News – World and UK

Shooting stars will light up the sky as the Perseid meteor shower puts on a celestial display on Monday night. The display could produce up to 100 meteors an hour, as the Earth passes through a cloud of cometary dust. The shower should be visible across the UK from around sunset on Monday until the early hours of Tuesday, but the best time will be from midnight. The event is […]

A 13-year-old schoolgirl with a severe dairy allergy suffered an “immediate reaction” after a just one sip of a Costa Coffee hot chocolate that was supposed to be made with soya milk, an inquest has heard. Hannah Jacobs, who had been allergic to dairy products, along with fish and eggs, since she was a toddler, died within hours of taking the drink on February 8 2022, East London Coroner’s Court […]

Tom Daley has announced his retirement from diving following the Olympic Games in Paris. The 30-year-old, who won gold at Tokyo in 2021, revealed he had decided to call time on his career during an interview with British Vogue. Daley, who added a fifth Olympic medal to his collection with silver in the 10m synchro event in Paris, said: “It feels very, very surreal. “I felt so incredibly nervous going […]

Disorder on the streets and warnings of rioting across the nation last Wednesday led to a 10% drop in hospitality sales, according to latest figures. As businesses closed and consumers stayed at home amid predictions of widescale disorder last week, sales fell by up to 40% in some areas and footfall was down by as much as 75%, UK Hospitality said. Coastal towns were particularly affected by the cancellation of […]

Banksy has unveiled the eighth artwork in his animal-themed collection in London, a silhouette of a rhinoceros which looks as though it is climbing on top of a car. The street artist has been unveiling artwork to his Instagram at around 1pm every day since Monday August 5. His first piece depicted a goat and was followed by silhouettes of elephants, monkeys, a wolf, pelicans, and a cat as well […]

The boss of Sainsbury’s has said the business rates tax system is “no longer fit for purpose” and warned that current planned increases will lead to thousands of high street closures and job losses. The UK’s second-largest supermarket chain also backed calls for a 20% cut in business rates for retail companies. Business rates are the property tax system for businesses, affecting sectors including retail, hospitality and leisure. Labour has […]

More than 700 migrants crossed the Channel on the day two people died attempting the journey – the highest number of daily crossings since Sir Keir Starmer became Prime Minister. The Home Office recorded 703 people arriving in the UK on Sunday in 11 boats, suggesting an average of 64 people per boat. It came as two people died in French waters while trying to cross the Channel, with others […]

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has said respect for the police must be restored after they faced “brazen abuse and contempt” during rioting. Attacks on local communities and police are a “disgraceful assault on the rule of law itself,” she said. “As home secretary, I am not prepared to tolerate the brazen abuse and contempt which a minority have felt able to show towards our men and women in uniform, or […]

Elderly and vulnerable residents across England have been urged to put health and safety first on what will likely be the warmest day of the year so far. It comes after West Midlands Ambulance Service said that a child had died after being pulled from a canal in Wolverhampton. Top temperatures could reach 34C-35C in London on Monday in a sharp peak of heat and humidity before an expected return […]