12 h. ago UK’s smallest and mightiest firms offered fresh support to scale

Following data signalling the first rise in the UK’s small business population since the pandemic, the renewed effort seeks to unlock opportunity for microbusinesses at the heart of powering future economic growth

Politics

4 d. ago Andy Robertson admits Liverpool future unclear with contract expiring in summer

Defender frustrated by lack of playing time this season‘We need to see option to stay or if there’s options to go’Andy Robertson has said his Liverpool future remains unresolved despite his contract expiring in five months and admitted this season’s limited playing time has been a frustration.Liverpool have held talks over extending their vice-captain’s outstanding Anfield career but, with no firm offer on the table, Robertson’s next step is uncertain beyond competing in Scotland’s first World Cup for 28 years. The left-back, who turns 32 in March, turned down Atlético Madrid last summer and is likely to have several options should he become a free agent. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Rental Family review – Brendan Fraser seeks meaning in pointless Japanese role

Fraser plays a hapless Tokyo-based actor working for a firm that offers bespoke therapeutic role-play services in director Hikari’s silly and saccharine filmBrendan Fraser is a bland and ingratiating presence in this glib, silly and pointless film from Japanese actor turned director Hikari. It is bafflingly complacent in its sentimentality and its sheer, fatuous implausibility, which makes it valueless and meaningless as drama and comedy.Fraser plays Phillip, a hapless unemployed actor from the US who a few years previously came to Tokyo to do a goofy TV ad for toothpaste and, having no friends or family back home, simply stayed on. He lucks into a weird new source of income: working for a “rental family”, based on firms in Japan which really do offer bespoke therapeutic role-play services, such as errant spouses, deceased loved ones or unsatisfactory co-workers – people who can be chatted with, or mourned, or yelled at for cathartic purposes. Continue reading...

Society

7 d. ago Mayor of London faces fresh calls to reform cold weather support system for rough sleepers

Mayor of London faces fresh calls to reform cold weather support system for rough sleepers  Hackney Citizen

Politics

1 week ago Fresh evidence to support The Scotsman's call for Scotland to become a 'sporting nation'

Exercise’s effect on mental health underlines the need for everyone to be able to participate in sport

Politics

2 w. ago Holidaymakers can get a refund of up to £300 if it rains during their summer holiday

A UK travel firm is offering a rainy day guarantee for some of its summer 2026 holidays, refunding British tourists £50 per day if they get a certain amount of rain at their destination

Economics

2 w. ago Dusk shoppers hail 'best ever' pillows now £9 each in 25% off January sale

The "amazing quality" pillows come in standard and super king sizes offering soft, medium or firm support levels

Economics

2 w. ago Costa living crisis: Coffee firm's losses double as rivals are said to offer 'better experience, ambience, food' and 'less corporate'

The high street brand, owned by Coca-Cola, saw its operating loss widen from £5.8m in 2023 to £13.5m in the year to December 2024.

Economics

2 w. ago Eurostar chaos: What are your rights if trains are cancelled or delayed?

Exclusive: Rail firm has offered £150 for a London hotel – but says contact centre will be pragmatic on claims

Events

3 w. ago Kobbie Mainoo is ‘the future of Manchester United’, insists Amorim

Midfielder has not started a league match this seasonHead coach says ‘everything can change in two days’Ruben Amorim has claimed that ­Kobbie Mainoo is “the future of ­Manchester United” and that the 20-year-old’s versatility increases his chances of breaking into the team soon.Mainoo has a calf problem that rules him out of Newcastle’s visit to Old Trafford on Boxing Day but Amorim offered his firmest backing yet for a player he has not started in any of United’s 17 Premier League matches. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Zipcar offered free parking permits as London borough mounts 11th hour bid to save car

Southwark offers firm use of about 200 parking bays and calls on other boroughs to offer similar incentives

Politics