4 h. ago How tech titans prospered in the first year of Trump’s return to power

Silicon Valley bosses who lined up behind the US president for his inauguration have fared well under his administration

Politics

4 h. ago Tech titans prospered in the first year of Trump’s return to power

Silicon Valley bosses who lined up behind the US president for his inauguration have fared well under his administration

Politics

5 d. ago Ariana Grande delights fans as she looks happy and healthy with the return of her 'power ponytail' after finally finishing gruelling Wicked promo trail with Cynthia Erivo

Ariana Grande's fans are convinced the star has officially left the Wicked era behind and is ready to to embrace being a popstar again after her appearance at the Golden Globes on Sunday.  

Sport

8 d. ago Afghan women in the UK: amplifying their voice – a photo essay

Over four years have passed since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan. Claudia Janke’s photographic series features 7 Afghan women who have found safety in the UK after escaping at great personal risk. She worked using an Instant Box Camera, the only type of camera allowed under the Taliban’s first regime, reclaimed for the these women to amplify their voicesSince the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in 2021, the regime has imposed sweeping restrictions on the rights of women and girls, with devastating consequences for society. Girls are barred from attending school beyond the sixth grade, and women are prohibited from working, appearing on television, leaving the house alone, and singing or speaking in public. They have been systematically erased from public life.A recent UN Women report underscores the scale of this repression. The Afghanistan Gender Index 2025 reveals, among other findings:No female representation in national or local decision-making bodies.A co...

Culture

1 week ago Tech titans divided over whether to pay billionaire tax or flee California

State residents worth more than $1bn could face one-off, 5% tax to help fund education, food assistance and healthcareA battle is brewing in California over a plan to tax billionaires – with tech titans divided over whether they should pay up, or flee the state.Under a tax proposal that could be put to voters this November, any California resident worth more than $1bn would have to pay a one-off, 5% tax on their assets to help cover education, food assistance and healthcare programs in the state. Continue reading...

Economics

2 w. ago Trump's strike against Venezuela proves oil is still the lifeblood of prosperity

Forget fentanyl and cocaine. The substance Donald Trump really wants to stop flowing out of Venezuela is crude oil to China.

Events

2 w. ago Elon Musk’s 2025 recap: how the world’s richest person became its most chaotic

How the tech CEO and ‘Dogefather’ made a mess of the year – from an apparent Nazi salute during his White House tenure to Tesla sales slumps and Starship explosionsThe year of 2025 was dizzying for Elon Musk. The tech titan began the year holding court with Donald Trump in Washington DC. As the months ticked by, one public appearance after another baffled the US and the world. Musk appeared to give a Nazi salute at Trump’s inauguration, staunchly championed a 19-year-old staffer nicknamed “Big Balls,” denied reports of being a drug addict while advising the president, and showed up at a White House press conference with a black eye – all in the first half of the year alone.“Elon’s attitude is you have to get it done fast. If you’re an incrementalist, you just won’t get your rocket to the moon,” Susie Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff, told Vanity Fair in an expansive interview earlier this month. “And so with that attitude, you’re going to break some china.” Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Return of Girl Power! The young British female acts who are driving an increase in music sales

It's enough to make the Spice Girls holler, as rising stars Olivia Dean and Lola Young lead a new Girl Power charge in the music charts.

Politics

3 w. ago ‘Move fast, break stuff’: how tech bros became Hollywood’s go

From Stanley Tucci’s imperious tech titan to Lex Luthor’s distractingly hot CEO and Elon Musk-esque blowhards, films this year took us inside the billionaire mindsetBetween the slash-and-burn US government reboot led by a dank meme fan and the relentless pushing of AI by venture capital-backed blowhards, 2025 has felt like peak obnoxious tech bro. Fittingly, jargon-spouting, self-regarding digital visionaries also became Hollywood’s go-to baddies this year in everything from blockbusters to slapstick spoofs. Spare a thought for the overworked props departments tasked with mocking up fake Forbes magazine covers heralding yet another smirking white guy as “Master of the Metaverse” or whatever.With such market saturation, the risk is that all these delusional dudes blend into one smarmy morass. It felt reasonable to expect that Stanley Tucci might sprinkle a little prosciutto on The Electric State, Netflix’s no-expense-spared alt-history robot fantasia. As Ethan Skate – creator of the ...

Politics

3 w. ago Polls close in first phase of Myanmar elections widely condemned as a sham

Turnout appears to be low in vote in which most candidates seen as allies of military junta and large areas excluded by warPolls have closed in conflict-racked Myanmar, ending the first phase of an election that has been widely condemned as a sham designed to legitimise the military junta’s rule.The military has touted the vote as a return to democracy almost five years after it seized power in a coup, ousting the country’s then de-facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, detaining her and sparking a spiralling civil war. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago Rachel Reeves barred from local pub and 'won't get through door again'

The Chancellor is no longer welcome at a local boozer in her Leeds constituency as the landlords feel she is crippling pubs with her policies following Labour's return to power

Politics