68 m. ago ‘Fantasy figure’ to claim families £3,500 poorer under Labour, says Starmer

The Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch clashed over the UK economy in the Commons.

Economics

2 h. ago Domestic Celtic dominance eclipsed by ONE league title as this century's ultimate European kings revealed

The Scottish champions have racked up an astonishing 18 league triumphs since 2001 - placing them second in the list

Politics

2 h. ago I made the ultimate faux pas when gossiping about the dads at the school gates... now my relationship with the other school mums is ruined

From escalating parking spot tensions with the neighbours to a family faux pas between Boomers and Gen Z, who hasn't had an awkward moment on WhatsApp?

Politics

4 h. ago Ezra Klein on Trump, Vance and free speech: ‘It feels like we are in one of the darkest imaginable timelines’

The influential US commentator has written a book about how politics can change people’s lives for the better. But first, there are more pressing challenges to address ...Ezra Klein, the New York Times podcast host and progressive media’s undisputed nerd king, starts his new book with something of a palate cleanser for our troubled times. For a few paragraphs, he and his co-author, the Atlantic journalist Derek Thompson, whisk us out of the grim reality of contemporary politics to a world of Abundance (the word they picked as their title).“You open your eyes at dawn and turn in the cool bedsheets,” they purr, before conjuring a near-future utopia where the cost of living crisis is a distant memory. “You live in a cocoon of energy so clean it barely leaves a carbon trace and so cheap you can scarcely find it on your monthly bill.” The fridge is full of fresh fruit and vegetables from skyscraper farms that sit amid rewilded landscapes. This is what we can look forward to, they say, if...

Politics

5 h. ago Balomania review – those magnificent Brazilians and their flying balloons

Documentary follows the baloeiros, who illegally build and release huge decorated balloons in cities, from where they can travel hundreds of milesAn intriguing film set in Brazil, first shown last year at the CPH:DOX documentary festival in Copenhagen, in which expatriate Danish film-maker Sissel Morell Dargis takes a look at a unique grassroots cultural phenomenon: the baloeiros, the ballooners. These are groups of young men, as secretive and loyal to each other as Freemasons, who (illegally) build and release huge decorated balloons in cities, from where they can travel hundreds of miles. Why? As kind of graffiti, or a community self-expression, or situationist artform, or just a subversive gesture of pure joie de vivre that does not need or admit of any explanation.The baloeiros are harassed by the police, on the ostensible grounds that they are part of gang culture, and the authorities encourage local people to inform on those they suspect of building and transporting a balloon....

Politics

5 h. ago Global economy could shrink 40% if planet warms by 4C, new study says

New modelling finds global economic losses could be four times higher than previously thought under 4C warming scenario

Events

8 h. ago Scottish economy 'turbulence' fear as Trump prepares to unleash tariffs

Growing unease as firms anticipate “rising costs and escalating geopolitical tension”

Politics

8 h. ago Beatles biographer Ian Leslie on John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s ‘erotic’ bromance

Fascinated by psychology, Ian Leslie found much to sink his teeth into in the relationship between the two greatest Beatles. Nick Duerden speaks to the writer about his new, critically acclaimed book exploring pop music’s most tumultuous, competitive and ultimately loving friendship

Politics

13 h. ago Bernabéu erupts as Rüdiger’s late show seals Copa del Rey final spot for Madrid

Real Madrid 4-4 Real Sociedad (agg 5-4)Defender heads dramatic extra-time winnerAt one minute past midnight a self-declared madman sent the Santiago Bernabéu into a state of delirium and Real Madrid into the final of the Copa del Rey. El Loco leapt above the Real Sociedad defence and into the stands at the north end of this stadium, where supporters had seen their team go and do it again, their way. It had been long, it had been wild, and at the end of the night, somehow they were the ones celebrating, which it seems they always are. Madrid did not win and were not always very good until they were irresistible, but it was enough.Three times they had trailed but ultimately a draw, secured by the thumping forehead of Antonio Rüdiger in the 115th minute was enough. A game that went from 0-1 to 1-1, 1-3 to 3-3, and then 3-4 finally finished 4-4 deep into extra time. Continue reading...

Politics

17 h. ago As austerity bites, Starmer must give the public something to hope for

Editorial: There are things to be optimistic about and the government should highlight them, as well as continuing to make the case for placing the public finances in a secure foundation in a troubled world

Politics

17 h. ago World braces for economic pain as White House confirms Trump will go ahead with tariffs

Tariffs will take effect immediately but precise details are yet to be unveiled

Economics

17 h. ago Football fan 'eats' raw pig's head in ultimate insult while celebrating league title win

WARNING, GRAPHIC CONTENT: Gruesome footage shows a football fan taunting his team's bitter rivals with the ultimate insult while celebrating winning the league title at their expense

Sport

18 h. ago The top Trump official who will take the blame if Liberation Day tariffs go south

President Donald Trump will take all the credit if his 'Liberation Day' tariffs bring manufacturing stateside and give the U.S. economy a boost.

Politics

18 h. ago Trump live updates: ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs to be effective immediately, White House says

Trump prepares sweeping round of reciprocal tariffs that threatens to trigger U.S. recession and global trade war, as Speaker Mike Johnson says, ‘You have to trust the president’s instincts on the economy’

Politics

19 h. ago The Guardian view on Donald Trump’s tariffs: a spectacle of struggle and control | Editorial

The US president wields tariffs not as a policy tool but as an instrument of pressure, rewarding loyalty and punishing defiance – even among alliesDonald Trump has probably not read much Michel Foucault. But he appears to embody the French philosopher’s claim that “politics is the continuation of war by other means”. Nowhere is this more apparent than in his fondness for tariffs. He presents taxing foreign imports as a way to rebuild the American economy in favour of blue-collar workers left behind by free trade and globalisation. Yet he plainly thinks that politics is not about truth or justice. It is about leverage and supremacy.Britain is learning first-hand that Mr Trump, with his us-versus-them framing and taste for spectacle, is an accidental Foucauldian – using tariffs as tools of loyalty and dominance, even against allies. If Mr Trump follows through on his threat to impose a 20% tariff on all imports, UK growth will suffer. The effect depends on the response....

Politics

20 h. ago Keir Starmer claims Brits will be better off despite rising bills in 'awful April'

Sir Keir Starmer has vowed that people will ultimately be better off despite soaring bills, including energy, water and council tax, in what has been dubbed 'awful April'

Politics

20 h. ago Britain braced for worst from Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ trade war

White House crusade against imports could cost £1.1 trillion worldwide and 25,000 jobs in Britain alone, experts warn

Politics

20 h. ago Trump live updates: President to announce ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs at Rose Garden event tomorrow

Trump prepares sweeping round of reciprocal tariffs that threatens to trigger U.S. recession and global trade war, as Speaker Mike Johnson says, ‘You have to trust the president’s instincts on the economy’

Politics

20 h. ago Trump tariffs will damage UK economy, Reeves tells Cabinet amid job loss fears

Sir Keir Starmer admits UK unlikely to be spared from sweeping measures to be announced by Donald Trump

Economics

20 h. ago Trump live updates: President’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs announcement fuels uncertainty for stock markets

Trump prepares sweeping round of reciprocal tariffs that threatens to trigger U.S. recession and global trade war, as Speaker Mike Johnson says, ‘You have to trust the president’s instincts on the economy’

Politics