CATEGORIES

The past quarter-century has not been great for investors - and now AI is the big hope

The first quarter of the 21st century is almost up, assuming one regards 31 December 1999 to have been the last day of the last millennium (non-partying pedants insist the date actually fell on the final day of 2000).

Government urged to back British steel for windfarms

The UK steel industry has called for the government to promise to buy British as it prepares for a major expansion of offshore wind generation.

World Bank Lifts Growth Forecast for China to 4.9%

The World Bank has lifted its growth forecasts for China's economy, but called for deeper reforms and warned that the country will continue to face headwinds from a lingering property downturn.

UK Installs Record Number Of Electric Car Chargers In 2024

The UK installed a record number of public electric car chargers in 2024, although the rate of growth slowed as installers contended with delays to government funding.

Pope Francis Opens 'Holy Door' at Italian Prison as 2025 Jubilee Begins

Pope Francis has visited one of the largest prisons in Italy to open a special \"holy door\" for the Catholic Church's 2025 jubilee, in what the Vatican described as a \"historic move\" as it is the first time a sacred portal has been opened at a jail.

Right Size for One 2m x 6m, with a composting toilet: New Zealand backs tiny home living

Two years ago, when Liberty Van Voorthuysen, a New Zealand schoolteacher, was looking for a break from teaching, she ditched her classroom and signed up for a free construction course. Van Voorthuysen had set herself a fairly low bar: learn how to use power tools.

I was reborn' Inmates of notorious jail adjust to a new freedom

Of all the horrors Mohammed Ammar Hamami remembers from his time in the Assad regime's Sednaya prison, the most vivid is the clanging of metal execution tables being moved around on the floor below.

Deadly clashes after attempt to arrest prison officer in Syria

Fourteen security personnel from Syria's new authorities and three armed men were killed in clashes in Tartus province after forces tried to arrest an officer linked to the notorious Sednaya prison, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

'A place to heal' Tribes urge Biden to protect sacred lands before exit

Hidden amid a vast expanse of snow-brushed pines in northern California is a half-million-year-old volcano called Sáttítla.

'I thought it was fake' Kursk and the secret soldiers of North Korea

Kursk and the secret soldiers of North Korea

Russian anti-air fire may have hit Azerbaijani plane, US official says

Russia and Kazakhstan have sought to play down speculation about the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash, as a US official said there were early indications that a Russian anti-aircraft system may have struck the plane.

Don't make us study Russian, say young Ukrainians in Britain

Ukraine is lobbying the British government to give teenage refugees who fled the war-torn country the chance to study a GCSE in Ukrainian, amid reports they are instead being pressed to study Russian.

Declining bus routes could 'cut off' Scottish communities, warns Labour

Scottish Labour has warned that communities are at risk of being \"cut off\", after the party's analysis showed the number of bus routes in Scotland has fallen dramatically.

'Incredible' sixth-century sword among treasures discovered at secret Anglo-Saxon cemetery

A spectacular sixth-century sword has been unearthed from an Anglo-Saxon cemetery in rural Kent, to the astonishment of archaeologists.

Cancer patient fears dying without justice after tribunal delays

A disabled man with prostate cancer has had his employment tribunal for unfair dismissal postponed the day before it was due to take place because a judge was not available – 13 months after exactly the same thing happened.

Ta-ra chuck: Helen Worth bids farewell to Corrie after 50 years

Helen Worth was surprised by hundreds of Coronation Street cast and crew members as she said farewell to the soap after 50 years on the cobbles.

Scientists say dogs may give a lead on human longevity

Not for nothing are dogs called man's best friend: they are good for their owners' mental and physical health, and some studies have shown that if you're looking for a date and want to seem more attractive, it might be time to get a canine companion.

Boxing Day sales fail to lure more shoppers to high streets

Fewer consumers made the journey to high streets and shopping centres in search of Boxing Day discounts this year.

Northern Ireland Office 'should have helped' murdered solicitor

The murdered solicitor Rosemary Nelson should have been offered protection by the Northern Ireland Office (NIO), a senior official accepted, according to newly released documents.

The Satanic Verses back in Indian bookshops after banning order lost

Salman Rushdie's 1988 novel The Satanic Verses - which led to a fatwa threatening his life, forcing him into hiding for a decade - has finally returned to bookshops in India, the land of his birth.

From 1361 to the digital age: work to conserve ancient Irish text begins

Work has begun to conserve and digitise one of the oldest paper documents still in existence on the island of Ireland.

Edinburgh Scottish students ask for support to combat classism

From the first day Shanley Breese started her law degree at Edinburgh University, she encountered demeaning comments about her accent.

'Alarming' decline in insects and seabirds at National Trust sites

There have been alarming declines this year in some insect species including bees, butterflies, moths and wasps, while many seabirds have also been \"hammered\" by unstable weather patterns caused by the climate emergency, the National Trust has said.

Gavin & Stacey finale draws an audience of 12.3m in big day for BBC

Gavin & Stacey has won the festive TV ratings battle, with the show's final farewell becoming the most watched Christmas Day programme in 16 years.

Pop review Ho-ho-ho-down from Beyoncé is playful and infectious

Some of Beyoncé's most memorable moments have been on an American football field. Her barnstorming 2013 Super Bowl performance, complete with a Destiny's Child reunion, was outdone by her guest appearance during Coldplay's 2016 half-time show as she paid homage to the Black Panthers and freaked out a sizable section of the US establishment (\"It is now 'cool' to embrace violence, mayhem and, frankly, even racial separatism in the cause of civil rights,\" the rightwing Heritage Foundation thinktank fumed at the time). Her 2018 Coachella performance, though not on a football field, featured college football's majorettes and marching bands as she celebrated historically black colleges and universities.

Analysis Farage's party has the momentum

Analysis: On brand as ever, Nigel Farage got the news that Reform appears to have surpassed the Tories in membership numbers while attending a Boxing Day hunt.

Conservatives Badenoch cries foul as Reform says it has more members

Reform UK has said it believes it now has more members than the Conservatives, with the party surpassing 131,000 on Boxing Day.

Economy Fall in household income 'will be offset by public services boost' in 2025

Household incomes will stagnate or fall next year but the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will be hoping that people feel better off as a result of improvements to public services, a leading thinktank has said.

Man charged with murder after woman found dead in Bolton

A man has been charged with the murder of Mariann Borocz, a Hungarian woman who went missing in Greater Manchester this month.

Ministers back £15m fund to redistribute food waste from farms

Labour ministers have backed plans for a £15m fund to redistribute food from farms that otherwise goes to waste, particularly at Christmas.