Chancellor Rachel Reeves has decided against raising income tax rates at the Budget later this month. In recent weeks, Reeves had given strong indications she would increase the rates – a move that would have broken Labour’s election manifesto promise not to raise “the basic, higher or additional rates of income tax”. However, as first reported in the Financial Times, ...

NHS bosses are aiming to keep nearly all services running as resident doctors begin a five-day walkout in England. The strike – the 13th by British Medical Association (BMA) members in the long-running pay dispute – began at 07:00 GMT and lasts until 07:00 Wednesday. Resident doctors – the new name for junior doctors – are walking out of both ...

Bangladesh dominated the first Test against Ireland in Sylhet, winning by an innings and 47 runs in just four days. The match had already tilted in Bangladesh’s favor by the end of third day. On the fourth day, Ireland lost two more wickets in the morning session, setting the stage for an early finish before lunch. After resuming with 86/5 ...

Omelettes are a staple dish in the UK that can be paired with chips, salad or other sides to create a hearty supper. However, cooking an omelette perfectly can be difficult, especially if you’re not a confident cook. I previously asked multiple chefs the best method to cook an omelette, and they all recommended including one specific step. But when ...

Should she come back to Britain, or shouldn’t she? It’s the question that has been raging around the fate of former Bethnal Green schoolgirl-turned ISIS bride Shamima Begum ever since she and two classmates fled to Syria to join ISIS as 15-year-olds more than a decade ago. ‘She was just a child, she was groomed’, versus ‘she’s a traitor, they ...

While Sir Sadiq Khan’s answers to questions about grooming gangs in his city at a London Assembly meeting on Thursday told us almost nothing, the man to his right, Sir Mark Rowley, made some stunning revelations. At the top of the list was that the Met has tens of cases, which are “close to what the public understands as grooming ...

Brazil has pushed back against accusations from the UN’s top climate official over a security lapse at the COP30 summit in Belem, insisting that responsibility for managing the venue’s internal security lies with the United Nations itself. Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, had criticized Brazilian security forces for “failing to act” when dozens ...

Retail spending and industrial activity in China slowed in the latest monthly figures, underscoring the challenges authorities face in trying to revive confidence in the world’s second-largest economy. Despite the end of Covid restrictions, domestic consumption has remained weak, weighed down by a prolonged property-sector debt crisis that continues to hurt household sentiment. Economists have long argued that China must ...

Researchers on Wednesday reported two promising new approaches to counteract malaria’s growing resistance to medication – one involving a new class of drugs. Switzerland-based Novartis released results of what it called a next-generation treatment. A study of its experimental drug in 12 African countries found it works well against the mosquito-borne parasite that causes malaria and seems to block spread. ...

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus has assured the UK that Bangladesh’s upcoming general election will be inclusive and participatory, while confirming that Awami League will be barred from contesting due to its suspension under anti-terrorism laws. He made the remarks on Thursday evening during a meeting with visiting British Minister for International Development Baroness Jenny Chapman at the State Guest ...