54 m. ago Virgin Media issues statement as customers left without internet for hours

An outage was first reported last night

Economics

58 m. ago Even Bazball’s implosion can’t shake Barmy Army’s crew of Ashes veterans | Emma John

If anyone knows how to weather a whitewash, it’s the merry band of England fans marking their 30th anniversary at their spiritual homeCourage, soldier. Ben Stokes’s England team may be heading into the third Ashes Test already 2-0 down, but not everyone in English cricket is fazed. There is one group tailor-made for this scenario, a crack(pot) unit who can lay claim to be the ultimate doomsday preppers. Have your dreams been shattered? Are you crushed beneath the weight of unmet expectation? Then it’s time to join the Barmy Army, son.Already their advance guard are moving in on Adelaide, the city where they officially formed 30 years ago. England’s most famous – and per capita noisiest – travelling fans will be hoping for an anniversary win-against-the-odds, like the one they witnessed on that 1994-95 tour. And whatever happens on the pitch, off it the parties will be long and loud. Continue reading...

Politics

85 m. ago Davina McCall breaks silence after 'secretly marrying' hairdresser Michael Douglas

The TV star and Michael recently tied the knot in front of immediate family and their closest friends

Society

1 hour ago Joyride by Susan Orlean review – an extraordinary, curious life

An exuberant, inspiring memoir from the New Yorker writer and author of The Orchid ThiefIn 2017, 10 years after Susan Orlean profiled Caltech-trained physicist turned professional origami artist Robert Lang for the New Yorker, she attended the OrigamiUSA convention to take Lang’s workshop on folding a “Taiwan goldfish”. I was with her, a radio producer trying to capture the sounds of paper creasing as Orlean attempted to keep pace with the “Da Vinci of origami”, wincing when her goldfish’s fins didn’t exactly flutter in hydrodynamic splendour.It was Orlean in her element: an adventurous student, inquisitive and exacting, fully alive to the mischief inherent to reporting – and primed to extract some higher truth. “When we first met you said something to me I’ve never forgotten,” Orlean told Lang. “That paper has a memory – that once you fold it, you can never entirely remove the fold.” Was that, she wondered, an insight about life, too? Continue reading...

Politics

1 hour ago As the UK looks to invest in nuclear, here’s what it could mean for Britain’s environment

In this week’s newsletter: The government’s bid to speed up nuclear construction could usher in sweeping deregulation, with experts warning of profound consequences for nature• Don’t get Down to Earth delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereWhen UK prime minister Keir Starmer announced last week that he was “implementing the Fingleton review”, you can forgive the pulse of most Britons for failing to quicken.But behind the uninspiring statement lies potentially the biggest deregulation for decades, posing peril for endangered species, if wildlife experts are to be believed, and a likely huge row with the EU.2025 ‘virtually certain’ to be second- or third-hottest year on record, EU data showsJust 0.001% hold three times the wealth of the poorest half of humanity, report finds‘Even the animals seem confused’: a retreating Kashmir glacier is creating an entire new world in its wake Continue reading...

Events

2 h. ago Review: Jason Manford in Robin Hood delivers panto magic at Manchester Opera House

You're guaranteed a belly-clutching night of laughs with Jason Manford and silly sidekick Ben Nickless back in panto action, reports Dianne Bourne.

Society

2 h. ago One factor has caused DWP disability benefit claims to surge £900m

The reason more people are now claiming disability benefits has been explained in a new report

Economics

2 h. ago Primal Scream swastika storm: Roundhouse issues apology for 'antisemitic imagery' shown at gig

The Roundhouse in Camden has issued an apology over the incident which has been reported to police

Events

2 h. ago ‘Men explicitly loving men is so threatening to the status quo’: why are gay male pop stars being shut out of the music industry?

Not long ago, artists such as Lil Nas X and Olly Alexander were ruling pop. But success has stalled as acts face industry obstacles and rising homophobia. What now?At the turn of the decade, gay male and non-binary pop stars seemed poised to take pop music by storm. Lil Nas X broke out with Old Town Road – which blew up on TikTok, sold about 18.5m copies and remains tied with Shaboozey’s A Bar Song (Tipsy) and Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You as the longest-running No 1 single in US history – and artists such as Sam Smith, Troye Sivan and Olly Alexander from Years & Years were all singing about gay love and sex.But the initial promise has stalled. Lil Nas X’s attempts to build on his smash debut album have fizzled, and he is publicly dealing with mental health issues. In October, Khalid released his first album since being outed by his ex last year but only sold 10,000 copies in the first week in the US. A previous album, 2019’s Free Spirit, sold some 200,000 copie...

Events

3 h. ago Church nativity scenes add zip ties, gas masks and ICE to protest immigration raids

Nativity scenes at some churches are sparking fierce debates

Events

3 h. ago PHOTO ESSAY: In Texas, a former Chinese official targeted by Beijing's surveillance finds refuge

The Chinese government is using an increasingly powerful tool to control and monitor its own officials: Surveillance technology, much of it originating in the United States, an Associated Press investigation has found.

Events

3 h. ago Health and safety rules holding UK infrastructure back, says writer of government report

Exclusive: John Fingleton says regulators need to change their attitude to risk to end the country’s economic stagnationOverbearing health and safety rules are stopping Britain building new infrastructure, according to the economist whom Keir Starmer has cited as an inspiration for his growth strategy.John Fingleton, who recently wrote a report for government on how to encourage developers to build new nuclear power plants, told the Guardian regulators needed to change their attitude to risk if the country was to end its long economic stagnation. Continue reading...

Politics

3 h. ago If the US forces me to choose between my two nationalities, I choose France – and Europe | Alexander Hurst

Proposals to change US citizenship rules leaves dual citizens like me caught in the crossfire. If push comes to shove, I know where my loyalty lies Continue reading...

Politics

4 h. ago People on PIP must report certain changes to DWP or monthly payments could stop

PIP claimants may also have to pay a penalty if they give the DWP wrong information.

Politics

5 h. ago Fin dining! How orca and dolphins team up to hunt salmon... and then EAT together

The two marine mammals were also caught sharing fish scraps after killing their prey, according to a study published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Politics

6 h. ago Dozens killed in hospital strike in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state

Conflict monitors say the junta has increased airstrikes year-on-year since the start of Myanmar’s civil warDozens have been killed in a military strike on a hospital in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state, according to an aid worker, a rebel group, a witness and local media reports, as the junta wages a withering offensive ahead of elections beginning this month.“The situation is very terrible,” said on-site aid worker Wai Hun Aung. “As for now, we can confirm there are 31 deaths and we think there will be more deaths. Also there are 68 wounded and will be more and more.” Continue reading...

Events

7 h. ago Driver arrested and 13 people detained after police swarm the M40

A lorry driver has been arrested on suspicion of immigration offences after roughly 15 police vehicles swarmed the motorway following reports that a number of people were travelling in the back of a HGV

Events

7 h. ago Chyna Mills' 'bitter feud with fiancé Neil Jones' family has been brewing for years

The feud between Chyna Mills and Neil Jones ' family has been brewing for ages, according to a new report.

Politics

7 h. ago 'Starmer lied to my face': Entrepreneur's fury after PM told him in 2024 not to fear rates reforms

Steve Perez, who set up drinks maker Global Brands, said Keir Starmer assured him two days before the general election that he had 'nothing to fear'.

Politics

7 h. ago US ‘prepares to board more Venezuela oil tankers’ as White House ‘won’t watch them sail the seas’ & sanctions 6 more

US officials are reportedly preparing to storm and seize more tankers transporting Venezuelan oil to put pressure on dictator Nicolás Maduro. Tensions between Washington and Caracas escalated when rifle-wielding US troops rappelled from helicopters to raid an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. Stunning footage showed commandos sweeping through the ship as they executed...

Events