14 h. ago The Guardian view on billionaire Britain: tax wealth fairly or face democratic unravelling | Editorial

Without bold reform which makes the rich pull their weight, rising inequality risks eroding public trust and fracturing social stabilityBritain for the last decade has experienced a bleak paradox: rising child poverty alongside a dramatic increase in billionaire wealth. This inequality has been tolerated partly because greed has been rehabilitated as virtue. The Billionaire Britain report, published this week by the Equality Trust, reveals what many instinctively feel but few in parliament will admit: the UK economy has become a machine for the upward redistribution of wealth.Using Sunday Times Rich List data, the report found that the 50 wealthiest UK families now own more than the poorest half of the population combined. Their opulence is no accident. It’s largely built on the labour and consumption of those 34 million other Britons. The gains of society are being hoarded by those least in need. There’s a lexicon that sells it all as “entrepreneurial spirit” and bus...

Economics

22 h. ago Women baffled by 'bumless' knickers that look like a 'breezy slot machine'

Charmaine Hargreaves was shopping for fresh underwear when she stumbled across the bizarre 'Brianna lace bumpless briefs' - which feature a large hole over the bottom

Politics

3 d. ago Netflix to stream Sesame Street worldwide after Donald Trump pulls channel funding

Netflix will be adding Sesame Street to its streaming platform around the world after US President Donald Trump pulled funding for the free-to-air channel Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), where the beloved children's show is aired.

Politics

5 d. ago Slot machine firms target UK’s poorest areas and channel funds to billionaires

Exclusive: Politicians including Andy Burnham call for councils to be given powers to stop new sites openingSlot machine companies are targeting Britain’s poorest neighbourhoods and channelling the proceeds to billionaire-owned overseas corporations and a Wall Street fund that uses an offshore lending structure, the Guardian can reveal.The number of slot machine shops has risen by 7% since 2022, as companies -friendly planning and licensing laws to flood Britain’s high streets with new “adult gaming centres” (AGCs), most of which are open 24 hours a day. Continue reading...

Economics

2 w. ago Bill Gates says Elon Musk is 'killing the world's poorest children' in extraordinary attack after DOGE closed US aid agency

The Microsoft co-founder, who is ramping up his own philanthropic efforts, has now said Musk's decision could spell disaster for the world's most destitute.

Events

2 w. ago Spin doctors: gambling firms adopt hard tactics to flood towns with 24hr slot machines

Companies deploys highly paid lawyers and appears to mislead councillors – but local authorities are fighting backIt is almost 2am in Peterborough and a handful of punters are wordlessly feeding their money into the machines at Merkur Slots.A fragment of a song, the lyric “nothing to lose”, drifts through the shop as their funds rapidly evaporate. Closing time is fast approaching, but that does not mean the end of the gambling. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Spin doctors: gambling firms adopt hard tactics to flood towns with 24

Companies deploy highly-paid lawyers and appear to mislead councillors – but local authorities are fighting backIt is almost 2am in Peterborough and a handful of punters are wordlessly feeding their money into the machines at Merkur Slots.A fragment of a song, the lyric “nothing to lose”, drifts through the shop as their funds rapidly evaporate. Closing time is fast approaching, but that does not mean the end of the gambling. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Trump orders funding cut for public broadcasters NPR and PBS in fresh attack on media – US politics live

President accuses radio and TV channel of bias and pulls taxpayer fundingFormer national security adviser John Bolton has called on defense secretary Pete Hegseth to step down, citing concerns for his personal safety.Speaking on CNN, Bolton – who also served as US ambassador to the United Nations under President George W Bush – was asked whether Hegseth should remain in his position. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago I know how global aid works. Here’s how Britain can do the right thing – and make its money count | David Miliband

The politics of aid may be toxic, but the UK must realise that supporting the world’s poorest people is both a moral and pragmatic thing to doDavid Miliband is president and CEO of the International Rescue CommitteeIn more than 10 years working in the aid sector, I have seen extraordinary innovations, from childhood education programmes for refugee children, to AI-driven flood warnings that alert farmers in some of the most vulnerable places on earth. Many of the initiatives I’ve seen are remarkably impactful and deliver serious value for money: it costs the International Rescue Committee (IRC) just £3 ($4) to deliver a life-saving vaccine dose in the midst of a conflict in east Africa, for example.The politics surrounding international aid, however, are increasingly toxic. The UK’s Department for International Development and now the US equivalent, USAID, have been dismantled, despite the British public being more than twice as likely to say that aid has a positive rather than nega...

Economics

3 w. ago Slot machine: Liverpool evolution under Arne Slot results in dominant Premier League title win

The Dutchman came in and took Jurgen Klopp’s team and made it in his image

Politics

last month Glenn Middleton fires Celtic title party warning as Dundee United star tells Hoops 'we have everything to play for'

Jim Goodwin and his troops are determined to play party poopers and keep their own Europe target firmly on track

Events