News – World and UK

The UK wants to see a deal at the UN climate conference that “accelerates the clean energy transition,” Ed Miliband has said. The Energy Secretary said the country wanted a “good outcome” at Cop29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Mr Miliband also said the UK’s national climate action plan, which was announced at the summit last week and pledged an 81% cut in domestic emissions by 2035, had “put Britain back on […]

British retailers saw sales fall last month on the back of uncertainty before the autumn Budget, according to official figures. Clothing stores had a particularly weak month, with industry data suggesting mild October weather may have caused shoppers to hold off buying more warm winter clothing. Retail sales volumes, which measure the quantity bought, decreased by 0.7% in October, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. It comes after retailers […]

Ofgem has confirmed household energy bills are to rise again from January 1 as it announced a 1.2% increase to its price cap. The regulator said the increase would see the typical bill for a household in England, Scotland and Wales increasing from £1,717 to £1,738-a-year, or by around £1.75-a-month. It follows the price rising by 10% in October. Tim Jarvis, director general of markets at Ofgem, said: “While today’s […]

Hooligans who wreak havoc in towns and neighbourhoods could face up to two years in jail for breaching so-called respect orders launched in a bid to crack down on anti-social behaviour. Failing to comply with the orders – set out in Labour’s election manifesto as part of the party’s promise to “return law and order to our streets” – will be a criminal offence. As well as a prison sentence, […]

The NHS is “struggling to get firing on all cylinders”, experts have said after a new report highlighted the “twin crises” of low productivity and poor staff retention in the health service. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) warned that the “return on public investment has weakened since the pandemic”. It said that restoring NHS productivity to pre-pandemic levels would have freed up £19 billion in 2023/24 – enough […]

A national blue plaque celebrating the life and achievements of inspirational actor and film star Cary Grant is being unveiled at his early childhood home. It will shine a light on the rags to riches story of Archie Leach – the boy from Bristol who ran away from home at 14 and joined an acrobatic troupe. He travelled to America and reinvented himself as Cary Grant, becoming one of the […]

Police have urged members of the public to come forward with information and dashcam footage that could help their investigation into the death of Harshita Brella, whose body was found in the boot of a car. Northamptonshire Police detectives believe the 24-year-old was murdered in Corby on the evening of November 10 before her body was driven to Ilford in the car boot the next day. An international manhunt was […]

Storylines for the finale of Gavin and Stacey will see the BBC comedy series return as the Christmas special takes place five years on from the previous instalment. The hit TV series aired between 2007 and 2010 and returned in 2019 with a one-off festive episode that ended on a cliff-hanger when Vanessa Shanessa “Nessa” Jenkins (Ruth Jones) proposed to Neil “Smithy” Smith (James Corden). After sleeping together on-and-off, they […]

Hundreds of schools are closed amid snowy conditions and an amber weather alert has been issued for the weekend when Storm Bert is set to sweep in. The Met Office said Storm Bert is expected to bring “heavy rain, strong winds and disruptive snow to parts of the UK through the weekend” and warned of travel disruption and potential flooding. An amber alert for heavy snow and ice will be […]