5 h. ago Almost half of people ‘would struggle with bills if income suddenly lost’

Research by the Big Issue magazine found regional variations in the financial situation of people across the UK.

Politics

16 h. ago The UK regions where almost 50% of people could be ‘unable to afford basic needs in retirement’

Pension savings levels have failed to keep pace with the rising cost of living, according to a new report

Politics

19 h. ago Work ban forcing 10% of UK female asylum seekers into sex work

Research also finds many trapped in abusive relationships and unable to afford sanitary products and other basicsWomen who have fled war are being forced into sex work in the UK because of the extreme poverty of their living conditions here, while almost half cannot afford sanitary products, according to research.In a report looking at the impact of the Home Office’s near-total ban on employment for people seeking asylum, the charity Women for Refugee Women has found that 10% of women interviewed have been forced into sex work in order to survive, in many cases to feed their children, while 38% were forced into abusive relationships or situations. Almost half could not afford basics like sanitary products and about 80% could not afford clothes, public transport or phone credit. Continue reading...

Events

28 h. ago Nearly two in five ‘at risk of being unable to afford basic needs in retirement’

Pension savings levels have failed to keep pace with the rising cost of living, according to a new report

Events

29 h. ago Worrying number of people won't be able to afford basic retirement

Researchers at Scottish Widows used the retirement living standards set out by the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) and increased the thresholds in line with inflation

Politics

3 d. ago Danny Dyer reveals harsh reality of his life before landing life changing EastEnders role

Danny Dyer admits that he was completely broke before he landed a role in EastEnders following a string of film and TV flops which left him unable to afford a beer

Politics

7 d. ago The ancient psychedelics myth: ‘People tell tourists the stories they think are interesting for them’

The narrative of ancient tribes around the world regularly using ayahuasca and magic mushrooms in healing practices is a popular one. Is it true?Beginning in 2001, the Austrian anthropologist Bernd Brabec de Mori spent six years living in the western Amazon. He first arrived as a backpacker, returned to do a master’s thesis on ayahuasca songs, and eventually did a PhD on the music of eight Indigenous peoples in the region. Along the way, he married a woman of the local Shipibo tribe and settled down.“I did not have a lot of money,” he told me, “so I had to make my living there.” He became a teacher. He built a house. He and his wife had children. That rare experience of joining the community, he said, forced him to realise that many of the assumptions he had picked up as an anthropologist were wrong. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Australia’s mushroom murders trial: who are Erin Patterson and the other key figures?

As the trial over the deadly 2023 beef wellington lunch continues in the Victorian supreme court, here’s what you need to know about the people involvedErin Patterson trial – live updatesA fatal family lunch in regional Victoria is at the centre of a high-profile murder trial that is under way in the state’s supreme court.Erin Patterson is accused of murdering her estranged husband Simon Patterson’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister and Simon’s aunt, Heather Wilkinson, by feeding them a meal of beef wellington laced with death cap mushrooms in July 2023. Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago ‘Shipwrecked in the 21st century’: how people made it through Europe’s worst blackout in living memory

Daring rescues were attempted, quick commutes turned into hours-long odysseys, cars were directed by baguettes – but the show went on in the world’s best restaurantThe ski lifts, carrying 16 people, dangled high above the southern Spanish region of Andalusia. As parts of Spain and Portugal were plunged into a blackout on Monday, the swaying gondolas had come to a halt metres above the ground, leaving people trapped inside.About four hours later, video posted online by the ski station showed a rescuer lowering themselves into a gondola to set up a system of ropes that allowed the skiers to rappel to the ground. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Power begins to return to Spain and Portugal after unprecedented blackout

The outage, blamed by operators on temperature variations, left tens of millions without electricitySpain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has said “everything possible is being done” overnight to restore power to all parts of the country following an unprecedented regional blackout that left tens of millions of people across the Iberian peninsular without power.Speaking late on Monday night, Sánchez said the idea was to get the power back on across Spain on Tuesday, adding that 50% of the national electricity supply had been restored in the past few hours. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Panic grips blackout stricken Spain as residents are told to stay indoors, huge queues form for food and petrol

Madrid's Mayor has urged people to stay where they are, while the regional president has called for an emergency plan to be activated so soldiers can be deployed.

Politics

1 week ago Deadly Israeli airstrike kills 10 people: Bombs flatten three

Strikes across the region have killed at least 49 people in the past 24 hours, according to health officials.

Events

2 w. ago Russian attacks during Easter ceasefire declared by Putin killed 3 in Ukraine's Kherson region

The head of Ukraine's southern Kherson region says that Russian attacks during the 30-hour Easter ceasefire unilaterally declared by President Vladimir Putin over the weekend killed three people in the region

Events

2 w. ago NHS norovirus warning for Scotland region as people told 'do not visit hospitals'

Norovirus is circulating in one part of the country and people with symptoms have been warned not to stay away from health facilities.

Events

2 w. ago Sudan’s Nuba wrestling: a celebration of strength at a time of conflict – in pictures

Amid the ongoing war between the Sudanese armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the Nuba people of South Kordofan region uphold their centuries-old wrestling traditions. Originally designed to build combat skills, it has evolved into a community celebration, uniting ethnic groups. Tariq Zaidi travelled to South Kordofan to capture the enduring custom Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Move over, Med diet – plantains and cassava can be as healthy as tomatoes and olive oil, say researchers

Findings from Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro region indicate traditional eating habits in rural Africa can boost the immune system and reduce inflammationPlantains, cassava and fermented banana drink should be added to global healthy eating guidelines alongside the olive oil, tomatoes and red wine of the Mediterranean diet, say researchers who found the traditional diet of people living in Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro region had a positive impact on the body’s immune system.Traditional foods enjoyed in rural villages also had a positive impact on markers of inflammation, the researchers found in a study published this month in the journal Nature Medicine. Continue reading...

Society

3 w. ago Firefighters at Coatbridge Community Fire Station launch annual Easter egg appeal

Urging communities across the region to come together in support of children and young people who need a little extra happiness this spring.

Events

3 w. ago Foreign Office earthquake advice after 'Biggest quake I've felt' rocks popular destination

People in the region hit by the earthquake were sent an emergency alert to their phones telling them: 'Emergency alert: Severe. Earthquake Detected! Drop, Cover, Hold on. Protect yourself'

Politics

3 w. ago More than 200 civilians killed as Sudan’s RSF assaults Darfur refugee camps

Relief International medics among dead as paramilitaries step up violence against region’s displaced peopleParamilitaries in Sudan have murdered more than 200 civilians in a wave of attacks in refugee camps and around the city of El Fasher, the last big city still in the hands of the Sudanese army in the Darfur region.The deaths include at least 56 civilians killed by the Rapid Support Forces over two days of attacks in Um Kadadah, a town they seized on the road to El Fasher. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago More than 200 civilians killed as Sudan’s RSF attacks Darfur displacement camps

Relief International medics among dead as paramilitaries step up violence against region’s displaced peopleParamilitaries in Sudan have murdered more than 200 civilians in a wave of attacks in displacement camps and around the city of El Fasher, the last big city still in the hands of the Sudanese army in the Darfur region.The deaths include at least 56 civilians killed by the Rapid Support Forces over two days of attacks in Um Kadadah, a town they seized on the road to El Fasher. Continue reading...

Events