CATEGORIES

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.

Do 150 Minutes' Exercise a Week to Lose Weight - Study

People who want to lose meaningful amounts of weight through exercise may need to devote more than two and a half hours a week to aerobic training such as running, walking or cycling, researchers say.

Two women die after reported stabbing on Christmas Day

Two women have died and a man and a teenage boy have suffered serious injuries after a reported stabbing in Milton Keynes on Christmas Day.

French rescue 107 migrants in the Channel on Christmas Day

French maritime authorities carried out 12 rescue operations along the coast of northern France on Christmas Day, rescuing 107 people in distress from small boats trying to cross to the UK.

Calls for Labour to keep pledge to strengthen anti-hunt laws

Animal welfare campaigners are calling on ministers to keep to a pledge to toughen anti-hunt laws, as figures suggest illegal foxhunting remains widespread in England and Wales.

Allow more self-referral for lung cancer tests, say experts

More people with lung cancer symptoms should be able to self-refer for tests rather than wait for their GP to request them, experts have suggested.

Millions of workers struggling to pay private rents, poll finds

Nearly two-thirds of workers living in private rented housing struggle to pay their rent, according to a poll that shows how England's housing crisis is causing financial hardship even for those with jobs.

Asia marks 20 years since Indian Ocean tsunami with ceremonies

Ceremonies were held in countries across Asia yesterday to remember more than 220,000 people who were killed 20 years ago in the Indian Ocean tsunami, the deadliest in history.

Burial plot and toilet seat among worst festive gifts, Which? finds

A burial plot and a toilet seat top the list of the nation's all-time worst Christmas gifts, according to research that suggests one in five Britons receive an unwanted present in their annual haul.

Too much to bare? Costly California nudist resort may have to 'go textile'

After nearly 90 years as a nudist resort, California's Lupin Lodge is up for sale, and its next owners are likely to require guests to wear clothes.

Surprise' over Fujitsu's lack of help for Post Office victims

A minister has spoken of his disappointment that Fujitsu, the Japanese company behind the Horizon computer system, has not done more for those whose lives were ruined in the Post Office scandal.

Six extra weeks of heat peril this year

The climate crisis caused an additional six weeks of dangerously hot days in 2024 for the average person, supercharging the fatal impact of heatwaves around the world.