Charity shop staff ‘thrilled’ as rare edition of The Hobbit fetches £3,000 Staff at a Stirling charity shop have said they are “thrilled” after an extremely rare edition of JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit fetched a record £3,000. The much-loved classic was tucked among a pile of old children’s books that was donated to the Oxfam
Keir Starmer says parental leave reforms put ‘dignity back at heart of work’ The Prime Minister has hailed upcoming changes to parental leave as putting “dignity back at the heart of work”. The reforms to parental leave, part of Labour’s flagship workers’ rights package, include unpaid parental leave from the first day in a new
Bird, butterfly and dragonfly numbers soar at flagship rewilding project A flagship rewilding project has seen an explosion in wildlife since it began, with bird numbers increasing tenfold in the past two decades, monitoring shows. A 20-year ecological review at Knepp in West Sussex shows soaring numbers of red-listed birds such as nightingales, while the
Man Utd knocked out of FA Cup by Brighton to end hopes of silverware this season Managerless Manchester United’s hopes of ending a topsy-turvy season with silverware went up in smoke as Danny Welbeck once again scored against his former club and Brighton finally secured a first FA Cup victory against the Red Devils. A
Succession’s Jesse Armstrong ‘still experiences impostor syndrome’ Succession showrunner Jesse Armstrong has said a writers’ room can feel like “walking on the moon” when it is working well – but that he also experiences imposter syndrome. The award-winning screenwriter was behind the hit HBO drama which starred Scottish actor Brian Cox as the global media
Openreach marks 20th anniversary Openreach is marking its 20th anniversary by announcing a big increase in broadband usage last year. Its network increased by 4.8% in 2025, with enough capacity to stream more than 10 million hours of TV every single day. The use of full fibre broadband rose by 40% last year, overtaking older
Drivers able to see how well their council is tackling potholes Drivers across England are able to see how well their local authority is tackling potholes with the launch of a new traffic light rating system. The Department for Transport (DfT) said a new mapping tool shows 154 local highway authorities rated as red, amber
Teaching union calls for social media ban for under-16s to improve learning A teaching union is calling for the Government to ban social media for under-16s to improve concentration at school and stem damage to mental health. Teachers’ union NASUWT wants the Government to bring in legislation that would make big tech platforms prevent children
Love Island villa evacuated and filming postponed due to wildfires The Love Island: All Stars villa has been evacuated with filming postponed due to “ongoing wildfires”, ITV has said. Set in South Africa, the third series of the ITV spin-off dating show was due to premiere on Monday, however the transmission has been delayed following
Protester climbs onto Iranian embassy balcony A protester has climbed onto the balcony of the Iranian embassy in central London. The Metropolitan Police said additional officers have been sent to the scene in Kensington where a number of people have gathered. Protests in Iran began on December 28 and have transformed into the most significant