82 m. ago China issues warning to Trump as it launches huge war games around Taiwan including rehearsal for blockading the island's ports

Beijing's foreign ministry struck a defiant tone as the drills got underway, declaring: 'Any act of provocation on the Taiwan issue will surely be met with a firm counterattack from the Chinese side'.

Events

2 h. ago Nancy Pelosi predicts Democrats will retake US House in 2026 midterms

Former House speaker on ABC News also said congressional Republicans have ceded almost all their power to TrumpDemocrats will retake the US House’s majority in the 2026 midterm elections, the chamber’s former speaker Nancy Pelosi has confidently predicted – and she hopes her party colleagues then seize back the congressional power that Republicans have all but ceded to Donald Trump.Asked Sunday on ABC News’s This Week if she had any doubts over whether Democratic New York congressman Hakeem Jeffries would hold the speaker’s gavel after the elections midway through Trump’s second presidency, Pelosi said: “None.” Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago The English House by Dan Cruickshank review – if walls could talk

A deep dive into the creation of eight buildings from the 1700s to the 1900s tells some very human storiesHistory used to be about wars and dates, but to the architecture writer and TV presenter Dan Cruickshank, it’s more about floors and grates. In his new book, he takes a keen-eyed tour of eight English houses, from Northumberland to Sussex, dating from the early 1700s to exactly 100 years ago, and ranging from an outlandish gothic pile to one of the first council flats. In Cruickshank’s pages, classical influences from Rome and Greece give way to a revival of medieval English gothic and the emergence of modernism.He is particularly interested in who commissioned and built his chosen dwellings, and how they got the job done. It’s a new spin on the recent fashion for historians to explore the homes of commoners, as opposed to royalty and aristocrats, in order to tell the life stories of their occupants. This probably began with the late Gillian Tindall, who wrote a highly...

Politics

2 h. ago World Darts Championship rule quietly axed after crunch talks amid Michael van Gerwen dilemma

World Darts Championships news as the PDC held talks with darts stars over a rule that has since been scrapped after a dilemma involving Michael van Gerwen

Politics

2 h. ago Trump says ‘tough’ issues remain for Ukraine peace deal after after meeting Zelenskyy in Florida

US president said ‘thorny’ questions over territory have yet to be resolved and expressed sympathy with Russia not wanting a ceasefireDonald Trump has said a deal to end the war in Ukraine is “closer than ever” but has admitted that “thorny” questions over the future of the eastern Donbas region have yet to be resolved, after a two-hour meeting on Sunday with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Florida.Trump said a draft agreement to end the war was nearly “95% done”. “I really think we are closer than ever with both sides,” he said, adding that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, also wants to “see it happen”. Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago Trump says ‘tough’ issues remain for Ukraine peace deal after meeting Zelenskyy in Florida

US president said ‘thorny’ questions over territory have yet to be resolved and expressed sympathy with Russia not wanting a ceasefireDonald Trump has said a deal to end the war in Ukraine is “closer than ever” but has admitted that “thorny” questions over the future of the eastern Donbas region have yet to be resolved, after a two-hour meeting on Sunday with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Florida.Trump said a draft agreement to end the war was nearly “95% done”. “I really think we are closer than ever with both sides,” he said, adding that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, also wants to “see it happen”. Continue reading...

Politics

3 h. ago Melanie Blumenthal: ‘It’s hard to see the person that you love in pain’

Melanie Blumenthal was told not to talk about her husband Heston’s bipolar diagnosis. She tells us why it’s so important they ignored that advice.

Politics

3 h. ago Corriedale director talks challenges of groundbreaking episode

Coronation Street and Emmerdale director Duncan Foster, who directed the shows' crossover Corriedale, revealed what the most difficult aspects of the ambitious episode were

Politics

3 h. ago Psychic predicts huge world leader will die in 2026 and shares who it won't be

Psychic medium Selina Avalon has shared staggering predictions for 2026, including a major state funeral for a world leader who she says will not be Donald Trump

Politics

3 h. ago 'I predicted tsunami and now I know a world leader will die in 2026'

Psychic Selina Avalon claims a major global figure with Greek links will die in early 2026, with Donald Trump set to attend the state funeral

Politics

3 h. ago Key details of the latest Ukraine peace deal – and the main hurdles Russia keeps putting in the way

Donald Trump says talks on security guarantees for Ukraine ‘close to 95 per cent’ complete

Economics

4 h. ago In Pictures: Trump, tears and taxes feature in the best political images of 2025

The Press Association’s photographers captured some extraordinary moments in UK politics throughout the year.

Politics

4 h. ago Trump says Ukraine peace deal ‘closer than ever’ after Zelensky talks at Mar

US president says deal ‘95% complete’ but two leaders acknowledge there are still ‘thorny issues’ remaining

Politics

5 h. ago What will happen in Scottish politics in 2026? We ask the experts

We talk to some political experts on their predictions for 2026.

Politics

5 h. ago Netanyahu to meet Trump in US amid fears of Israeli regional offensives

Israel’s PM travels to Mar-a-Lago as US administration reported to be running out of patience over Gaza ceasefireBenjamin Netanyahu is to meet Donald Trump at the US president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Monday evening amid growing fears Israel could launch new offensives against regional enemies, potentially plunging the Middle East further into instability.The Israeli prime minister left Israel on Sunday on his fifth visit to see Trump in the US this year. Continue reading...

Politics

5 h. ago The BBC tells the story of Britain in a way Netflix simply cannot. In the year to come, please remember that | Tony Hall

I love many shows on the streaming channels, but the BBC is our storyteller. It defines a nation and its culture – and we must defend itTony Hall was director general of the BBC between April 2013 and August 2020Don’t let President Trump cloud the real debate about the BBC. Of course, his demand for damages of no less than $5bn has dominated our thinking about the corporation over the past few weeks, as has its cause. But let’s get this into perspective. This was a serious own goal and journalists make mistakes. Salvation in this case would have been a line of script between the clips, or once a mistake had been discovered, a very speedy public acknowledgment. Now, though, the BBC is right not to yield on this. It has apologised. And, unlike other broadcasters and institutions in the United States, it doesn’t need the president’s support. This is a chance to demonstrate the BBC’s independence. Fight on.But we must not let this cloud the debate here about the sort of BBC we all want ...

Politics

5 h. ago Wilfried Nancy warned Celtic are teetering on the brink of full blown crisis as Rangers penalty storm splits Jury

There were plenty of talking points after an action packed weekend in the Scottish Premiership

Events

5 h. ago Liverpool news: Virgil van Dijk's worrying talks as Arne Slot singles out star for one reason

Liverpool defeated Wolves 2-1 in the Premier League this weekend, but there is still plenty they can improve on going into the match against Leeds United on New Year's Day

Politics

5 h. ago US pledges $2B for UN humanitarian aid as Trump slashes funding and warns agencies to 'adapt or die'

The United States has announced a $2 billion pledge for U.N. humanitarian aid as President Donald Trump continues to slash U.S. foreign assistance funding

Events

9 h. ago Awkward moment Trump stuns reporters into silence after asking if they would consider free lunch at Mar

President Donald Trump left members of the White House Press Corps speechless when he asked them whether they would consider a free lunch at Mar-a-Lago a bribe on Sunday.

Politics