Month: September 2024

The Chancellor will attempt to persuade her critics that there'll be 'no return to austerity' Rachel Reeves will insist that “tough decisions” on the public finances are needed to prevent economic ruin but she will attempt to persuade her critics that there will be “no return to austerity”. In her first Labour conference speech as Chancellor, she will also promise action to tackle tax dodgers and claw back money from flawed Covid-era […]

Thunder, lightning and hail have struck parts of the UK in a dramatic end to the summer season. A weather warning for rain has come into force lasting all of Sunday for Wales and central south-west England, with a further two rain warnings – one yellow and one amber – coming into effect on Monday. The yellow warning, lasting all day, will stretch to cover areas further east and further […]

The Crown Prosecution Service twice decided not to prosecute Mohamed Al Fayed after reviewing files of evidence presented by the police on the former Harrods owner. Evidence was shown to the CPS in 2009 and 2015, but it decided not to go ahead with the prosecution because there was not “a realistic prospect of conviction”. Five women have alleged they were raped by Mr Al Fayed, who died last year […]

Labour began its annual conference on Sunday morning still mired in a row over gifts to senior MPs and questions about the Prime Minister’s chief of staff. Senior figures sought to move on from the row over donations in a series of interviews on Sunday morning ahead of a conference that had been expected to be a victory lap for the party after its landslide election victory in July. Deputy […]

Lebanon’s Hezbollah has launched more than 100 rockets across a wider and deeper area of northern Israel, with some landing near the city of Haifa, as the sides appear to be heading for all-out war. The overnight rocket barrage set off air raid sirens across northern Israel, sending thousands of people scrambling into shelters. The Israeli military said rockets had been fired “toward civilian areas”, pointing to a possible escalation […]

Anthony Joshua vowed to fight on despite being crushed inside five rounds by IBF world heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois at Wembley. Joshua was floored four times as the magnificent Dubois launched a relentless assault from the first bell that eventually ended with the clear favourite being counted out following a thrilling exchange of blows. It was a devastating defeat and the fourth of his career which robs him of a […]

Strictly Come Dancing professional Amy Dowden topped the judges’ leaderboard as she made her return to the series. The 34-year-old Welsh dancer, who missed out on having a celebrity partner because of her breast cancer treatment last year, was awarded 31 points from the judges for her waltz to When I Need You by singer Leo Sayer with JLS member JB Gill. Dowden, who disclosed her cancer diagnosis in May […]

The Labour Party’s first annual conference since it swept to power will begin on Sunday after Sir Keir Starmer promised he would protect public services from future austerity. The Liverpool gathering was originally expected to be a victory lap for the party after its landslide success at the general election. But Labour is now braced for a clash with the unions over its plans to limit winter fuel payments to […]

Eighty years after thousands of Allied airborne troops parachuted into the Nazi-occupied Netherlands in a daring military offensive their modern counterparts have made the same jump. Paratroopers from eight Nato member countries, including the UK, USA, Portugal and Spain, parachuted from 12 aircraft into Ginkel Heath, a nature reserve near the Dutch town of Ede, on Saturday. Some 700 paratroopers took part in the jump, including the Red Devils, the […]