17 h. ago British Lord Invites Maltese MPs To London Conservative Summit

British Lord Invites Maltese MPs To London Conservative Summit  Lovin Malta

Politics

26 h. ago Some British MPs spending equivalent of a day a week doing second jobs

Guardian analysis finds seven MPs have worked at least 300 hours since July in outside employmentA total of seven MPs have spent on average one working day a week on second jobs since the start of the 2024 parliament, with additional gigs as TV presenters, lawyers and consultants.A Guardian analysis of self-declared working hours found the seven had worked at least 300 hours since July – the equivalent of eight hours a week, in outside employment averaged across the parliament – totalling more than 3,000 hours between them. A further seven MPs had worked at least five hours a week on a second job. Continue reading...

Politics

44 h. ago It’s not too late to stop Trump and the Silicon Valley broligarchy from controlling our lives, but we must act now | Carole Cadwalladr

In her final piece for the Observer, Carole Cadwalladr reveals what happened when she returned last week to give the opening speech at technology conference Ted, where she gave her first – life-changing – talk six years agoTo walk into the lion’s den once might be considered foolhardy. To do so again after being mauled by the lion? It’s what ill-advised? Reckless? Suicidal? Six years ago I gave a talk at Ted, the world’s leading technology and ideas conference. It led to a gruelling lawsuit and a series of consequences that reverberate through my life to this day.And last week I returned. To give another talk that would incorporate some of my experience: a Ted Talk about being sued for giving a Ted Talk, and how the lessons I’d learned from surviving all that were a model for surviving “broligarchy” – a concept I first wrote about in the Observer in July last year: the alignment of Silicon Valley and autocracy, and a kind of power the world has never seen before. The key point I wan...

Politics

3 d. ago British fashion chain Joules shares 'sad' news as high street store to shut next week

The news of the closure was told to local shoppers through a sign in the window of the New Canal Street branch last week and its final day of trading will be Monday, April 21

Politics

4 d. ago The sweet story of how a chance meeting led to Australia’s ‘old baby cake’ going viral on Chinese social media

Demand for a small Sydney patisserie’s chocolate mousse creation leapt from 100 a week to 150 a day after a vlogger struck up a conversation on a trainWhen Paul Adam sees a long queue forming in front of his patisserie in the northern suburbs of Sydney, “That’s when I know I’m going to start working hard,” he says. In the weeks since one of his cakes went viral across several Chinese social media platforms, that has been nearly every day.The gluten-free hazelnut, meringue and chocolate mousse cake, with lorikeets stencilled in icing sugar on top, is, by Adam’s estimation, “only a cake” but it seems to mean much more to the customers queuing for it, some of whom have travelled from interstate, or overseas. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Rachel Reeves says Government is going to play a 'big role' in Scunthorpe steel

The Chancellor visited the British Steel facility in Scunthorpe after MPs voted to let ministers take control of the company to prevent Chinese owners Jingye from closing down Britain's last remaining blast furnaces

Politics

4 d. ago Maundy Thursday 2025: What is the meaning of the Christian holy day?

Maundy Thursday marks the fifth day of Holy Week in the lead-up to Easter

Politics

4 d. ago I walked 10,000 steps with a weighted backpack every day for a week – here are five reasons I’m not stopping

Use rucking to upgrade your walks, build strength and boost your fitness

Politics

5 d. ago A sultan’s banquet, Holy Week and Welsh gold: photos of the day – Wednesday

The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world Continue reading...

Culture

6 d. ago New bombshell claims about Harry and Charles' 'deepening rift' with pair 'distant'

Prince Harry and his father, King Charles III, failed to meet during his two-day visit to the UK last week, as tension between the father and son reportedly rumbles on with little sign of reconciliation

Events

6 d. ago From eating dessert for breakfast to cereal cocktails: Brits' unique ways of treating themselves

A poll of 2,000 adults found they typically enjoy treats around three times a week, with Friday the most popular day for doing so.

Politics

7 d. ago Beijing should be banished from vital British businesses as the UK must not let crucial industries 'fall into the arms of false friends', campaigners insist

The fiasco at British Steel prompted MPs, peers and experts to insist last night that it is time for ministers to get tough to stop another crisis.

Politics

7 d. ago MP refused entry to Hong Kong warns of closer relations with China

Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse raises concerns about a ‘hidden blacklist’ of MPs barred from entering former British territory

Events

8 d. ago China must be blocked from all of Britain's vital industries as British Steel fiasco shows Beijing

China must be blocked from all of Britain's vital industries as British Steel fiasco shows Beijing-linked companies cannot be trusted, MPs warn.

Politics

8 d. ago BP dropped its green pledges and turned back to oil. Now the price of crude has collapsed

At its AGM this week, the company will face not only the activist investor at its heels, but a global economy being changed from the White HouseAfter Donald Trump’s “liberation day” on Wednesday last week, BP lost almost a quarter of its market value in a share price rout even deeper than the oil giant endured in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The collapse in global oil prices in the wake of the US president’s ­tariff blitz may have wiped billions from its ­market value – but Trump isn’t BP’s only problem.The oil company will face shareholders this week for the first time since it bowed to investor pressure to abandon its green energy ambitions in favour of a return to fossil fuels, and its chair, Helge Lund, agreed to step down from the board. Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago Price hike on Shein? How Trump tariffs could shift the US’s love of fast fashion

Trump ended the ‘de-minimis’ rule while launching a trade war with China – which will make retail giants such as Temu more expensive, experts sayAfter a chaotic week of flip-flopping tariff policies, cheap clothes from China are nearly certain to face a steep price hike soon – prompting concern among fast fashion retailers and potentially pushing consumers to look for other alternatives.As part of a package of global tariff policies announced on “liberation day” last week, Donald Trump signed an executive order that ended a duty-free exemption for low-priced goods to enter the US from China and Hong Kong. Known as the “de-minimis” rule, packages under $800 do not qualify for any taxes or tariffs on the goods and are inspected minimally at the border. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Royal Navy on alert to escort essential fuel cargo to Scunthorpe after MPs vote to seize control of British Steel from Chinese owners

The Royal Navy could be deployed to deliver an essential fuel shipment to Scunthorpe's blast furnaces after MPs voted to seize control of British Steel from Chinese owners.

Politics

9 d. ago MPs scramble back from holidays for historic vote to save British steel

The extraordinary Saturday sitting to save British Steel's Scunthorpe plant from closing required the new law to clear both houses unopposed and receive royal approval before nightfall,

Politics

9 d. ago Reynolds gives instructions to British Steel after MPs back emergency law

The move came after an extraordinary sitting of Parliament on Saturday.

Politics

9 d. ago MPs approve emergency law to 'save' the UK's steel industry as MPs accuse China of trying to shut it down by closing British Steel blast furnaces

Both the Commons and the Lords have reconvened during Easter recess for a highly unusual Saturday sitting to debate a Bill aimed at blocking Jingye from closing the Scunthorpe site.

Politics