News – World and UK

Government-funded childcare support may not be “plain sailing” for working parents, the Education Secretary has warned. Bridget Phillipson said early years support is her “number one priority” in Government, but her department claimed it must find around 85,000 more childcare places by September 2025 compared with 2023, to expand its free childcare offer. The Government will fund 15 hours per week of free childcare for eligible working parents whose children […]

In response the band has warned against buying resold tickets unless it is via Ticketmaster or Twickets. A post to the band’s X page on Friday said: “We have noticed people attempting to sell tickets on the secondary market since the start of the pre-sale. “Please note, tickets can ONLY be resold, at face value, via @Ticketmaster and @Twickets. “Tickets sold in breach of the terms and conditions will be […]

The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) believes the ongoing mpox outbreaks in Africa might be stopped in the next six months, and said on Friday that the agency’s first shipment of vaccines should arrive in Congo within days. To date, Africa has received just a tiny fraction of the vaccines needed to slow the spread of the virus, especially in Congo, which has the most cases – more […]

A Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Friday ordered the suspension of Elon Musk’s social media giant X in Brazil after the tech billionaire refused to name a legal representative in the country, according to a copy of the decision seen by the Associated Press. The move further escalates the months-long feud between the two men over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation. Justice Alexandre de Moraes had warned Musk on […]

Reality TV star and influencer Molly-Mae Hague has confirmed she will not publicly disclose reasons behind her split from Tommy Fury but will always “value, respect and have a lot of love” for him. The pair, who met on ITV dating show Love Island, announced they had split in separate social media messages earlier this month, with fans flocking to support Hague online. Professional boxer Fury later described “false allegations” […]

Swimmers Poppy Maskill and Tully Kearney delivered Great Britain’s first Paralympic golds of Paris 2024. Maskill, 19, set a new world record of one minute and three seconds to claim the women’s 100m butterfly S14 title. Kearney then took the S5 200m freestyle crown in 2:46.50, upgrading the silver she won at Tokyo 2020. The victory secured a second career Paralympic gold for the 27-year-old, who is reigning S5 100m […]

Aston Villa will face a battle of Britain against Celtic and a nostalgic visit from Bayern Munich in their debut Champions League campaign. At the draw in Monte Carlo, the revamped 36-team competition threw up a showdown with the Scottish champions and a repeat of Villa’s finest hour, their European Cup victory over Bayern in 1982. The new format sees all 36 teams forming a single league, with each entrant […]

A series of weekend strikes by train drivers on LNER have been called off. Members of Aslef were due to walk out on Saturday after the union claimed there had been a breakdown in industrial relations. More than 20 days of strikes were planned on weekends in the next few months which would have disrupted services. The dispute is separate to the long-running pay row involving drivers across the country […]

Sir Keir Starmer has said the Government will “take decisions” on a potential outdoor smoking ban in an effort to curb preventable deaths and alleviate pressures on the NHS. Industry leaders have warned that the proposed plans to ban outdoor smoking, including in beer gardens and outside stadiums, would be another “nail in the coffin” for pubs and bars. According to leaked proposals seen by The Sun newspaper, the Government […]