Kurt Geiger feels the benefit of high-fashion fans tightening belts

Kurt Geiger increased sales by nearly 10% last year as the footwear and handbag retailer said it benefited from fashion fans switching to its more affordable luxuries during the cost of living crisis.

'We are ready to die here' Tiny island fishing community that is standing up to Beijing

From the sandy beaches of Thitu Island, blue waters stretch for as far as the eye can see.

Scholz holds talks with CDU opponent over immigration after Solingen attack

The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has held a meeting with the country's opposition leader to discuss how to change immigration policy and increase deportations after a deadly knife attack on Friday linked to Islamic State.

Ukraine 'captures nearly 600 Russian soldiers' during Kursk operation

Ukraine has captured 594 Russian soldiers during its three-week military operation in the Kursk region and has seized 100 settlements inside Russia, Kyiv's commander-in-chief said yesterday.

Mariah Carey says mother and sister died on the same day

Mariah Carey's mother, Patricia, and sister, Alison, both died on the same day, the singer revealed on Monday.

'We expected better of your lot' SNP will lose 2026 election if it fails to transform, insiders say

The Scottish National party will lose the next Holyrood election without a fundamental rethink of purpose and policy while carrying out long-delayed internal reforms, senior figures have warned.

Follow Paris's example and ban pesticides in UK cities, say campaigners

The UK should copy Paris and ban pesticides in urban areas, campaigners and local councils have said.

Note left inside National Gallery column reveals funder's joy at removal

Builders knocking down a columnat the National Gallery in London were surprised to find a note amid the rubble thanking them for demolishing the \"unnecessary\" pillar.

Call for rethink on inquiry into baby deaths over Letby evidence concerns

A group including some of Britain's leading neonatal experts and professors of statistics is calling on the government to postpone or change the terms of a public inquiry over concerns about the conviction of the neonatal nurse Lucy Letby.

Removal of unsafe cladding from at-risk buildings 'too slow' - Rayner

Angela Rayner has called efforts to remove unsafe cladding from thousands of at-risk buildings \"too slow\" and said it is her job to ensure remaining works finish as quickly as possible.

'A giant hug for athletes' Paris rolls out the blue carpet for Paralympians

Plastered on the walls of every Métro station in Paris this week are adverts boasting some boundary-pushing Franglais.

Plant-based meats 'more eco-friendly', report says

Plant-based alternatives to meat are better for the planet and mostly healthier than products such as burgers and sausages made from animals, new research has found.

'Huge step' for AI at school as tech firms supported to develop tools for teachers

Tech companies are being urged to create better artificial intelligence tools for reducing teachers' workloads, as ministers announced they would give AI models special access to the Department for Education's bank of resources.

Three arrested over stabbing of woman at Notting Hill carnival

Three men have been arrested over the stabbing of a 32-year-old woman who attended the Notting Hill carnival with her young child, the Metropolitan police said.

Next shop workers win six-year battle for equal pay in landmark case

Shop workers at Next have won a six-year legal fight for equal pay in a landmark case that could force the retailer to pay more than £30m in compensation and bolster similar claims lodged against the big UK supermarkets.

Reeves likely to renew grants fund that helps poorest families

Rachel Reeves is set to renew the household support fund, which is due to end next month and helps tens of thousands of households at risk of destitution with cash, food parcels, fuel vouchers and clothing.

No bed of roses Garden at No 10 has hosted some thorny moments

Keir Starmer was very obviously aware of the symbolism in choosing to hold his first set-piece speech as prime minister in the Downing Street garden. And, as with much political symbolism, it included a certain amount of deliberate myth-making.

Starmer hints at tax rises as he warns of budget pain after '14 years of rot'

Keir Starmer has given his strongest hint yet of tax rises to come in October's budget, warning he will have to make \"painful\" decisions after finding what Labour says is a £22bn black hole in the public finances.

Hostage rescue Bedouin Israeli reunited with family

A member of Israel's Bedouin minority who was kidnapped by Hamas on 7 October last year has been reunited with his family amid conflicting accounts about his rescue from Gaza.

"The time is right': Gallagher brothers to reunite for Oasis tour next year

Rock's biggest will-they-won't-they finally has an answer: Oasis have announced that they will reunite for a 14-date tour of the UK and Ireland in 2025.

Liz Truss considered cutting cancer care to fund tax cuts-book

Liz Truss considered cutting cancer care on the NHS in a desperate attempt to find savings to pay for the tax cuts in her botched \"minibudget\", according to a new book about her time in office.

Gaza evacuations 'make UN's work impossible'

The UN has said its ability to function in Gaza is being crippled by a flurry of Israeli evacuation orders, forcing Palestinians into ever smaller and more remote areas, days before a critical effort to contain a polio outbreak.

Time for UK to turn corner on Brexit, says Starmer

Keir Starmer has promised to \"turna corner on Brexit\" and rebuild productive relationships with EU member states ahead of a flying visit to Germany for talks with Chancellor Olaf Scholz focusing on defence and trade.

Sterling aims to settle Blues contract before leaving club

Raheem Sterling plans to resolve his contractual situation at Chelsea before switching his focus to finding a new club this week.

"The little boy in the big jacket': how Eriksson made his mark

Before his adventures abroad, the Swede took on Europe's elite with ateam of plumbers and electricians and won

'It was unknown.We lived one day at a time and just started training'

Displaced by war from their homes and facilities, Ukraine's Paralympicswimmers have somehow still made it to Paris

New 'Robocrop' robot raspberry picker ripe for action in field

A new version of the world's first raspberry-picking robot, a fourarmed machine powered by artificial intelligence and able to do the job with the speed and effectiveness of a human, is to be employed on farms in the UK, Australia and Portugal over the coming 12 months.

On the defensive Edwards is the man to fill England's void and the RFU should hire him at any cost

At the Rugby Football Union they like a project. Planning for a successor to Eddie Jones was known as \"Project Everest\" while the Six Nations' move to aggregate broadcasting rights was billed as \"Project Light\", and it does not take a degree in management speak to figure out who came up with that.

'I miss my people' Nigerian schoolgirls trapped as sex workers in Ivory Coast

The first French phrases Sara learned when she arrived in the Ivory Coast city of Bouaké were \"Alors baiser\" and \"c'est douce\", to initiate sexual activity and then to fake pleasure during the act.

Telegram founder's arrest part of inquiry into cybercrime, say French prosecutors

Pavel Durov, the Russian-born billionaire co-founder of the Telegram messaging app, was arrested in France in connection with an investigation into criminal activity on the platform and a lack of cooperation with law enforcement, prosecutors said yesterday.