44 m. ago Denise Lewis backs Josh Kerr to lead British hopes at home European Championships in Birmingham

Kerr will be part of a star-studded men's 1500m race

Politics

8 h. ago Labour 'considers' adopting EU rules forcing all new cars to have these 19 safety systems

Ministers say they are in the process of determining which of 19 safety systems required for models sold in Europe since last summer are 'right for Britain'.

Politics

15 h. ago Every European country hiking tourist taxes as Brits warned over soaring costs

From the consistently sunny country of Portugal to an insatiably popular city in Italy, make sure you don't get stung by rising tourist taxes this summer

Events

26 h. ago Latest Greece travel warning for Brits as government highlights three key dates to avoid

The UK Foreign Office has updated its guidance for British holidaymakers heading to Greece, including three key dates that travellers should try to avoid being in the country for

Events

29 h. ago Swahili? Mandarin? The UK is increasingly multilingual – yet our politicians won’t talk about it | Laura Spinney

Even the census ignores them, but multilinguals could hold the key to Britain’s social and economic futureLaura Spinney is a science journalist and the author of Proton: How One Ancient Language went GlobalAs the chancellor searches for ways to stimulate growth, here’s a reminder to her – on the International Day of Multilingualism – that she’s sitting on a huge pot of gold. In 2014, the all-party parliamentary group on modern languages estimated that the UK’s untapped linguistic potential was worth£48bn. It’s £8bn more than Reeves added to the tax bill last year, and if anything it has grown, since Brexit has re-oriented “global Britain” towards customers beyond Europe. Ask any native English speaker who trades internationally: if you’re buying, English will do, but if you’re selling, better to speak the client’s tongue.The UK’s language teaching has been in steady decline for 30 years, and a big cause is a lack of qualified language teachers. That’s one reality. Another is that, o...

Politics

33 h. ago Macron dismisses Russian demands as ‘coalition of the willing’ gathers in Paris for Ukraine talks – Europe live

French president rules out any lifting of sanctions and says European forces could be deployed to mark ‘clear support’Among the European leaders expected in Paris, we are going to see the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, who said in a statement released overnight that “unlike President Zelenskyy, Putin has shown he’s not a serious player in these peace talks.”He said:“Playing games with the agreed naval ceasefire in the Black Sea despite good faith participation from all sides – all while continuing to inflict devastating attacks on the Ukrainian people. His promises are hollow.The US is playing a leading role by convening the ceasefire talks, President Zelenskyy has demonstrated his commitment repeatedly, and Europe is stepping up to play its part to defend Ukraine’s future. Now Putin needs to show he’s willing to play ball.” Continue reading...

Politics

37 h. ago Europe's cheapest country for 2025 with pints for less than £2 and £28 flights

Bulgaria has been named the cheapest country in Europe for Brits to visit in 2025 - with pints for less than £2 and return flights for under £30

Economics

54 h. ago Europe ‘Ibiza rival’ party island to crack down on boozy brits with new rules

A Croatian island known for its wild party scene has decided to clamp down on raucous nightlife.

Politics

55 h. ago Brits trapped inside as Spanish resorts suffer record washout and hail storms

Alhaurín el Grande, a charming town, has been hidden beneath a thick white blanket after rain initially transformed the hilly streets into rushing torrents. It is just one settlement that has been battered by bad weather

Events

3 d. ago Sunny Spanish town has the 'best climate in Europe' and Brits love it

If you're looking for a sunny escape, there's one little Spanish town that boasts "the best climate in Europe" - and it's easy to see why Brits are flocking there

Politics

3 d. ago The Alienation Effect by Owen Hatherley review – how immigrants reshaped postwar Britain

Behind many symbols of quintessentially British culture – from Picture Post to Pevsner’s guides – were refugees who fled Europe in the 1930s and 40sIn the early 1940s, the publisher Collins launched a series of books called Britain in Pictures – “bright, slim volumes”, as Owen Hatherley calls them, on such quintessential national subjects as cricket, inns, “English clocks” and “British explorers”, written by the likes of John Betjeman, Edith Sitwell and George Orwell. It’s hard to imagine a more patriotic project (“a paroxysm of island backslapping”, Hatherley says) except that, “at every level except for the texts”, this was “an entirely central European endeavour”.Its mostly female staff of designers, editors, typographers and publishers was made up of recent refugees from countries that had succumbed to fascism, many of whom had to be released from internment on the Isle of Man in order to work on the books. Adprint, the company that produced and packaged Britain in Pictures, was...

Events

4 d. ago Joanna Lumley joins stars in calling on ferry firm to reverse plan to resume live animal exports

Brittany Ferries set to drop 30-year ban and start transporting calves from Ireland to France

Politics

4 d. ago EU country loved by Brits sees huge spike in tourism and 16k monthly flights ahead of summer

Portugal has seen a huge spike in visitor numbers ahead of the summer season, as Brits flying to the European country have increase drastically compared to last year

Politics

4 d. ago Heathrow defends its response as questions grow about why a fire shut the airport for so long

Heathrow bosses are defending their response to a fire that shut down Europe’s busiest air hub for almost a day

Society

4 d. ago New holiday warning to Brits in Spain over drinking alcohol and swimming in sea

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has warned British holidaymakers about local laws in Spain including alcohol regulations and swimming safety

Events

6 d. ago Passengers to face more delays as Heathrow aims to return to normal operation

Europe’s busiest airport was shut for hours on Friday after an outage caused by an electricity substation fire.

Politics

7 d. ago Trump is abandoning democracy and freedom. That creates an opening for Europe – and Britain | Jonathan Freedland

Whether it’s sweeping up disgruntled US scientists or rejoining the EU, a bold Starmer must capitalise on Trump’s extremismThanks to Donald Trump, a vacancy is opening up in the international jobs market. For decades, if not centuries, and always imperfectly, the US offered itself to the world as the guarantor of democracy and the land of the free. Now that it’s pivoting away from that job description, there’s an opportunity for someone else to step in.The evidence that the US is moving, even galloping, away from basic notions of democracy and freedom is piling up. Just because the changes have happened so fast doesn’t make them any less fundamental. We now have a US administration that blithely ignores court rulings, whose officials say out loud “I don’t care what the judges think”. In a matter of weeks, it has become an open question whether the US remains a society governed by the rule of law.On 30 April, join Jonathan Freedland, Kim Darroch, Devika Bhat and Leslie Vinjamuri as t...

Politics

7 d. ago 'Be alert' warning issued for 29 European countries as travelling Brits warned to prepare and face delays

The Foreign Office has issued an update for UK holidaymakers planning to visit 29 European countries as the EU is set to launch a major new travel scheme

Events

7 d. ago Heathrow Airport closure fire 'investigated by counter terrorism police' after huge blaze

The blaze grounded over a thousand flights and cast nearly 300,000 passengers into travel chaos as their flights out of Heathrow were cancelled and planes were diverted to other airports in Britain and Europe

Events

7 d. ago Urgent warning to British passport holders visiting Europe this summer

ABTA – The Travel Association is urging Brits to check their passports ahead of their summer holiday, as swathe of tourists are still being stung by a four-year old rule

Events