an irony of fate tha...

Events

61 m. ago Public vote to be held on which Ukrainian town Bury should ‘twin’ with

People in the town will decide between the towns of Ivano Frankivsk and Uzhgorod in a bid to 'continue solidarity with the war-torn country'

Politics

87 m. ago Flesh by David Szalay review – brilliantly spare portrait of a man

From youthful curiosity to midlife resignation, the protagonist is buffeted by forces beyond his control in this thrilling exploration of what it means to be aliveSamuel Butler’s 1903 novel The Way of All Flesh carried with it an implied subtitle. In the book of Kings, from which Butler drew his title, the dying David tells his son Solomon, “take thou courage and shew thyself a man”. Butler’s inference was clear enough: here is a book about what it means to live, what it means to die, and what might be a worthwhile way to fill the time in between.Flesh, the sixth book from Booker-shortlisted David Szalay, has more than just a biblical allusion in common with Butler’s masterpiece. Thrillingly, in an age when we arguably have weaker stomachs for such things, it also shares its bold ontological and artistic ambitions. In Flesh, Szalay has written a novel about the Big Question: about the numbing strangeness of being alive; about what, if anything, it means to amble through time in a ma...

Politics

88 m. ago Nearly 200 fired CDC employees invited back to work, two weeks after job cuts

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has invited some employees back to work, just two weeks after laying them off

Society

2 h. ago Tropical Cyclone Alfred live updates: BoM tracking map forecast shows category 2 storm hitting Brisbane and south

BoM path track map predicts TC Alfred will cross coast on Saturday near Brisbane, the first storm of its size to do so in decades. Follow the latest updates todayWhy did Tropical Cyclone Alfred slow down on its path towards the east coast?What is melioidosis and why do cases spike after flooding and heavy rainfall?Brisbane flood map: suburbs at risk during Cyclone AlfredSpeaking of preparations, adjunct senior lecturer at the Centre for Disaster Studies at James Cook University Yetta Gurtner gives advice here:Chalmers confident insurance companies ‘know their responsibilities’I’m confident they know their responsibilities and obligations to people. Continue reading...

Events

2 h. ago Discovery opens up ‘new class of potential natural antibiotics’

Researchers in Israel discovered a part of the body known to recycle proteins can also generate bacteria-killing chemicals.

Politics

2 h. ago Lori Vallow reveals 'evidence' that will have her exonerated in jaw

Lori Vallow, 51, was sentenced to multiple life sentences with no chance of parole in July 2023 for murdering two of her kids and conspiring to kill her husband's former wife.

Politics

2 h. ago Biggest Crufts scandals from sinister dog 'murder plot' to tail docking controversy

The world's most famous dog show is back, with pooches expected from all over the globe as thousands of breeders and owners descend on the NEC in Birmingham in a bid to win competitions

Events

2 h. ago The top Rangers transfer priority in bid to catch Celtic runaway train as 49ers sent warning over spending

The Ibrox side are on brink of being taken over by a wealthy American consortium but that won't cure all of their ills

Events

2 h. ago Hamilton Accies boss challenges his side to maintain form in derby battle

Accies head to Airdrie on Saturday desperate for points in their bid to escape the play-off place

Events

3 h. ago TikTok goes into meltdown as pilot leaves plane passenger amazing note on napkin

TikTok users reacted to Steph Bohrer's post about the jaw-dropping note the tourist received at a busy airport - and the pilot's sweet words have divided opinion

Politics

4 h. ago Mum of schoolboy bludgeoned to death with candlestick dreamt of violent attack before learning news

Alex Morgan – who studied at King Charles’ former boarding school in Moray – was brutally killed with a candle by art gallery owner Bennet von Vertes at a Swiss villa in 2014.

Events

4 h. ago South Korea jet disaster as shell dropped on civilian area during live

Eight people were injured in South Korea when a shell was accidentally dropped on civilian properties during a joint South Korea-U.S. live-fire exercise on Thursday.

Events

5 h. ago Top Hong Kong court overturns convictions of 3 former organizers of Tiananmen vigils

Three former organizers of Hong Kong’s annual vigil in remembrance of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown have won their bid at the top court to overturn their conviction over their refusal to provide information to police, marking a rare victory for the city’s pro-democracy activists

Events

6 h. ago Horrific moment dog 'breaks off lead' and starts attacking horses pulling buggies

Dashcam footage shows the out-of-control hound running at full speed into the path of the horses in Oldham, Greater Manchester, on Monday.

Events

6 h. ago Sir Keir Starmer's secrecy over the Southport killings 'could have put the entire murder trial at risk', terror watchdog warns

Jonathan Hall KC criticised authorities for failing to 'spell out basic and sober facts' about the teenager after he murdered three young girls at a dance class last year.

Events

6 h. ago UK's 'poorest' seaside village gets £20m boost in drastic bid to change it forever

Often branded one of the most 'deprived' seaside resorts in the whole of Britain, Jaywick Sands is ready for a significant makeover - all thanks to a hefty amount of funding that has been approved

Economics

7 h. ago Ukraine war briefing: Russian missile strike on Kryvyi Rih hotel kills two; EU leaders to gather for summit

Two killed and 28 injured in Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s home city; Ukrainian president to join EU leaders in Brussels, with shared nuclear deterrence on the agendaSee all our Ukraine war coverage Continue reading...

Events

7 h. ago Killer Albanian mafia kingpin 'is free to walk the streets of Britain' after claiming he'd be murdered in his home country

Mafia kingpin, Maksim Cela, 59, was detained in the UK just days after serving half of a 25-year life sentence for murder and terrorism in Albania, The Sun reports.

Events

8 h. ago Shoreham airshow pilot who was at the controls during disaster that killed 11 is making ANOTHER bid to fly

Ex-RAF airman Andy Hill, 60, has challenged the Civil Aviation Authority's (CAA) decision to revoke his pilot licences in the High Court, sparking fury from those who lost loved ones.

Events