2 h. ago France has a massive debt crisis. So why is it spending billions a year subsidising business? | Alexander Hurst

The government is on the brink of collapse over planned austerity. Instead it must face up to the costs of its unnecessarily rigid labour marketAs someone who has always been against austerity, I find France, with a national debt at 114% of GDP and a budget deficit of 5.8% of GDP, a conundrum. Despite years of denunciation from his left and far-right opponents that Macron has engaged in “ultraneoliberalism”, there hasn’t been any. Not on a macro level, anyway, where both French government spending (57.3% of GDP) and tax receipts (51.4% of GDP) are among the highest in the world, including social spending, which outpaces any of its European neighbours.At the same time, it’s impossible to have spent the past decade in France without encountering the widely shared perception and accusation that public services are in decline. Doctors and nurses denounce a labour shortage in public hospitals; people who live in rural areas denounce the closing of rural train lines; students and academic...

Economics

10 h. ago East Lancs Road closed following reports of 'major crash' with man cut from car

Two people were rushed to hospital from the scene

Events

19 h. ago 'Every year thousands of people will get taken to hospital because of this illness – this year will be no different'

Greater Manchester health bosses urge people to do one thing as weather changes

Science

31 h. ago Staircase collapse in St Ives leaves several injured and one airlifted to hospital

Emergency services rushed to a block of flats in St Ives, Cornwall, on Sunday evening after a stairway collapsed, leaving two people seriously injured and one being airlifted to hospital.

Events

61 h. ago New York City declares Harlem legionnaire’s disease outbreak over

Local hospital’s cooling tower was found to be harboring the bacteria after seven people died and 90 were hospitalized over three weeksNew York City has declared the deadly legionnaires’ disease outbreak in central Harlem over, nearly three weeks since it began.On Friday, city health officials announced that there have been no new cases among residents who live or work in the area since 9 August. As of Friday, there have been 114 cases of legionnaires’ disease, with 90 people hospitalized – six of those remaining in hospital – and seven deaths. Continue reading...

Politics

67 h. ago Protests rage in Indonesia as mob sets fire to regional parliament building

An angry mob set fire to a local parliament building in an Indonesian provincial capital, leaving at least three people dead and five others hospitalized, officials said.

Events

69 h. ago 3 dead after mob sets fire to Indonesian regional parliament building

An angry mob has set fire to a local parliament building in Makassar, Indonesia, leaving at least three people dead and five others hospitalized

Events

4 d. ago Prosecutors investigate death of patient who had hospital acquired infection

Molly Cuddihy began cancer treatment as a teenager in 2018 at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus.

Events

6 d. ago ‘There needs to be justice,’ UN tells Israel after Gaza hospital bombing

Human rights office demands that Israeli investigation into ‘double tap’ attack that killed 20 people yields resultsMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe UN has demanded that Israel’s investigations into unlawful killings in Gaza, including its “double tap” bombing of Nasser hospital which killed 20 people, among them five journalists, yield results and ensure accountability.“There needs to be justice,” Thameen Al-Kheetan, the spokesperson for the UN’s human rights office, told reporters on Tuesday in Geneva. He added that the number of journalists killed in Gaza raised many questions about the targeting of media workers. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Couple killed in Isle of Wight helicopter crash named as daughter speaks of heartbreak

Three people were killed and another airlifted to hospital after Monday's tragedy

Events

6 d. ago UN warns Israel that its probe into IDF attack on Gaza hospital must yield actual results – Middle East crisis live

UN official says investigations have been announced before but ‘we haven’t seen results or accountability measures yet’The UN says that Israel must not only investigate alleged unlawful killings in Gaza like the hospital strike that killed 20 people, including journalists, the previous day, but also ensure those probes yield results.“There needs to be justice,” United Nations rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan told AFP in Geneva, adding that the large number of media workers killed in the Gaza war “raises many, many questions about the targeting of journalists”.The Israeli authorities have, in the past, announced investigations in such killings.It’s of course the responsibility of Israel, as the occupying power, to investigate - but these investigations need to yield results. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago Netanyahu says Israel regrets 'mishap' after 'five journalists were among 20 killed' in hospital strike on Gaza Strip

Benjamin Netanyahu has said an Israeli strike on a hospital in the Gaza Strip that killed 20 people, including five journalists, was a 'tragic mishap'.

Events

7 d. ago Two people taken to hospital after horse collides with spectators at Cartmel races

The horse Wbee sadly could not be saved following the incident at the course. Track bosses have since issued a statement

Politics

7 d. ago Three people killed and one critically injured in Isle of Wight helicopter crash

One person in hospital in serious condition after crash during flying lessonThree people have been killed after a helicopter crashed on the Isle of Wight during a flying lesson.The helicopter carrying four people crashed into a field near Shanklin at about 9.20am on Monday. One person onboard was airlifted to hospital and remains in a serious condition. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago Israel bombed Gaza hospital a second time, killing rescuers, say health officials

At least 20 people, including five journalists, died as they rushed to help those wounded in the first strikeIsrael bombed the main hospital in southern Gaza on Monday and then struck the same spot again as rescuers and journalists rushed to help the wounded, killing at least 20 people including five journalists, health officials said.The first strike hit the top floor of a building at the Nasser hospital, killing Reuters journalist Hussam al-Masri and others. Journalists and rescuers then rushed to the scene to help the wounded, when a second bomb struck the same spot fifteen minutes later. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago Isle of Wight helicopter crash latest: Four people on board during flying lesson as one airlifted to hospital

Four people including the pilot were on board when the helicopter 'spiralled' to the ground on the Isle of Wight

Events

7 d. ago Five journalists among 20 killed in Israeli attack on Gaza hospital, say health officials

Deaths take the number of Palestinian journalists killed in the conflict since 7 October 2023 to at least 193Five journalists were among at least 20 people killed by Israeli strikes on Nasser hospital in southern Gaza, health officials said.The strikes on Monday killed Hussam al-Masri, who worked for Reuters, Mariam Abu Dagga, who worked for the Associated Press, the Al Jazeera journalist Mohammed Salam, the photojournalist Moaz Abu Taha , and Ahmad Abu Aziz from Quds Feed. Another Reuters journalist, Hatem Khaled, was wounded in the attack. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago Four journalists among 20 killed in Israeli strike on Gaza hospital, say health officials

Deaths take the number of Palestinian journalists killed in the conflict since 7 October 2023 to at least 192 Four journalists were among at least 20 people killed by Israeli strikes on al-Nasser hospital in southern Gaza, health officials said.The strikes on Monday killed Hussam al-Masri, who worked for Reuters, Mariam Abu Dagga, who worked for the Associated Press, the Al Jazeera journalist Mohammed Salam, and Moaz Abu Taha from NBC. Another Reuters journalist, Hatem Khaled, was also wounded in the attack. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago Four journalists among 15 killed in Israeli strike on hospital in Gaza, say health officials

Deaths take to at least 192 the number of Palestinian journalists killed in the conflict since 7 October 2023Four journalists were among at least 15 people killed by Israeli strikes on al-Nasser hospital in southern Gaza, Palestinian health officials said.The strikes on Monday killed Hussam al-Masri, who worked for Reuters, Mariam Abu Dagga, who worked for the Associated Press, the Al Jazeera journalist Mohammed Salam, and Moaz Abu Taha from NBC. Another Reuters journalist, Hatem Khaled, was also wounded in the attack. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago Three people rushed to hospital after 'rickshaw and bus crash' in Central London on Bank Holiday weekend

The collision occurred shortly after 1am on August 25 in the heart of London's West End.

Events