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Turning the tables Ex-poker professional takes on bookies with push to raise duties

As a former professional poker player, Derek Webb is used to rising from the table holding more chips than he started with. Vanquished opponents are left wondering how they have been bested by a bespectacled septuagenarian with a Derby accent.

Labour considers £3bn gambling tax under 'polluter pays' proposals

Ministers are considering a tax raid of up to £3bn on the gambling sector as Rachel Reeves casts around for funds to shore up the public finances.

Killer cars March of the monster trucks into Europe due to loophole

The engines rev, the guitars thrum and a gruff narrator explains why the vehicle occupying the driveway is more than just a machine. “A truck is a tool,” he says, “but a Ram - a Ram is life.” So begins an advert for the Ram 1500, a pickup truck that is slightly bigger than the Panzer I tanks of Nazi Germany and almost as heavy. It is growing in popularity in Europe, with the number of Rams arriving from the US up 20% in 2023 compared with 2022, according to registration data from the European Environment Agency.

Finland's forest crisis

What happens when they stop absorbing carbon?

Bella Ciao Anthem MEPs sang to deride Orbán has a rich history

“This isn't Eurovision,” said the speaker of the European parliament, Roberta Metsola, as she tried to silence leftwing MEPs greeting the visiting Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, with a rowdy rendition of the classic anti-fascist anthem Bella Ciao.

Italy opens migration centres in Albania under controversial deal

Italy has formally opened two centres in Albania where it plans to process men who are intercepted in international waters while trying to cross from Africa to Europe.

Alma Mahler Turning spotlight on operatic life of a Vienna legend

There are big, messy lives that can be called operatic and then there was Alma Mahler's. After her first kiss with the artist Gustav Klimt as a teenager and her dreams of a career in composing, passionate love affairs with an array of early 20th-century artists came in quick succession.

Cameroon bans media debate about health of the president

Cameroonian authorities have banned discussions about the health of the president, Paul Biya, after the latest round of speculation about his prolonged failure to appear in public.

Haitian gangs recruit children to fight security forces - report

Armed gangs are recruiting starving Haitian children to swell their ranks ahead of an anticipated battle with international security forces, according to a report from Human Rights Watch (HRW).

New French government faces test over budget of cuts and tax rises

The new French government is facing its first significant test in a hostile parliament as it tries to push through a budget of spending cuts and tax increases aimed at saving €60bn (£50bn) and reining in a ballooning fiscal deficit.

Up close and personal With Harris, the mood is convivial and the charisma factor is high

The View, America's most popular daytime talkshow, was on commercial break. Kamala Harris sat writing absence notes for students who were missing class to attend the live broadcast. \"Is it just today, right?\" the vice president laughed.

Lebanon UN reports blasts at HQ for second day running

The UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon reported new blasts at its headquarters yesterday that injured two Sri Lankan members of the force a day after the same base came under Israeli tank fire.

The stakes What election in US will mean for the war

The year since the 7 October attack has demonstrated just how densely intertwined US presidential politics is with the trajectory of events in the Middle East. Each exerts a gravitational pull on the other, often in ways that are damaging for both.

Revealed: US-made munition used in Israeli strike on Beirut

A US-made munition was used in a strike on central Beirut on Thursday night that killed 22 people and wounded 117, according to an analysis of shrapnel found by the Guardian at the scene of the attack.

My day is like a workshop on the consequences of poor decision-making

Along with death and divorce, moving makes up the trinity of what are supposed to be life's most stressful experiences (assuming you don't live on the Florida coast).

Northern sights: aurora borealis lights up the skies

The northern lights lit up the skies this week with stunning bright pink hues as the sun approaches the peak of its 11-year solar cycle.

Concerns raised as 'extremely thin' models return to fashion catwalks

Fashion insiders have expressed concerns that progress made towards size inclusivity in the industry is being curtailed.

Turn over a new leaf? Six ways to help us read more books - and boost attention span

This week, Sir Jonathan Bate, a professor of English literature at the University of Oxford, voiced his concern at the \"attrition of attention span\", as witnessed through his undergraduates' inability to keep up with reading lists. \"Now, instead of three novels in a week, many students will struggle to get through one novel in three weeks,” he told the BBC's Today programme.

Faith schools seek exemption from VAT if fees are low

Private faith schools have held talks with ministers over a proposal to exempt small establishments from VAT if their fees are far below those charged by elite schools such as Eton.

Laid to rest? Columbus's remains confirmed in Seville

Scientists in Spain claim to have solved the two lingering mysteries that cling to Christopher Columbus more than five centuries after the explorer died: are the much-travelled remains buried in a magnificent tomb in Seville Cathedral really his? And was the navigator who changed the course of world history really from Genoa - as history has long claimed - or was he actually Basque, Catalan, Galician, Greek, Jewish or Portuguese?

Review Captivating cast - but how Bernstein's score meanders

There's not much to look at in Oliver Mears' new production of Leonard Bernstein's 1952 one-acter, Trouble in Tahiti.

Thames flood scheme could force swimming lake in Surrey to close

A freshwater lake that attracts more than 30,000 swimmers a year is under threat of closure from an Environment Agency plan to reduce flooding that will channel in polluted river water, according to campaigners.

Frock'n'roll Rivals may be problematic, but it is also gloriously fun

It begins, of course, with bonking. A close-up on a bare male bottom, thrusting energetically in a Concorde loo. Cries of ecstasy float over a soundtrack of Robert Palmer's Addicted to Love, as the plane hits supersonic and the flight attendant pops the champagne. It can only be Jilly Cooper, and that bottom can only be Rupert Campbell-Black - champion showjumper, international heart-throb, Tory sports minister, braying toff, absolute shit.

Woman who killed parents is jailed for 36 years

A woman who murdered her parents and lived with their bodies for four years has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 36 years.

Man in 60s missing after boat capsizes on Thames in Surrey

A man in his 60s is missing and three others have been taken to hospital after a boat capsized on the Thames in Surrey yesterday morning.

'See them thrive' Why children should be allowed to play in mud and get dirty

Michael Follett is a specialist in children's play and passionate about the importance of playing with mud. \"It's so tactile. You can use it as paint. You can squish it into a pot. You can make a mud pie or cappuccinos!\"

Lap of the gods: creator of Kaos 'gutted' after Netflix axes show

The creator of Netflix's popular Greek mythology comedy series Kaos has said they are \"gutted\" at the show's cancellation after one season.

Visit by Taiwan ex-president 'delayed to avoid angering China'

The Foreign Office asked for a visit by the former Taiwanese president to be postponed so as not to anger China before a trip by David Lammy, the Guardian has learned.

Tory MP missed winter fuel payment vote for law work in Mauritius

The Conservative MP Geoffrey Cox has missed parliamentary votes and sitting days while working at his lucrative second job as a lawyer in Mauritius, the Guardian can reveal.

Robert Jenrick Leadership hopeful denies he would lurch back to centre

Robert Jenrick has denied that he would drop his hard-right policies and return to the Conservative middle ground if he becomes leader, arguing that his ideas for the party have left Nigel Farage \"rattled\".