41 m. ago New charges accuse Bolsonaro of running spy ring from Brazil’s presidential palace

The former president has denied wrongdoing as federal police accuse him of overseeing a spy ring targeting rivalsFederal police have formally accused Brazil’s former far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, of presiding over an illegal spying network which allegedly snooped on political rivals, journalists and environmentalists during his administration.Bolsonaro is already facing the prospect of jail time over his alleged role in masterminding a military coup plot designed to help him keep power after losing the 2022 election to the leftwing veteran Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. There is broad consensus among analysts that Bolsonaro’s conviction is a foregone conclusion and the 70-year-old populist is expected to face arrest in the coming months once a supreme court trial concludes. Continue reading...

Politics

42 m. ago Did the liberation of Africa start in Manchester? The biting play about a pivotal, forgotten moment

It was a turning point in the push for African independence – and it took place in Chorlton-on-Medlock Town Hall. We meet the writer of a play about the fifth Pan-African CongressOn the facade of the building that once housed Chorlton-on-Medlock Town Hall in Manchester sits a plaque commemorating a turning point in the push for African independence. The fifth Pan-African Congress in October 1945 was attended by future global leaders as well as activists and scholars from across Africa and its diaspora. But despite the event’s international importance, it has been largely overlooked by mainstream British history. Now a biting new play is set to remedy this.“I think a lot of Mancunians don’t know it happened,” says playwright Ntombizodwa Nyoni, who lectures in the same building, now part of Manchester Metropolitan University. “But it’s like: you’re part of such a phenomenal moment in history.” Eighty years later, her dramatisation of the event, Liberation, is about to receive its worl...

Politics

62 m. ago Slim, superfit man diagnosed with deadly 'fat person' condition

Dance teacher Will McKechnie from Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, said he was floored by the diagnosis as he has prided himself on being active and was a svelte 11st 13lb.

Events

64 m. ago Swedish ‘queen of trash’ jailed for dumping thousands of tonnes of toxic waste

Fariba Vancor, former boss of Think Pink waste management company, convicted of 19 serious environmental crimesA Swedish entrepreneur who once called herself the “queen of trash” has been sentenced to six years in prison for illegally dumping hundreds of thousands of tonnes of toxic waste in the country’s biggest environmental crime case.Fariba Vancor, previously known as Bella Nilsson and the former chief executive of waste management company Think Pink, was convicted on Tuesday of 19 counts of serious environmental crimes. Her ex-husband Thomas Nilsson was found guilty of 12 counts of serious environmental crimes and sentences to three years and six months in prison. Continue reading...

Events

65 m. ago Wishaw MP calls on SNP to improve frontline services after spending review

Pamela Nash says the buck now stops with the SNP Scottish Government – and called on Motherwell and Wishaw MSP Clare Adamson to explain to their constituents why they have yet to see any tangible improvements in their communities.

Politics

80 m. ago Labour's lack of control over illegal immigration 'risks fuelling new grooming gang crisis' as report says non

Chris Philp said abuse of teenage girls was a 'border security issue' after a damning report said foreign nationals are involved in a 'significant proportion' of ongoing police investigations.

Events

82 m. ago Driver ‘did not know’ he fatally struck young mother off bike, murder trial told

Keaton Muldoon, 23, is on trial accused of murdering Alana Armstrong by ramming her off an electric bike in Derbyshire.

Events

89 m. ago 10 best dumbbells for building strength and muscle at home, tested by a fitness writer

These weights can help you build muscle and achieve your fitness goals

Politics

2 h. ago Reformed offender mentors young people through sport after serving jail term

Chauncey Taylor became involved in criminal activity after he was released from his rugby club.

Events

2 h. ago Congress should be ashamed over helping Trump cut foreign aid, activists say

Campaigners say the US government has been withholding funds for orphans and vulnerable children unlawfully – before a vote in Congress has backed Trump’s move

Politics

2 h. ago Poundland sale risks more than a thousand jobs as 68 stores to close

The discount chain also indicated it will shut dozens more of its UK shops in the coming years under the new ownership.

Events

2 h. ago Serbia’s Exit festival may go ‘into exile’ amid government pressure over student protests

This year’s edition to be last held in country after Belgrade withholds funding over support of anti-corruption activistsOne of Europe’s largest music festivals will no longer be held in Serbia and could go “into exile” in Germany or a neighbouring Balkan state after Belgrade withheld funding over its support of the country’s anti-corruption student protesters.Exit festival, which is held every July in a medieval bastion fortress in Serbia’s second city, Novi Sad, was founded in 2000 by student activists from the protest movement that helped topple Slobodan Milošević. Affordable ticket prices and starry lineups mean it has acquired a reputation as Europe’s premier music event with a social conscience, with 210,000 people from more than 80 countries attending in 2024. Continue reading...

Events

3 h. ago Poundland reveals 68 UK stores and two warehouses could shut with 1,300 jobs now at risk after discount retailer was sold for £1 to investment firm Gordon Brothers

Discount chain Poundland, known for primarily selling products for £1, had been put on the market in March after a sharp downturn in trading - and confirmation of its sale for a 'nominal' fee was given last week.

Economics

3 h. ago Weight loss jabs may achieve less drastic results outside trials, study suggests

Patients in real world shed less weight than in clinical settings and may benefit more from bariatric surgeryPeople using weight loss jabs shed far fewer pounds in the real world than in clinical trials, researchers have found.Jabs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro, which contain the drugs semaglutide and tirzepatide respectively, have transformed the treatment of obesity, with studies suggesting the former can help people lose up to 20% of their body weight after 72 weeks of treatment. Continue reading...

Politics

4 h. ago Poundland to shut 68 shops and two warehouses after takeover

Pepco Group last week sold the discount chain for £1 after it had been hit by a sharp downturn in trading.

Events

4 h. ago Poundland announces 68 store and two warehouses closures amid restructuring plans

Poundland announces store closures

Events

4 h. ago Poundland announces plans to close 68 stores and two UK warehouses in restructuring plan after being 'sold for £1' to investment firm Gordon Brothers

Poundland has announced plans to close 68 stores and two UK warehouses as part of a restructuring plan after being sold to investment firm Gordon Brothers.

Economics

4 h. ago Poundland to close 68 stores after being sold for £1 in huge rescue deal

This is a breaking news story and is constantly being updated as the story develops

Economics

4 h. ago Poundland to shut 68 stores as part of rescue deal after chain was sold for £1

It comes after Poundland was sold for £1 last week to investment firm Gordon Brothers, the former owner of Laura Ashley

Economics

4 h. ago How not to be the most annoying person in a pub quiz – five things I’ve learned | Zoe Williams

As someone who is consistently the worst person on a team, I can impart some advice. And the first is do not harangue your host or the other teams under any circumstancesI am always considered likely to be a quiz asset, because I’m old, and yet I’m a huge quiz deficit – not only usually wrong, but with such confident delivery that I make others in the team, who are right, lose their way, like a magnet on a compass. After another stunning defeat, in which we slipped from a mediocre seventh or eighth back to last place, having had 20 points deducted because I poked the quiz guy with a pencil, I’m ready to pass on some basic quizdom.First, don’t poke the quiz guy with a pencil. Don’t harangue the marking team or try to cut a deal. In fact, keep all extra-team interactions at zero. Forget the captain, forget the person with the best handwriting, choose your most emollient member and make them do the talking for all of you. Continue reading...

Politics