CATEGORIES

Work Minister's plan to transform the job market

\"This is why I love jobcentres: because they're intensely hopeful places.\" The employment minister, Alison McGovern, has spent half an hour perched on a desk in an office block in Hoxton, east London, hearing from a group of job coaches.

Shoppers bag Black Friday gifts online but in-store sales lag

UK shoppers visited websites in droves to snap up Black Friday bargains, raising hopes the US-inspired promotional day would finally kick-start a festive spending spree.

Half of homeowners face higher mortgage payments within three years, says Bank

The mortgage payments of half of UK homeowners will rise over the next three years, leaving 4.4m households facing extra financial pressure, the Bank of England has said.

Air of despair New Zealand city plagued by wastewater site stench

New Zealand city plagued by wastewater site stench

Bolivia's former anti-drugs chief to be extradited on drug charges

Bolivia's highest court has approved the extradition of the country's former top anti-narcotics official to the US to face charges of trafficking narcotics.

Trump's cabinet A team of talents or a hodgepodge held together by fealty?

A team of talents or a hodgepodge held together by fealty?

Mass die-off of elephants in Botswana 'was climate induced'

More than 350 elephants that died in mysterious circumstances probably drank toxic water, according to a new paper that warns of an \"alarming trend\" in climate-induced poisoning.

More than a dessert How sweet potato pie became a tool of US Black resistance

The American pastry chef David Benton grew up in a pumpkin pie family; they always bought the dessert for Thanksgiving dinner.

Talks over Iran nuclear impasse continue as Trump return looms

Iran and the so-called E3 grouping of the UK, France and Germany have agreed to continue holding talks in the near future in an attempt to find a way out of an impasse over Tehran's nuclear programme.

Ireland's Social Democrats leader has baby on polling day

The leader of Ireland's Social Democrats party announced the birth of a baby daughter on the day of the country's general election yesterday.

Protests erupt as Georgia puts EU accession on hold

Protesters have clashed with police in Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, after the ruling Georgian Dream party said the government would suspend talks on EU accession until 2028.

'I will never take a free shot again' Backpackers fearful after deaths in Laos

The music is still playing and the alcohol is still flowing at the bars along one of the party streets in Vang Vieng. Inside a popular venue, a voice over the speaker announces a special offer on beers, as disco lights flicker on the floor.

Spain approves 'paid climate leave' to keep workers safe in emergencies

The Spanish government has approved \"paid climate leave\" of up to four days to allow workers to avoid travelling during weather emergencies, a month after floods killed at least 224 people.

Greece opens subway built under layers of history and antiquities

It has caused untold commotion, decades of disruption, and among historians and archaeologists controversy and despair.

Romanian court defers decision on annulling presidential vote

Romania's constitutional court has deferred a decision on whether to annul the first-round vote in the country's presidential race until Monday, a day after parliamentary elections in which far-right parties are forecast to make significant gains.

Syrian rebels enter Aleppo three days into shock offensive

Islamist insurgents have entered Syria's second city of Aleppo in a shock assault eight years after forces loyal to Damascus seized control of the city.

“There is no state help’ Shop owners in Lebanon start to clear and rebuild

For two months, the only sounds in Nabatieh were the buzzing of an Israeli drone overhead and the dull thump of distant airstrikes.

Israeli forces will remain in Gaza for years, says food minister

The Israeli military will remain in Gaza for many years fighting against fresh Hamas recruits in the territory, and could be responsible for delivery of humanitarian aid there, a senior Israeli minister has said.

All at sea Is it ever possible to take an environmentally friendly cruise?

Toxic, filthy and cheap, the sludge-like substance known as heavy fuel oil has powered the shipping industry since the 1960s.

Taking the hotel with you' Climate pays price as younger cruisers drive boom in sea holidays

This summer was the first time 31-year-old Daisie Morrison had been on a cruise when she set sail on a two-week holiday with two friends, also in their early 30s.

'I'm embarrassed driving it': Tesla owners turn on Musk

Embarrassed Tesla owners have started to publicly display their dismay at Elon Musk as he has moved ever closer to the US president-elect, Donald Trump, and various far-right conspiracy theories.

Stage review A punchy revival of rags-to-riches morality tale

A punchy revival of rags-to-riches morality tale

Early nights? A mere 30 years too late, the World is being remade to suit me

Today I begin three days of being locked in a tiny soundproofed windowless room, alone except for a book.

Lookalike contests How many Zendayas, Chalamets and Whites does it take to cheer a city up?

When Miles Mitchell's friends saw flyers scattered across New York City last month advertising a Timothée Chalamet lookalike competition, they urged the 21-year-old college senior from Staten Island to enter.

TV review 'It's Wolf Hall in a fever dream and polyester. But it's real'

This show is King Lear if Lear was on sugar-daddy dating sites and had a loudly professed interest in \"natural breasts\".

Boozy Christmas parties being replaced by crazy golf and scavenger hunts

From telling your boss what you really think of them, to an ill-advised hook-up with a colleague, the traditional British office Christmas party usually supplies enough drama to provide ammunition for workplace gossip well into January.

Wicked or wonderful? Cynthia Erivo backs cinema singalongs

The Wicked star Cynthia Erivo has joined the debate over whether it is acceptable to sing along to the blockbusting musical in cinemas - and she is fine with it.

Most wanted Ex-activist says FBI offered deal to catch fugitive found in UK

A former animal rights activist who was on the run from the FBI for more than seven years claims that he was offered a deal to inform on one of the organisation's most wanted fugitives, who was arrested this week in Wales.

Sumptuous Dutch golden age still lifes are reunited in Cambridge

A quartet of influential still-life paintings by the Dutch artist Jan Davidsz de Heem will go on display together for the first time since the 17th century at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.

Alder Hey children's hospital 'attacked by ransomware gang'

A ransomware gang claims to have stolen data from the Alder Hey children's hospital in Liverpool, allegedly including patient records.