31 m. ago Spending review live: Reeves to reveal how she’ll spend Britain’s cash to make working people ‘better off’

Chancellor is set to unveil plans for all department funding today

Economics

34 m. ago South Africa v Australia: World Test Championship final cricket, day one – live

Updates from the first day of the WTC decider at Lord’sPlay starts 10.30am BST / 7.30pm AEST / 11.30am SASTSign up to The Spin newsletter | And email MartinSimon Reader has been in touch with a reminder that South Africa are up against it at Lord’s though perhaps found an early win with the toss falling their way.“By my count the Proteas are fielding three players who featured in Temba Bavuma’s last outing at Lords (2017)? That saw Rabada at his finest BMT at Lords is always a tough grasp with the Proteas already notorious for absence here, this is going to be a tough ask.” Continue reading...

Sport

39 m. ago Promoters blamed for The Fratellis cancelling Scots festival appearance set to enter liquidation

Third-party promoter Wannasee Ltd has confirmed it "is now in the process of entering liquidation" after being blamed for the band withdrawing from their headline slot.

Politics

41 m. ago Rachel Reeves says she ‘chooses investment’ as she prepares to unveil Labour’s spending review – UK politics live

Chancellor will reveal how the government plans to spend almost £1.4tn in 2026-27, rising to almost £1.5tr in 2028-29In Wales politcians from almost all parties have been complaining for years about the UK governments decision to categorise HS2 as a project for England and Wales, even though the line does not go through Wales at all. Treating it as a project that nevertheless benefit Wales means Wales does not get equivalent money for its own infrastructure, under the Barnett formula.According to a report by ITV Cymru, Wales will get £445m for rail in the spending review. ITV quotes a Welsh Labour source as saying:This investment is more than Wales would have had so far had HS2 been Barnettised. It will make a massive difference economically and politically.We need to go much further and faster to get one step ahead of the tactics used by small boat gangs.That is why we will boost investment to secure our borders, with up to £280m per year in the Border Security Command by 2028/29. ...

Politics

58 m. ago 'My neighbours won't clear up dog poo so I came up with petty solution'

A fed up woman has slammed lazy dog walker to fail to pick up their pets' mess when taking them out for their daily exercise - and it has caused others to join in her 'protest'

Politics

59 m. ago Something in the water: how kelp is helping Maine’s mussels boom

When a US firm saw the seaweed was making their shellfish the ‘biggest and best’ scientists realised they’d hit upon a natural way to combat ocean acidificationPhotographs by Greta RybusMore on this story: A drop in the ocean: does experimental technology hold the key to saving the world’s seas?On a glimmering May morning, Tom Briggs pilots a 45ft aluminium barge through the waters of Casco Bay for one of the final days of the annual kelp harvest. Motoring past Clapboard Island, he points to a floating wooden platform where mussels have been seeded alongside ribbons of edible seaweed.“This is our most productive mussel site,” says Briggs, the farm manager for Bangs Island Mussels, a Portland sea farm that grows, harvests and sells hundreds of thousands of pounds of shellfish and seaweed each year. “When we come here, we get the biggest, fastest-growing mussels with the thickest shells and the best quality. To my mind, unscientifically, it’s because of the kelp.”Zoe Benisek, oyster l...

Politics

59 m. ago Nashville at 50: Robert Altman’s defining masterpiece of the 1970s

The director’s immersive look at the Nashville music scene remains an audacious narrative experiment that continues to influence film-makersReleased smack-dab in the middle of the 70s, like some gravitational mass at the center of the galaxy, Robert Altman’s Nashville is the defining work of a decade when iconoclasts upended Hollywood and took stock of the country during a turbulent stretch.For Altman, it was the culmination of a film-making style he had been refining since M*A*S*H in 1970, one built on spontaneity, a rich evocation of time and place, and actors empowered to create characters who seem to simply exist in their worlds, rather than impose themselves on it. The offhand magic of Nashville is that it feels modest, despite a who’s who of two dozen stars convening for an epic that offers Music City as a microcosm for America herself. Rarely are great films this casually profound. Continue reading...

Politics

59 m. ago ‘The odds are astronomical’: Canadian man wins lottery jackpots four times

Cancer survivor David Serkin won draws in August, November and May, and another more than a decade agoHow do you say “lottery winner” in western Canada? The answer is: David Serkin, the name of the cancer survivor from Alberta who won three separate lottery jackpots between August and May to accumulate about $2.5m in prize money.According to officials, those lucky tickets marked the second, third and fourth times Serkin had won a lottery in his life, a feat that he had vanishingly small chances of pulling off and gained notice on corners of the internet dedicated to charming news stories. Continue reading...

Politics

59 m. ago Sali Hughes on beauty: summer vibes in a bottle – the best suntan

The scents of the season are less Bounty ice-cream, more vanilla, spiced rum and driftwood with a glow of sunloungerSuntan fragrances hark back to more innocent times, when factor 8, 6 – or even 2! – oil seemed like a perfectly responsible course of action for a Brit on a fortnight’s Teletext holiday to Crete. Modern tributes draw on common olfactory themes in retro tanning oils, from warm vanilla and coconut to salt, citrus fruits, sexy amber and tropical flowers such as tiaré and frangipani. My favourites of the genre are either affordable or at least relatively inexpensive, because while I’m disgruntled by many fragrance prices these days, there’s something particularly offensive about a three-figure scent got up to smell like Ambre Solaire.In case I haven’t already raved enough about French pharmacy perfumers Roger & Gallet, here’s more. Vanille Soleil (£20 for 30ml), is the latest in the lineup and continues their tradition for considered, high-quality and very wearabl...

Politics

59 m. ago From Resident Evil to 007: the 15 best games at 2025’s Summer Game Fest

There’s a lot to take in at the yearly live video event: from Paralives to Felt That: Boxing, Dosa Divas to Resident Evil Requiem, here are our favouritesThe ninth mainstream instalment in the survival horror series returns us to the wreckage of Racoon City and promises a blend of cinematic action and psychological horror. FBI agent Grace Ashcroft appears to be the main character, but is anything in this series ever what it seems? Continue reading...

Politics

59 m. ago ‘I looked nine months pregnant and the truth was absolutely terrifying'

Robyn McGhee thought she was just bloated after the festive season and initially put her weight gain down to that.

Events

60 m. ago Where the Club World Cup will be won and lost – and why it matters more than you think

The inaugural version of the revamped Fifa tournament could offer up plenty of surprises to reflect football’s new reality and, as Miguel Delaney outlines, provide new opportunities for the club game

Politics

61 m. ago Spending Review 2025: what time is Rachel Reeves' announcement today – what UK government plans mean for you

Big pledges on housing, healthcare, and transport are expected, but questions remain over where cuts may fall 🚆

Politics

71 m. ago Manchester City sign Tijjani Reijnders to take spending this week past £100m

Midfielder arrives from Milan as fourth summer buyHe follows Aït-Nouri, Cherki and Bettinelli to club Manchester City have taken their early summer spending to more than £100m after making Tijjani Reijnders their fourth signing in three days. The Netherlands midfielder has arrived from Milan for €55m (£46.6m) and joins Rayan Aït-Nouri, Marcus Bettinelli and Rayan Cherki at the club.All four will be available for the Club World Cup, with City’s first match against Wydad AC taking place next Wednesday, after Reijnders signed before Tuesday’s deadline. Reijnders has a five-year deal as Pep Guardiola looks to revitalise his squad after an underwhelming season by the club’s standards, finishing a distant third in the Premier League and collecting no silverware thus far. City were also active in the January window, spending more than £180m on four players. Their outlay in 2025 stands at £288m. Continue reading...

Economics

74 m. ago Second night of rioting in Ballymena leaves 17 police officers injured

Racially motivated attacks have left families in fear, say police, after unrest broke out over alleged sexual assaultA second night of rioting has left 17 police officers injured and caused damage to several homes, businesses and vehicles in Ballymena in Northern Ireland.A crowd launched a “sustained attack” on officers on Tuesday night by hurling petrol bombs, masonry and fireworks in the County Antrim town, a police spokesperson said. Continue reading...

Events

76 m. ago Spending Review 2025: Key points announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves

A series of funding packages have already been trailed ahead of the full spending plans being unveiled

Politics

78 m. ago The Rolling Stones reported to be working on new album, two years after releasing Hackney Diamonds

Are the band set to release their 25th studio album later this year?

Politics

96 m. ago Spending review live: Reeves to pledge £39bn to tackle housing crisis with boost to NHS and defence expected

Chancellor is set to unveil plans for all department funding today

Economics

98 m. ago Elon Musk says he ‘regrets’ some of his posts about Donald Trump; US

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsUS-China trade talks: ‘framework’ deal amid dispute over rare earthsShares in Tesla are set to rally in New York later today, after Elon Musk attempted to patch up relations with Donald Trump.Tesla’s shares are up 2.5% in premarket trading at $334.28, as traders react to Musk’s expression of regret over his criticism of Trump last week. Continue reading...

Politics

1 hour ago Rachel Reeves says she ‘chooses investment’ ahead of unveiling Labour’s spending review – UK politics live

Chancellor will reveal how the government plans to spend almost £1.4tn in 2026-27, rising to almost £1.5tr in 2028-29Good morning. The government plans to be spending almost £1.4tr in 2026-27, rising to almost £1.5tr in 2028-29. Those annual limits are already agreed. Today, when Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, stands up at 12.30pm to present the spending review, she will explain how she has decided to divvy up that money between government departments over the next three years.This is not a budget, and she will not be announcing changes to tax policy. But it will feel like a budget because, like a budget, it will involve decisions that affect the public services people rely upon. And it is bound to intensify speculation about whether taxes will have to go up in the next budget, in the autumn.This government is renewing Britain. But I know too many people in too many parts of the country are yet to feel it.This government’s task – my task – and the purpose of this Spending Review – i...

Politics