36 m. ago Toxic chlorine cloud over UK tourist hotspot Barcelona forces 160,000 to stay indoors

The local fire service said it has 24 crews battling the blaze at Vilanova i la Geltru, some 25 miles from Barcelona

Events

2 h. ago Toxic chlorine cloud forces 160,000 to stay indoors in major Spanish tourist hotspot after industrial estate fire

Authorities warned that a blaze at an industrial warehouse selling pool cleaning products had released the toxic gas in the Catalonia region.

Events

4 h. ago Toxic cloud forces 160,000 people indoors in Spain’s tourism region

Residents in five towns were sent a message telling them to remain inside

Events

4 h. ago Barcelona fire: Toxic chlorine cloud covers part of major city as 160,000 people warned to stay indoors

This is a breaking story and is being constantly updated. Please return to this page for the latest updates.

Events

4 h. ago Toxic cloud warning forces 160,000 inside in Spain’s tourism region

Residents in five towns were sent a message telling them to remain inside

Events

17 h. ago PIP claimants that ‘shouldn’t be affected by reform’ could still be at risk experts warn

700,000 people were recently told the changes won’t affect them, but a loophole may mean it does

Events

25 h. ago US grants asylum to 54 white Afrikaner South Africans, reports say

Donald Trump has directed officials to grant refugee status to Afrikaners who he claims suffer discriminationThe US has granted refugee status to 54 white Afrikaner South Africans, who could arrive as soon as Monday in Washington DC, where they will be welcomed by government officials, according to media reports.Donald Trump suspended the US refugee settlement programme in January on his first day in office, leaving more than 100,000 people approved for resettlement stranded, having fled war and persecution in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Afghanistan. Continue reading...

Events

26 h. ago ‘My body deserves pleasure’: is Virgin Island the most awkward TV sexperiment ever?

Twelve virgins, one island and a team of sex therapists who encourage participants to pleasure them Channel 4’s new show is eye-popping TV. The stars talk fruity games, panic attacks and intimacySex seems to be everywhere – in TV and films, the quagmire of porn online – but young people are increasingly not getting it in real life. The Next Steps longitudinal study following more than 16,000 people, by University College London, found that one in eight 26-year-olds still hadn’t had sex.Hence Channel 4’s new show, Virgin Island, which depicts a two-week “radical retreat” led by sexologists Danielle Harel and Celeste Hirschman and a team of experts. The 12 participants are all virgins, and their varied issues around physical intimacy are explored via therapies that include sex coaches stripping naked and encouraging participants to pleasure them. The hope being that sex might be something they get to experience in the next fortnight. Continue reading...

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27 h. ago Japanese tech company Panasonic cuts 4% of its global workforce as profits falter

Panasonic says it will slash its global workforce by 10,000 people, half in Japan and half overseas, to become a more efficient, “lean” company," The Japanese manufacturer said Friday that the job cuts, amounting to about 4% of Panasonic's workers, will include early retirement offers in Japan and closures and consolidation of various operations

Economics

33 h. ago If illegal logging starts again, Liberia could lose more than its beloved pygmy hippos | Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

About 270,000 people died in Liberia’s timber trade-fuelled civil war. I helped to rebuild and protect its forests. Now Europe is threatening to undermine all our hard workIt is sad when a ruthless military dictator funds his government by destroying ecologically important rainforest, logging tropical trees and displacing and robbing the people who live in and depend on the forests for their livelihoods and culture.This happened in my country, Liberia. Continue reading...

Politics

45 h. ago Trump asks Supreme Court to allow him to end humanitarian parole for 500,000 people from 4 countries

President Donald Trump's administration is asking the Supreme Court to allow it to end humanitarian parole for hundreds of thousands of immigrants from four countries

Politics

49 h. ago Four conditions that will avoid PIP payment cuts, DWP expert claims

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is expected to introduce new PIP eligibility rules in November 2026, with around 400,000 people expected to see their benefits cut

Science

61 h. ago Ukraine war briefing: Period of Putin’s ‘ceasefire’ for Victory Day begins

Kremlin jams internet as it seeks to protect visiting foreign leaders; Ukraine’s SBU says drones hit Russian arms factories. What we know on day 1,170 The period of an unagreed ceasefire called for by Vladimir Putin began on Thursday morning as the Russian president seeks cover for Victory Day events. Ukraine has dismissed it as a “game” designed to protect Putin’s parade rather than a genuine step towards peace. Foreign leaders including China’s Xi Jinping are visiting the Russian capital for Victory Day celebrations. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president, has offered a 30-day ceasefire as suggested in US-brokered talks, but the Kremlin has refused.The Kremlin was forced on Wednesday to say it was taking “all necessary measures” to ensure the safety of foreign leaders due to attend its flagship 9 May parade after days of Ukrainian drone attacks closed airports across Russia, disrupting about 350 flights due to carry about 60,000 people. The Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov sai...

Events

67 h. ago Infected blood scandal victims 'will die before getting compensation'

Over 30,000 people in the UK were infected with HIV and hepatitis C after they were given contaminated blood and blood products.

Events

2 d. ago England is in the grip of an obesity crisis as almost two thirds of adults now dangerously overweight

Nearly a two-thirds of adults were overweight, with an extra 260,000 people entering that category last year. More than a quarter - an estimated 14 million people - were obese.

Events

2 d. ago Ministers’ plans to stop small boat refugees getting British citizenship hit by legal challenge

Exclusive: New guidance, which could affected 70,000 people, could have a ‘devastating impact on rape survivors’ and penalise trafficking survivors, charities claim

Politics

2 d. ago Children so malnourished they’re losing their sight: Inside Israel’s aid blockade on Gaza

The blockade has led to famine-like conditions for the two million people living on the Strip, and at least 9,000 children have been admitted for treatment of acute malnutrition since the start of the year

Politics

3 d. ago How much you pay in taxes may show how high your cancer risk is. Here’s why

Cancer remains one of the leading causes of death in America, killing more than 600,000 people each year

Economics

3 d. ago Trade group warns Stirling's proposed 'tourist tax' could 'harm' the region's tourism

The trade group has warned that Stirling's proposed 'tourist tax' would harm tourism in the region and called for an economic impact survey to be carried out.

Events

4 d. ago Israel will move Gaza's entire 2million population to 'humanitarian zone' under plan to 'conquer' the strip and hold it indefinitely

Gaza has been under total Israeli blockade since March and faces a severe humanitarian crisis, with more than 52,000 people killed since the start of the conflict, per health officials

Politics