Labour leaders in Edinburgh and Cardiff sought credit for the most progressive measures in Rachel Reeves’ budget on Wednesday, pinning their hopes for next year’s critical elections on a package that increases funding for Scotland and Wales by nearly £2bn. That funding boost and the abolition of the two-child limit for universal credit recipients were seen as a relief in ...

Rachel Reeves targeted Britain’s wealthiest households with a £26bn tax-raising budget to fund scrapping the two-child benefit policy and cutting energy bills. On a chaotic day that involved key details of her budget accidentally being released early by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the chancellor defended the measures, saying she was “asking everyone to make a contribution to repair ...

An NHS doctor accused of antisemitism has been suspended for 15 months pending an investigation, the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) in the UK has ruled. The General Medical Council (GMC) is investigating Dr Rahmeh Aladwan over posts and comments made across various social media platforms after several complaints, including from the Jewish Medical Association UK and the Campaign Against ...

For Europe, money is as crucial to Ukraine’s survival as weapons and intelligence. But the EU’s most realistic funding solution relies on accessing billions of dollars in frozen Russian assets — the same assets U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested taking control of. An early draft of Trump’s 28-point peace proposal envisioned a reconstruction fund for Ukraine managed by the ...

Nature has started to whisper the arrival of winter. The air now carries a sweet, gentle chill – the kind that refreshes the mind and hints at the cozy season ahead. Dew drops glisten on green grass in the early morning light, and a thin layer of mist softly wraps the surroundings. Although the weather is not cold enough yet ...

Floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains killed at least 31 people across Sri Lanka this week with 14 others missing, authorities said on Thursday. Most of the deaths occurred in the central tea-growing district of Badulla, where 16 people were buried alive when mountain slopes crashed onto their homes overnight, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said in a statement. ...

A huge fire still burning in a Hong Kong apartment complex that has killed at least 44 people and left almost 300 missing may have been spread by unsafe scaffolding and foam materials used during maintenance work, police said on Thursday. Working through the night, firefighters were struggling to reach residents potentially trapped on the upper floors of the Wang ...

Sylhet’s rail communication with the other parts of country which was suspended after an engine went out of order in Madhabpur upazila in Habiganj district was restored after three hours on Thursday afternoon. Monir Hossain, Noapara Station Master, said the Dhaka-bound inter-city ‘Kalni Express’ train from Sylhet went out of order near Itakhola Station in Madhabpur upazila around 10:30 am, ...

Brazilian authorities on Wednesday approved the world’s first single-dose dengue vaccine, which they hailed as a “historic” achievement as cases of the mosquito-borne disease soar globally due to rising temperatures. Dengue, known for intense flu-like symptoms, crushing fatigue and body aches, reached record global levels in 2024 and researchers have attributed its spread to climate change. Brazil’s health regulatory agency ...

Harry Kane endured a rare quiet night as Bayern Munich fell 3-1 to Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday, suffering their first defeat of the season. Despite the setback, the Bayern striker insisted there was no reason to panic and suggested the two sides could meet again in the later stages of the competition. “It was a tough game, ...