Edinburgh’s Royal Mile and its surrounding streets are not short of monuments. In a 30-minute round trip, visitors can rub the nose of Greyfriars Bobby, spit on the Heart of Midlothian and touch David Hume’s toe, all thought to bring good luck. On the way, they might stop for a selfie with Wojtek the Bear, … Read more
Criminals who have reoffended or broken probation restrictions are being re-released from prisons early on the government’s direction under new measures to ease overcrowding. Justice sources say jails are hurtling towards another capacity crisis despite Labour’s ongoing early release scheme and attempts to shift more offenders into open prisons. Last month, officials were instructed to … Read more
A high-achieving academic has been threatened with deportation from the UK because the Home Office says she has spent too many days conducting her research requiring access to historic Indian archives stored in India. Manikarnika Dutta, 37, a historian, conducted the research as part of her academic commitments to the University of Oxford, which involved … Read more
In 2018 a former deputy governor of Sweden’s central bank predicted that by 2025 the country would probably be cashless. Seven years on, that prediction has turned out to be pretty much true. Just one in 10 purchases are made with cash, and card is the most common form of payment, followed by the Swedish … Read more
Donald Trump’s trade war could raise the price of American hamburgers, Australia’s trade minister has warned, amid fears that tariffs could be extended to beef and other agricultural products. The trade minister, Don Farrell, said most of Australia’s beef exported to the United States went to fast food giant McDonald’s, and any new tariffs on … Read more
Sprint sensation Gout Gout, Australia’s fastest man over 200m, has lit up the track with a world-leading run during the under-20 heats at the Queensland Athletics championships on Sunday. Gout blitzed the field by more than two seconds to cross the line in 20.05s for the fastest all-age 200m recorded across the globe in 2025. … Read more
Just a few years ago, the biggest star of the Chinese box office was a brave army commander. Last year it was a woman who rediscovers herself through boxing. But in 2025 the hero that has caught everyone’s attention – and broken international box office records – is an animated demon child. Ne Zha 2, … Read more
The solid bronze severed head of Melbourne’s decapitated King George V statue appears to have briefly reappeared in public, gracing the stage during a performance by a visiting Northern Irish hip hop group. The statue in the King’s Domain parklands was beheaded during the King’s Birthday Weekend in June 2024 – one of a series … Read more
The health secretary has declared that scrapping NHS England is “the beginning, not the end” and has vowed to continue “slashing bloated bureaucracy”. Wes Streeting suggested hundreds more quangos could be in the line of fire after the prime minister announced this week the end of the body overseeing the health service in England. Writing … Read more
Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Asked about whether Australia should close Pine Gap, Bandt says his “priority right now is Aukus” given that Australia has already been paying the US and UK to rebuild their shipyards. The Prime Minister and the Government just gave Donald Trump … Read more