53 h. ago Is your relationship solid – or sinking? The bird theory thinks it knows

TikTokers say it will show the health of your relationship. Does it really show how we think about romance?What would you say if your partner told you they saw a bird today? Would you mumble noncommittally, or ask a follow-up question?You might be surprised to know that thousands of people on TikTok and Instagram would judge you if you chose the former. Continue reading...

Politics

65 h. ago The snail farm don: is this the most brazen tax avoidance scheme of all time?

Terry Ball – renowned shoe salesman, friend to former mafiosi – has vowed to spend his remaining years finding ways to cheat authorities he feels have cheated him. His greatest ruse? A tax-dodging snail empireIt is a drizzly October afternoon and I am sitting in a rural Lancashire pub drinking pints of Moretti with London’s leading snail farmer and a convicted member of the Naples mafia. We’re discussing the best way to stop a mollusc orgy.The farmer, a 79-year-old former shoe salesman called Terry Ball who has made and lost multiple fortunes, has been cheerfully telling me in great detail for several hours about how he was inspired by former Conservative minister Michael Gove to use snails to cheat local councils out of tens of millions of pounds in taxes. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago 'I spent thousands on weekly food shop and many people have a lot of questions'

A woman has left people gobsmacked after claiming to spend £3,800 on groceries every week in a TikTok video, but viewers questioned her haul and how healthy it actually was, too

Economics

4 d. ago Trick to cut thousands off your council tax bills AND beat the mansion tax

Chancellor Rachel Reeves' 'mansion tax' - which will hit owners of homes worth more than £2m - will be based on their council tax band.

Economics

4 d. ago DWP payments set to end for thousands of people on DLA this month

Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance is replacing the DWP benefit for everyone north of the border.

Politics

4 d. ago Bulgaria's government withdraws controversial budget after major protests

Bulgaria’s government said Tuesday it is withdrawing a controversial budget proposal after protests against it drew tens of thousands of people and saw clashes between police and protesters

Politics

5 d. ago Extra £293 payment for thousands of people on carer benefits due this week

More than 96,000 people in Scotland will receive the Carer Support Allowance payment from December 4.

Economics

5 d. ago Testing at A&Es part of plan to end new HIV cases in England by 2030

Labour announces prevention programme as well as efforts to re-engage people who have fallen out of medical careEnding new HIV transmissions in England by 2030 is within reach thanks to an action plan that will include routine testing at A&Es, the government has said.The HIV action plan, to be unveiled on World Aids Day on Monday, aims to re-engage the thousands of people who have left HIV care, bringing them back to lifesaving treatment. The £170m package also includes funding for opt-out HIV testing at A&Es during routine blood tests in areas with the highest rates, including London and Manchester. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Crews restoring power in Wisconsin while Iowa airport tries to reopen after plane left icy runway

Utility crews are working to restore power to thousands of people in Wisconsin, the consequence of a weekend storm in the Great Lakes region that brought down power lines

Politics

6 d. ago Thousands rally in Madrid to demand snap election over corruption allegations

Pressure grows on Pedro Sánchez amid series of claims involving his family, party and administrationTens of thousands of people have attended an anti-government demonstration in Madrid to demand a snap general election as the country’s socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, tries to weather a series of corruption allegations involving his family, his party and his administration.Sunday’s protest, called by Spain’s conservative People’s party (PP) under the slogan, “This is it: mafia or democracy?”, was held three days after one of Sánchez’s closest erstwhile allies, the former transport minister José Luis Ábalos, was remanded in custody by a judge investigating an alleged kickbacks-for-contracts scheme. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Rising Tide protest: climate activists stop three ships from entering world’s largest coal port in Newcastle

Australian campaigners demand Albanese government cancel planned fossil fuel projects and tax existing operations at 78%Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastActivists have blocked two more coal ships from entering the Port of Newcastle on the fourth day of the Rising Tide protests, bringing the total number of ships turned around by campaigners this weekend to three.Thousands of people have gathered at Rising Tide’s annual climate protest at the world’s largest coal port. The blockade began on Thursday and will continue until Tuesday. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago UK MPs push for extra aid and visas as Jamaica reels from Hurricane Melissa

Dawn Butler leads calls for humanitarian visas and fee waivers for vulnerable relatives of UK nationals affected by stormBritish MPs have joined campaigners calling for more aid and humanitarian visas for Jamaicans to enter the UK after Hurricane Melissa demolished parts of the country, plunging hundreds of thousands of people into a humanitarian crisis.The UK has pledged £7.5m emergency funds to Jamaica and other islands affected by the hurricane, but many argue that the country has a moral obligation to do more for former Caribbean colonies. Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago Labour urged to tackle Britain's 'brain drain' as thousands of young people leave UK for life abroad

Some 174,000 16 to 34-year-olds left the country in the year to March, figures released by the Office for National Statistics show

Politics

8 d. ago Prosecutors drop charges against two Romanian teenagers accused of attempting to rape schoolgirl that sparked days of rioting in Ballymena

The boys, aged 14 and 15, have been held in custody since the alleged sexual assault which led to sustained racially-motivated rioting in the Country Antrim town during the summer.

Events

8 d. ago Hundreds of children separated from families while fleeing violence in Sudan's west Darfur

Hundreds of children have arrived in a Sudanese refugee camp without their families as thousands of people have fled violence in western Darfur

Society

1 week ago Horror moment bystanders scream as residents trapped in Hong Kong flat fire inferno

The now flaming Wang Fuk Court, located in the Tai Po area of Hong Kong, could have been holding thousands of people when the fire broke out in the afternoon on Wednesday

Events

1 week ago Town rallies behind ‘Manhole Michelangelo’ after Iowa officials target him for public art

Locals made T-shirts for ‘Manhole Michelangelo’ and started a petition to drop the charges

Politics

1 week ago What Reeves' devastating pensions raid means for you, the people who will be thousands worse off

The Chancellor has launched a stealth attack on 'salary sacrifice' company pensions, with a new £2,000 cap on the pension contributions that can be made with tax breaks.

Politics

1 week ago How rolling sand dunes are creeping up on last remaining oases on edge of Sahara

In western Chad, villagers are desperately trying to hold back the sand as the climate crisis wreaks havoc on one of the hottest countries in the worldOn the ochre sands of Kanem, the neat vegetable gardens and silver-green palm trees of Kaou oasis stand out, incongruous in this desert province of 70,000 sq km in western Chad.Oases such as this, on the edge of the Sahara, have sustained human life in the world’s deserts for thousands of years. Globally, an estimated 150 million people rely on the water, arable land and access to trade networks they provide. But in Chad, such oases are disappearing fast. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Chicago Christmas tree shooting as boy, 14, dies after multiple shot in 'teen takeover'

Separate shootings in Chicago left a 14-year-old boy dead and injured eight other teenagers as thousands of people gathered in the Loop to start off the holiday festivities

Events