UK

Ultra-low interest rates are set to return with inflation due to tumble in the near future, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This will be welcome news to homeowners, many of whom have recently been hit with a steep rise in mortgage costs. The United Nations financial agency says that the combination of an

The mother of two British-Israeli sisters who were killed last week in a shooting attack in the West Bank has died of her wounds, hospital officials said on Monday. Maia and Rina Dee, 20 and 15 respectively, were killed when their car was attacked on Friday in a shooting by suspected Palestinian assailants close to

Seven sites have received government backing to win UNESCO World Heritage status. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) publishes a “tentative list” around every 10 years setting out which sites it feels have the best chance of being included. If successful, the sites will join the 33 other World Heritage sites in the

Emergency and urgent care will be prioritised over routine appointments and treatment during this week’s junior doctors’ strike, NHS England says. The strike will begin early on Tuesday and run through until the early hours of Saturday, bringing “immense pressures” to staff and services, according to national medical director of NHS England Professor Sir Stephen

Frank Skinner has paid tribute to comedian Gareth Richards as he introduced a special edition of a podcast featuring the best bits of the radio show they co-hosted. Richards’ death was announced yesterday almost two weeks after he suffered brain injuries in a motorway crash. Describing Richards as a “former colleague and dear friend”, Skinner

Up to 250,000 appointments and operations are at risk in England’s hospitals when junior doctors walk off the job for four days next week. The strikes, which are part of a long-running pay dispute, begin at 6.59am on Tuesday and last until 6.59am on Saturday 15 April. NHS national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis

A 12-year-old boy is due to appear in court today, charged with murder following the death of a 60-year-old grandmother who was hit by a car. Marcia Grant suffered fatal injuries in the incident, which happened in the Greenhill area of Sheffield on Wednesday evening. Emergency services were called to reports of a collision between

Two women killed in a shooting in the West Bank were British nationals, according to a UK official. The women were sisters – one aged 15 and the other in her 20s, according to local media. Their mother was also seriously injured when their car was attacked on Friday near the Hamra settlement, about 30

A woman who died after being hit by a car in Sheffield has been named by police following the arrest of a 12-year-old boy on suspicion of murder. Marcia Grant, 60, was a “warm, loving and dedicated wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend and a pillar of her community”, her family said. Emergency crews were

The head of the Royal Air Force signalled he was ready to “bend” his service out of shape and test “the limit of the law” to improve diversity, according to an informed source and the leaked transcript of an internal meeting. Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston has always maintained that efforts under his leadership

Nicola Sturgeon has said she had “no prior knowledge” of police plans to arrest her husband Peter Murrell. A spokesperson for the former Scottish first minister said: “It would not be appropriate to comment on a live police investigation. “Nicola Sturgeon had no prior knowledge of Police Scotland’s action or intentions. “Ms Sturgeon will fully

A nationwide test of the UK’s emergency alert service will take place at 3pm on Sunday 23 April. It will see messages pop up on mobile phones across the country, along with a sound and vibration that will stop automatically after 10 seconds. People will just need to tap “OK” or swipe away the notification

A 58-year-old man has been arrested in connection with an investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party (SNP), Police Scotland has said. The man is in custody and is being questioned by detectives. As part of the investigation, officers are also carrying out searches at a number of addresses. Advertisement

A mother and her “monster” partner have been found guilty over the death of a two-year-old. Kyle Bevan, 31, was found guilty of murdering his partner’s daughter, Lola James, in Haverfordwest. Sinead James, Lola’s mother, was found guilty of causing or allowing the toddler’s death after a trial at Swansea Crown Court. The attack took

Politicians have paid tribute to former Conservative chancellor Nigel Lawson after his death aged 91. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the party grandee “was a transformational chancellor and an inspiration to me and many others” as he paid tribute on Twitter. Lord Lawson was a Conservative MP representing the constituency of Blaby from 1974 to

The man who shot and killed Liverpool schoolgirl Olivia Pratt-Korbel has been sentenced to life with a minimum of 42 years for her murder. Gunman Thomas Cashman, 34, fired shots into the nine-year-old’s family home in Dovecot, Liverpool, on 22 August 2022, during what prosecutors described as a “ruthless pursuit” to execute another man. He

British men being held by the Taliban in Afghanistan have been in contact with their relatives, a family spokesman has said. Charity medic Kevin Cornwell, 53, and an unnamed UK national who manages a hotel in Kabul are believed to have been detained by secret police since January. A third Briton – so-called “danger tourist”

A new grooming gangs taskforce will be launched to stop the exploitation of children and young women, the government has announced. Specialist officers will help police forces with child sexual exploitation and abuse investigations “to bring more of these despicable criminals to justice”, Downing Street said. The new taskforce will be made up of officers

Extra sailings will run through the night at the Port of Dover to help clear the backlog that left passengers stranded for up to 14 hours.  A spokesperson for the port said they hoped to clear the backlog by Sunday lunchtime, blaming increased Easter traffic, earlier bad weather and delays in French border processing for

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman’s body was found in a marina in Reading, Thames Valley Police have said. Police were called just after 10.30am on Saturday to reports of a body in the water at the Thames & Kennet Marina in Caversham. Officers recovered it from the water