For almost two decades, Scots appeared to benefit from a tax perk that their neighbours south of the border could only dream of. While in England, the average band D council tax bill rose by £850 between April 2007 and April 2025, a combination of council tax freezes and caps imposed by Holyrood meant the average increase in Scotland was just £269 over this period.
Erased Israeli Settlers' Brutal War on Palestinian Communities in the West BankScroll downCredit: Avishay Mohar, B'TselemHagar ShezafShare on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on WhatsAppThese images appear again and again – from the ground, from the air, and on maps: dozens of Palestinian communities wiped off the landscape, while illegal Israeli settler outposts continue to spread across the West Bank.Since October 7, 2023, this phenomenon has intensified significantly. Unlike the war in Gaza, there is no discussion in Israel about ending this parallel campaign of dispossession.
A cruise ship at the center of a hantavirus outbreak is stuck off the coast of Cape Verde with nearly 150 people on board
Dozens killed despite ceasefire announced by Zelenskyy, after Moscow asked for Saturday truce for its annual military paradeKyiv has criticised Russia for attacking several Ukrainian cities overnight with more than 100 combat drones and three missiles, in spite of a unilateral 24-hour ceasefire called by Volodymyr Zelenskyy.Ukraine’s president had announced the truce after the Kremlin on Saturday during its annual military parade in Red Square – but he said he would reciprocate if Vladimir Putin broke Ukraine’s ceasefire, which ends at midnight on Wednesday.
The crisis at Real Madrid has deepened - with the identity of Antonio Rudiger's slap victim now revealed. There was a training ground bust-up involving the combative German.
A British singer has been dropped from a United States tour after saying she was cancelled for being a brown Republican voter. M.I.A, who was born in London and raised partly in Sri Lanka, has been fired by Kid Cudi from his North American tour because of “offensive remarks” she made on stage.
The gunman accused of killing 15 people in a terror attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach is facing 19 additional charges. Naveed Akram, 24, had already been charged with 59 offences, including 15 murders and committing an act of terrorism, over the massacre, which targeted Jews celebrating Hanukkah on the beach in December 2025.
A Steiner school in Spain where children claimed there was a “monster in the bathroom” is facing allegations of widespread sexual and physical abuse. Two members of staff at the Munay Waldorf School in Zaragoza have been accused of raping children as young as 3 in a case which has rocked Spain.
The underside and tire of United Airlines Flight 169 struck a light pole and tractor-trailer on the New Jersey Turnpike around 2pm, according to a New Jersey State Police spokesperson.
Authorities investigate leak of 2.9 million voters’ details, adding to turmoil over push for independence referendumAlberta separatists have delivered more than 300,000 signatures to elections officials in western , in support of their attempt to force an independence referendum in Canada’s oil-rich province.But the effort stumbled immediately as a separatist-linked group posted the personal data of nearly 3 million residents online in one of the largest data breaches in Canadian history, fomenting fears of a possible political interference crisis.
Leaked remarks by Maj Gen Avi Bluth describe fatal shootings of stone-throwers and different treatment for Jewish settlersThe Israeli army chief in the West Bank has said his troops were “killing like we haven’t killed since 1967”, including fatally shooting Palestinian stone-throwers, according to an Israeli report of his comments.The remarks by Maj Gen Avi Bluth, head of the army’s central command, were made in a recent closed forum but were leaked to . Bluth has so far not denied the authenticity of the Haaretz account. The Israel Defense Forces did not respond to a request for comment.
Italian prime minister had received wave of criticism from people who believed deepfake pictures of her were realItaly’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, has criticised the circulation of AI-generated deepfake images of her, including one depicting her in lingerie, after they were widely shared online.Meloni on Tuesday: “In recent days, several fake images of me have been circulating, generated using artificial intelligence and passed off as real by some overzealous opponents.
The new world champion is the fourth consecutive first-time winner and the UK game faces a challenge to keep up with investment in AsiaPerhaps of all the noise that emanated from Wu Yize’s historic victory in the World Snooker Championship final on Monday evening, it was 12 simple words from the godfather of Chinese snooker that meant the most.For the second successive year, China in the sport the nation has taken to its heart, with Wu 12 months earlier after defeating Shaun Murphy in one of the great finals. But there is a fair argument none of this would be possible without Ding Junhui laying the groundwork over the last 20 years.
Freeing the oil-rich province from Canada just got more complicated, Carney is the king of cowboy country, and more.
A legal dispute that could imperil access to the abortion pill mifepristone adds urgency to an issue that had moved to the backburner in Democratic politics.
I hated the mindless reassurance and generic empathy The post first appeared on .
Iranian state media branded the move as a 'retreat' after the US President's 'continued failures' to use American naval power to reopen the crucial waterway.
For decades, many scientists insisted that human evolution essentially stopped 50,000 years ago. A groundbreaking new paper proves them wrong.
“It wasn’t my dad’s time to die,” Carla Rivero said in court as three teenage girls were sentenced for the death of her father. Fredi Rivero, 75, died on Feb 27, 2025, one day after he was shoved, kicked and punched by girls aged 17, 16 and 14.
Download our app The Trump administration is closing the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, an independent watchdog office responsible for investigating allegations of abuse and misconduct within immigration detention centers. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) attributes the closure to a lack of funding in recent appropriations bills, despite the office being legally mandated and the bill's text not requiring its shutdown, with DHS stating Congress is responsible.
Police initially believed Katie Simpson, 21, took her own life in August 2020. Her sister's partner, Jonathan Creswell, was arrested on suspicion of murder seven months later. His trial ended following his sudden death in April 2024
Donald Trump has reduced his nation’s foreign aid spending by billions of dollars, but cuts to health services across the US are also having a major impact. Rachel Hagan speaks to
Gold prices have surged in recent years, sparking a mining rush in the Amazon that accelerates deforestation and mercury contamination
Doctors told me I was transgender at 13. I’m 23 now, permanently altered, and fighting to make sure it never happens to another child.
There is literary and historical precedent for the normalizing of terrorism.
Technology and loans have indebted much of the developing world to China.
The bombs started falling at 14:15 in the afternoon - bringing chaos and destruction across the country.
The Venice Biennale has begun previewing its 61st edition only days after the art show's jury resigned in protest
Far-right Israeli government uses bureaucracy to cement takeover of Palestinian land
A federal civil rights agency filed a discrimination lawsuit Tuesday against the New York Times, claiming that the new organization passed over a white male employee for a promotion in favor of a lesser qualified woman to meet its diversity goals
Gun-toting enthusiasts who travelled thousands of miles to shoot innocent civilians for fun during the siege of Sarajevo competed to kill the most beautiful women, a new book claims.
The confederation’s silence on US travel bans and visa restrictions for African fans is shameful.
Google staff in Britain have voted to unionise in protest against the tech giant’s work with the Israeli and US militaries. Employees at DeepMind, Google’s UK-based artificial intelligence lab, have voted to form a union in an attempt to put pressure on the company to drop its military contracts.
As latest data shows the number of potential victims of modern slavery referred to the Home Office hit a new record high in 2025, a new report commissioned by the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner (IASC) called for a change in approach.
Arsonists hired by Iranian proxy agents to mount anti-Semitic attacks will face up to 14 years in jail even if they are unaware they are acting on behalf of the regime. A new law in next week’s King’s Speech will give Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, powers to proscribe state-backed groups suspected of playing a part in the recent surge in attacks on Jewish communities in the UK.
Multiple high-ranking D.C. police officials face termination or other disciplinary action, after allegations that statistics had been manipulated.
Plans to be included in king’s speech will allow tougher action against proxies for foreign powers such as IranOffenders who commit antisemitic attacks backed by foreign powers such as Iran will face 14 years in prison under legislation to be included in the king’s speech next week.Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, will be given the power under the National Security Act to designate proxy groups, such as those thought to be behind the recent attacks on the Jewish community, as a foreign intelligence service.
Vladimir Putin ignored Volodymyr Zelensky’s call for a ceasefire by launching strikes on Ukraine. The unilateral ceasefire announced by Kyiv was due to take effect at midnight on Wednesday, but Ukraine accused Russia of new strikes in the Zaporizhzhia region on Wednesday morning.
Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, went cap in hand to Congress last week to plead for almost $1.5tn (£1.1tn) in extra military spending. But he didn’t sound like a supplicant.
One communicates through carefully drafted written statements to avoid showing his face. The other fires off incendiary posts at all hours in an apparent stream of consciousness, never shying away from a camera or a phone call with a journalist.
The War Powers Act requires the president to seek congressional approval 60 days after initiating hostilities. So he’d rather pretend the hostilities are done.
People in the Ukrainian city of Oleshky say they have been cut off from fresh supplies of food or medicine for months.
The breakaway series resumes for the first time since news broke that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund plans to pull its financial backing.
Kyiv said it would begin a truce on 6 May and then "act symmetrically" after Moscow declared a pause for its Victory Day parade.
Thiago Ávila and Saif Abu Keshek were detained by Israeli forces who intercepted the flotilla's boats near Greece last week.
The US has insisted the ceasefire is ‘not over’ despite clashes in the Strait of Hormuz shipping route
Hedge fund manager Crispin Odey submitted “false evidence” in his fight to overturn a ban on working in the City, a court has heard. The high-profile financier made “brazen” attempts to create a “false history” in court, according to Clare Sibson KC, the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) lawyer.
Mali’s military government, Assimi Goita, has taken on the role of defence minister.
Trump shrank the Immigration Detention Ombudsman watchdog office to only a handful of employees. Now it’s closed entirely
The elections this time have been the most polarised ever, with communal overtones in campaigns by Narendra Modi and leaders of his party.