2 h. ago Councils lose over half a million jobs in ten years as new research lays funding crisis bare

As its funding crisis has deepened, Birmingham council has lost tens of thousands of workers

Economics

5 h. ago ‘You can let go now’: inside the hospital where staff treat fear of death as well as physical pain

In a Danish palliative care unit, the alternative to assisted dying is not striving to cure, offering relief and comfort to patients and their families• This article is nominated for the 2025 edition of the European Press Prize in the Distinguished Reporting category. Originally published in Danish by PolitikenRené Damgaard, 67, lies in a hospital bed in the palliative care unit at Hvidovre hospital outside Copenhagen. It’s the first evening of May, and the window is open, letting mild air and the sound of a blackbird singing into the room.“This is the kind of weather you love the most. When you usually stand and fish at the sandbank,” says his niece, 53-year-old Mette Damgaard. She is leaning over the bed, her face very close to his. She has been sitting like this for a long time. Continue reading...

Events

10 h. ago Schoolgirl lay dead on her bedroom floor for nearly 10 hours as 'police and ambulance argued over who should take her body to hospital'

Lucy Grant, 17, was already 'blue and quite stiff' by the time paramedics arrived and was declared dead at her family home in Johnstone, Scotland.

Events

17 h. ago Reddit DOWN: Thousands of users can't use website after 'server error' message

Reddit is down for tens of thousands of people around the world, as users struggle to access the popular content sharing website due to a 'server error' message

Politics

20 h. ago From peppercorns to plastic forks: US businesses that rely on Chinese products reel from Trump tariffs

Price hikes worry restaurants and online markets as uncertainty stymies their ability to plan for the futureChang Chang, a Sichuan restaurant in Washington DC, was already noticing that some of its business had dropped off after tens of thousands of federal workers living in the area lost their jobs. But the recent tariff rate hikes mark an even greater blow for the restaurant.Sichuan peppercorns, which create the signature numbing spice of the regional Chinese cuisine, along with other ingredients, face an at least 145% tariff after last week’s tit-for-tat trade battle between China and the United States. The steep rate is an existential threat for restaurants across the country that rely on specialty ingredients imported from China to craft the authentic flavors of their dishes, said operators who were blindsided. Continue reading...

Politics

21 h. ago Patients forced to wait up to six days for a hospital bed at London hospitals

Figures show thousands of London patients endure days-long waits for hospital beds

Science

23 h. ago Pope Francis' lying in state plans: How pontiff's body will be dressed and where his coffin will be held for tens of thousands of Catholics to pay their respects

Pope Francis's body is set to be moved into St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican later this week, where he will lie in state for three days before his funeral.

Culture

27 h. ago 'My partner was left permanently disabled by stroke after waiting two hours for an ambulance'

Susan Harding, 57, has lost the use of the left side of her body

Politics

32 h. ago 'He called for help — no one came' Family seeks change after grandfather bled to death alone

Much-loved Peter Parker's last hours were likely spent in pain as he bled to death waiting for help from 999 that never came

Events

36 h. ago Tens of thousands waited more than 24 hours for hospital beds in A&E last year

Patients in England aged 65 or over made up almost 70% of long ‘trolley waits’, with some left for up to 10 days, data revealsAbout 49,000 A&E visits last year resulted in patients waiting 24 hours or more for a hospital bed, with people aged 65 or over making up almost 70% of cases.According to a freedom of information request by the Liberal Democrats, some patients went 10 days before getting a space on a ward. Continue reading...

Politics

36 h. ago Surge in NHS 'trolley waits' of 24 hours or more in recent years

The grim NHS data shows there were at least 49,000 incidents of people waiting 24 hours or longer in A&E after a decision to admit them to hospital to a patient finding a bed

Politics

36 h. ago Nearly 50,000 A&E ‘trolley waits’ of 24 hours or more recorded last year – data

Some patients went 10 days before getting a space on a ward, Liberal Democrat analysis suggested.

Politics

45 h. ago Influencer, 28, dies after horror illness on party island left her unable to stand or eat

Popular travel vlogger Vanessa Konopka, 28, spent her final months bedbound in a hospital in the Philippines after falling ill and being left unable to eat or walk

Events

52 h. ago Where to eat in Paris in 2025: From classic bouillon restaurants to a street food market

There are tens of thousands of restaurants in Paris, but an overwhelming choice makes it all the more difficult to find the best ones, says destination expert Anna Richards

Society

67 h. ago Tens of thousands protest landmark gender court ruling in outcry against ‘betrayal’ of trans community

Demonstrators take to streets across UK amid fears of ‘massive’ consequences for trans people

Events

67 h. ago ‘Nobody has done this before’: Britain’s beloved steam trains trial pioneering technology

In-cab digital signalling was tested last week as part of a project to secure the future of main-line locomotivesAbout 500 steam trains run across the UK each year, from Penzance in the south to Inverness in the north, ­transporting tens of thousands of passengers to a bygone age, ­bringing joy to the faces of enthusiasts and bemusing commuters.But the future of main line steam operations could be under threat unless the traditional fire-breathing machines can be fitted with pioneering modern technology. Continue reading...

Politics

69 h. ago Revealed: The WORST area in England to call an ambulance...where you'll be waiting over an hour for paramedics

Analysis of latest NHS data found one in ten heart attack and stroke patients in March were waiting over an hour and 16 minutes for paramedics to arrive in one part of the country.

Politics

3 d. ago The Guardian view on Sudan’s third year of conflict: a war against civilians | Editorial

The ambitions of two generals and the interests of other states have led to the massacre of adults and children already forced to flee their homesSudan has begun its third year of civil war in the bleakest manner imaginable: mourning the massacre of hundreds of civilians and relief workers in displacement camps in Darfur. What began as a power struggle between generals has led to the killing of tens of thousands of people and widespread sexual and ethnic violence. The International Rescue Committee says the result is the biggest humanitarian crisis ever recorded: 640,000 people face catastrophic hunger. Basic services and infrastructure, already woefully inadequate, have been destroyed.“One thing that has been consistent since day one,” the Sudanese activist and commentator Dallia Mohamed Abdelmoniem observed this week, “[is that] it’s a war on civilians. Now, I think we’ve become so desensitised to it, that doesn’t make much of a difference any more. There’s no impact.” Continue re...

Events

3 d. ago Schoolgirl, 13, 'crying out for help' took her own life after reporting sexual assault and being denied hospital bed, inquest told

Ella Murray was in need of help from social services, but a lack of communication between agencies meant that she wasn't offered a hospital bed.

Events

4 d. ago NHS hospitals giving 'corridor patients' vanity packs with ear plugs and eye masks to make chaotic stays 'comfortable'

A 42-year-old woman detailed how she was given the airline-style care packages during a two-day long ordeal where she was cared for on a bed in an NHS hospital corridor.

Science