70 m. ago Fat jab users flocking to major gym chain in bid to keep the weight off and ‘combat common side effect’

WEIGHT-loss jabs are boosting demand across The Gym Group, says its boss, as Brits fight to keep the flab off while maintaining muscle mass. Chief executive Will Orr said the company was “absolutely” seeing the impact of GLP-1s as a “tailwind and contributory factor” for the business. He views their rise as an opportunity “to...

Politics

5 h. ago The Guardian view on Trump’s assault on the Fed: it is part of an affordability blame game | Editorial

Attacking Jerome Powell distracts from Republicans’ thin legislative record and policies that continue to squeeze American household incomesThe US government’s authoritarian and vexatious attack on Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, should be seen in the light of America’s affordability crisis, which Donald Trump once dismissed, but is now scrambling to claim as his cause. The cost of living is eroding his support ahead of the congressional midterms. By launching a legal assault on the Fed, Mr Trump is trying to shift blame for borrowing costs.Yet despite controlling the presidency, Senate and the House, Republicans have passed little beyond a large tax-cutting bill that benefits the rich. They have not legislated on housing supply, childcare, healthcare costs or wages. Indeed most of their actions are worsening affordability, notably deferring action even though millions face a sharp rise in their health insurance bills. Mr Trump’s sudden enthusiasm for credit card ca...

Politics

5 h. ago More than 5,000 pubs face brutal business rates hike after property tax values DOUBLE

The head of the Valuation Office Agency told MPs that 13 per cent of pubs - a total of 5,100 - have been hit with a 100 per cent rise in their so-called 'rateable value'.

Economics

6 h. ago Scottish child payment increase ‘falls short’, says poverty action group

Tuesday’s Scottish Budget revealed the Scottish child payment will rise to £40 in 2027-28.

Politics

7 h. ago Child payment rise ‘step in right direction’ but more help required, says mother

Angie Bird, who lives in Ardfern, Argyll and Bute, was speaking after the benefit was increased to £40 a week for families with a child under one.

Politics

7 h. ago How the rise of weight loss jabs has boosted gym revenues across Britain

The Gym Group currently operates 260 sites across the UK, with around 70 million visits a year

Politics

8 h. ago Scottish Budget 2026: SNP vow new mansion tax while lower earners will pay less

A mansion tax will be rolled out, while low and medium earners will see income tax thresholds rise

Economics

11 h. ago Revealed: Mutant flu hotspots as hospitals declare 'critical incidents' amid 10 per cent rise in severe cases

Four NHS hospital trusts in England have declared critical incidents amid a 'surge' in flu, norovirus and respiratory cases as well as increasing staff sickness.

Science

12 h. ago Interactive map reveals new flu hotspots of England as four NHS trusts declare critical incidents amid 10 per cent rise in cases

Four NHS hospital trusts in England have declared critical incidents amid a 'surge' in flu, norovirus and respiratory cases as well as increasing staff sickness.

Politics

12 h. ago Syrian army declares a closed military zone east of Aleppo as tensions rise with Kurds

The Syrian army has declared an area east of Aleppo a "closed military zone," signaling potential escalation with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)

Events

12 h. ago London's FTSE 100 flat as investors await US inflation data; oil stocks rise

London's FTSE 100 flat as investors await US inflation data; oil stocks rise  Reuters

Economics

13 h. ago The 20 towns where house prices are forecast to rise MOST in 2026

Towns and cities across Scotland and northern England will perform best, while the south is set to suffer according to Zoopla.

Politics

15 h. ago New HMRC alert as thousands of workers 'could lose free childcare' in tax threshold change

Rachel Reeves' decision to freeze the income tax threshold until 2031 is set to see the number of Britons earning six-figure salaries rise to over two million for the first time

Economics

15 h. ago Watching James Bond play my great uncle Brendan in Giant was surreal and spooky | Sean Ingle

Biopic charting Naseem Hamed’s rise has reopened old wounds but is also a reminder of what was and what might have beenThe first time I watched Prince Naseem Hamed train, my jaw couldn’t have dropped any faster if he had hit me with one of his lassoing uppercuts. I had followed all his fights on TV, of course. But to see him in the flesh in September 1994, a year before he became world champion, was an altogether more visceral and mesmeric experience.Hamed’s punches sounded like firecrackers welcoming in the new year as they smashed into the pads. He was almost impossible to hit. And, most staggering of all, despite standing 5ft 4in tall and weighing only nine stone, he would bully far bigger men in sparring – including fighters such as John Keeton, who went on to become the British cruiserweight champion – until my great uncle, Brendan Ingle, called time. Continue reading...

Politics

15 h. ago U.K. House Prices Expected to Rise But London Likely to Straggle

U.K. House Prices Expected to Rise But London Likely to Straggle  The Wall Street Journal

Politics

16 h. ago Aldi staff to get pay rise and extended maternity pay amid 'significant investment' from bosses

The pay increase comes ahead of the national minimum wage increase in April

Economics

18 h. ago Iranian security confiscate satellites from homes to choke off information spread as tensions rise

The latest crackdown is part of the country's nationwide communications shutdown

Events

18 h. ago Death on the inside: as a prison officer, I saw how the system perpetuates violence

A rise of murders is traumatising inmates and staff, and making life harder for staff. But even in prison, violence isn’t inevitableThere are hotspots for violence in prison. The exercise yard, the showers. There are peak times, too. Mealtimes and association periods are particularly volatile.But first thing in the morning is not when you expect to hear an alarm bell. I certainly didn’t, at 6am in my office on the residential wing of a high-security prison in late 2018. All prisoners were locked up at that time. But overcrowding has long been a problem in UK prisons, and keeping three men in cells designed for one can be a recipe for disaster. Continue reading...

Events

22 h. ago Iran RECAP: Trump threatens 25% tariff on any country that trades with Iran 'effective immediately' as death toll 'continues to rise'

The US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on any country that trades with Iran.

Events

23 h. ago Photos of tensions between federal officers and locals in Minneapolis

Tensions between residents and federal immigration officers continued to rise in the Twin Cities area. Officers responded with tear gas to a crowd of whistle-blowing bystanders in Minneapolis who came to see the aftermath of a car crash involving immigration agents, just a few blocks from where a woman was fatally shot last week. Students from Roosevelt High School staged a protest against her killing.

Events