News – World and UK

A “drab” December has capped a disappointing year for retailers and the second in a row of falling shopper numbers, figures show. Even the Golden Quarter, typically the peak of shopping activity ahead of Christmas, provided little relief, with shopper visits down 2.5% over the period on 2023, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)-Sensormatic Footfall Monitor. Total UK footfall over the year was down 2.2% on the year before. […]

EasyJet said it has become the world’s first airline to use a lower-weight paint method to reduce its planes’ fuel burn. The carrier is trialling a new approach which cuts the number of paint layers needed to create its orange and white livery. It said the system generates a “relatively modest” weight reduction of 27kg per plane, but it is part of “many incremental steps” to make its aircraft lighter, […]

Long waits for A&E care, ambulances and GP appointments are among the biggest worries that Britons have about the NHS, according to a survey. It comes as more than eight in 10 people said they have concerns about the health service overall, with half not confident that the Government’s plans for the NHS will lead to improvements in the next five years. Only about a quarter of those who responded […]

UK businesses employing staff on minimum wage will see costs jump by more than £2,000 per worker this year – with the tax burden hitting the highest on record, new analysis has shown. An increase to the rate of employer national insurance and a lowering of the threshold at which it is paid will make it more expensive to employ the lowest paid, according to think tank the Centre for […]

Proposals for the long-term funding and major reform of social care in England may not be delivered until 2028, the Government has confirmed. It comes as ministers announced the first steps to creating a National Care Service, with an independent commission expected to begin in spring. The work forms part of a wider package of support for the sector, which includes more funding for elderly and disabled people to make […]

Glastonbury Festival has reported profits more than doubled last year, as the event faces criticism for being too corporate. The festival brought in £5.9 million in pre-tax profit for the year to March 2024, up from £2.9 million the year before, according to accounts filed with Companies House. Glastonbury gave £5.2 million to organisations including Oxfam, Greenpeace and WaterAid during the period, continuing its policy of handing most of its […]

A man who was among four people hurt when a car hit pedestrians in London’s West End on Christmas Day has died. Aidan Chapman, 25, died in hospital on New Year’s Eve after sustaining life-threatening conditions. He was one of four pedestrian involved in the collision which saw a car drive on the wrong side of the road on Shaftesbury Avenue in the capital’s theatre district. Anthony Gilheaney, 30, of […]

Researchers have discovered nearly 200 dinosaur footprints dating back 166 million years buried under mud in an Oxfordshire quarry. The dig, carried out at Dewars Farm Quarry in Oxfordshire by teams from the Universities of Oxford and Birmingham, uncovered five extensive trackways, forming part of a ‘dinosaur highway’ – with evidence of more in the surrounding area. The longest continuous track of footprints measured more than 150 metres in length, […]

Kemi Badenoch has called for a national inquiry into the UK’s “rape gangs scandal”, after Elon Musk hit out at Sir Keir Starmer over the issue. The Conservative Party leader made the call in a post to X on Thursday, arguing that “2025 must be the year that the victims start to get justice”. This comes after US billionaire Mr Musk appeared to place blame at the Prime Minister’s door, […]