41 m. ago Pope Francis latest: Tens of thousands of mourners view Pontiff’s open casket at St Peter’s Basilica

Crowds of pilgrims are expected to flock to the Vatican for Pope Francis’ funeral on Saturday

Politics

45 m. ago UK private sector shrinks as export orders slump; state borrowing nearly £15bn above official forecast – business live

Eurozone private sector ‘broadly stable’ in April; stocks, dollar, oil prices rise on hopes of US-China trade dealUK annual borrowing exceeds forecasts by almost £15bnThe collapse in confidence and drop in output during April raise red flags for the economic outlook and add pressure on the Bank of England to reduce interest rates again at its May meeting, said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.While recent months have been characterised by UK businesses treading water, broadly stagnating since last autumn’s budget, businesses are reporting more of a struggle to keep their heads above water in April.April’s fall in output was the largest recorded for nearly two and a half years, consistent with GDP declining at a quarterly rate of 0.3%, reflecting falling activity and demand across both manufacturing and services. Continue reading...

Economics

46 m. ago An irrelevant bourgeois ritual: this year’s Turner prize shortlist is the soppiest ever

Holy balls of wool! From pointless paintings to emotionless snapshots, the once-controversial award tiptoes too earnestly across the minefield of today’s culture warsRemember when controversy was fun? If not, that’s because you’re too young. But back in the 1990s, my child, Britain got itself in hilarious knots about conceptual art, the readymade and whether a pickled shark or elephant dung can be art, with the Turner prize as battleground. It was a culture war but with laughs, because no one’s identity was at stake and it wasn’t like Brian Sewell was going to become prime minister and have Rachel Whiteread jailed.It is by embracing the earnestness of today’s high-stakes culture wars that the Turner prize has lost its edge, the art getting more careful as the ideologies loom larger. This year’s shortlist is the soppiest yet. Two of the artists nominated are painters. Painters, I ask you! This makes some sense of the shortlist announcement taking place on JMW Turner’s 250th birthday....

Politics

57 m. ago Reform UK names Tory defector Ross Lambie as candidate for Hamilton by

Nigel Farage's right-wing populist party hopes it can leapfrog the Scottish Conservatives when voters in South Lanarkshire go to the polls in June.

Politics

62 m. ago Trump tariffs risk driving public debt to postwar high, says IMF

Fund warns global government debt could reach 117% of output by 2027 or worse if trade tensions intensify

Events

73 m. ago North Lanarkshire Provost pays own tribute to Pope Francis following Pontiff's death

Provost Kenneth Duffy has expressed his condolences following the passing of the Pontiff.

Events

73 m. ago Mark Rylance condemns music festivals for turning London park into ‘prison camp’

The Oscar-winner has backed a petition to stop Brockwell Live ‘destroying’ the south London park and its wildlife.

Events

1 hour ago Pope Francis' passing sees huge spike in Conclave streams as film explains process of new pope

Pope Francis passed away on Easter Monday aged 88, just months after the hit film Conclave, starring Ralph Fiennes was released, with the movie depicting how the Catholic Church select a new pope.

Culture

1 hour ago Jury in trial of Jesse Lingard’s grandfather retires to consider verdicts

Kenneth Lingard, 86, denies 17 counts of indecent assault.

Politics

2 h. ago Fears grow that Signal leaks make Pete Hegseth top espionage target

Experts say Pentagon chief has endangered secrets of US defense department and given assistance to foreign spiesAs more develops about the US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, and his repeated disclosures of sensitive military intelligence in unsecured Signal group chats, there are growing concerns his behavior has weakened the Pentagon in the eyes of its foreign adversaries and made him and his entourage a top espionage target.Allies, already concerned by Donald Trump’s aggressive tariffs, have also begun to see the US as an intelligence-sharing liability. There are fears that the mounting firings and leak inquiries in Hegseth’s orbit, along with his inability to manage these internal crises, exposes the entire global US war footing – especially, if a geopolitical and external crisis comes across his desk. Continue reading...

Events

2 h. ago Inside 'secretive ritual' which is triggered after a pope dies and how new leader is chosen

Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church, passed away on Monday, April 21, aged 88, leaving people wondering what will happen in the Vatican now and how a new leader will be selected

Events

2 h. ago Barriers at the basilica: the logistical challenges of Pope Francis’s funeral

Defence and security mechanisms are deployed across Rome as authorities expect crowds of up to 200,000 peoplePope Francis’s funeral – latest updatesDespite Pope Francis’s desire for a simple and comparatively low-key send-off, those tasked with organising and delivering the funeral of the 266th bishop of Rome still face a vast array of logistical, technological and security challenges.With as many as 170 foreign delegations – including those of Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prince William – expected to descend on the Vatican for Saturday’s funeral, along with crowds of up to 200,000 people, those overseeing the event are in for a hyper-vigilant few days. Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago Crowdfunding campaign launched to save beloved south London theatre

Cryer Arts has built a strong local following

Politics

2 h. ago Pope Francis latest: Tens of thousands of mourners view Pontiff’s open coffin at St Peter’s Basilica

Crowds of pilgrims are expected to flock to the Vatican for Pope Francis’ funeral on Saturday

Politics

2 h. ago Mother's agony as daughter lost ability to walk and talk overnight

Poppy Allard, now 10, was born a seemingly healthy baby and was babbling and picking things up as expected, when, at around 15 months, her behaviour suddenly changed

Politics

2 h. ago Experiments to dim the SUN in bid to curb global warming will be approved by the UK government within weeks

Experiments to reflect sunlight away from Earth will be given the green light by the Government within weeks. Trials could include injecting aerosols into the atmosphere or brightening clouds.

Politics

2 h. ago Police noticed something unusual about this car and minutes later it crashed and people were fleeing the scene

Police chasing a stolen car through a quiet town in South Wales saw three young people arrested and placed in police custody.

Events

2 h. ago People are only just discovering the very unexpected job Pope Francis had before becoming head of Catholic Church

People are shocked after learning the bizarre job Pope Francis had before becoming the head of Catholic Church. The Pope, who grew up in Buenos Aires, once worked as a bouncer.

Politics

2 h. ago Father and son who drowned on dream holiday to Australia's Great Barrier Reef after being swept out to sea are named

Robin Reed, 46, and his son Owen, 17, from Caerphilly, South Wales, were swept out to sea on April 13 while swimming at Round Hill Head in Seventeen Seventy, Queensland.

Events

2 h. ago Conclave viewership rose 283% on day of Pope Francis’s death

Ralph Fiennes was Oscar-nominated for his role in the thriller which follows cardinals wrangling to replace a fictional pontiff after his deathThe death of Pope Francis on 21 April led to an abrupt uptick in viewership of Conclave, Edward Berger’s thriller which depicts the events following the death of a fictional pope, and the cardinals wrangling to replace him.The film, which won best picture at the Baftas earlier this year and was nominated for eight Oscars, is available on assorted streaming platforms worldwide. According to Luminate, which tracks streaming viewership, Conclave was viewed for about 1.8m minutes on 20 April, and 6.9m minutes the next day – an increase of 283%. Continue reading...

Events