November 2024
An AI granny is phone scammers’ worst nightmare
Daisy Harris, an AI-generated grandmother, has been stymying fraudsters with meandering, time-wasting conversations. But can she actually make a dent in scams?
August 2024
Starmer calls emergency security meeting after weekend of riots
Violence erupted in towns and cities including Rotherham, Blackpool and Bristol over the weekend in the first major test for the new Labour government.
July 2024
Von der Leyen and Starmer plan meeting to drive UK-EU ‘reset’
Britain’s new PM is seeking better trade terms with the EU, while chancellor Rachel Reeves has suggested the UK could align with EU regulations in some areas.
March 2024
Ireland’s ‘exhausted’ prime minister announces shock resignation
Leo Varadkar, whose Fine Gael party has struggled in the polls, said he would step down as leader of the country, citing “personal and political reasons.”
February 2024
How this mother with IRA links plans to lead Northern Ireland
Sinn Féin said Michelle O’Neill will govern “for all” after she was sworn in as first minister on Saturday, the first time a nationalist has held the post.
February 2023
‘A new chapter’: Britain, EU finally break Brexit deadlock
The British prime minister has yet to win over Tory Brexiteers and Northern Irish unionists, but his new deal with Brussels has located the zone of compromise.
Seven years on, could Sunak really be about to ‘get Brexit done’?
The British PM, an unlikely but potentially winning combination of Brexiteer and pragmatist, could unveil a deal this week that cleans up Boris Johnson’s mess.
December 2022
Nurses in UK strike for first time as recession looms
The strike is one of a series of actions taking place across Britain as sky-high inflation and rising interest rates put pressure on workers.
October 2022
Restoring Britain’s credibility will be hard for Hunt
Another round of austerity is both impossible and undesirable. If the government is unwilling to reinstate all the tax cuts it has made, it needs to find other taxes to take their place.
September 2022
Will Northern Ireland be King Charles’ first loss?
For the first time, Catholics outnumber Protestants in Northern Ireland, intensifying debate about the region seceding from the United Kingdom and reunifying Ireland.
For the first time, Catholics outnumber Protestants in Northern Ireland
The unionist Sinn Fein political party said the historic shift was a further reason why planning should begin for a referendum on a united Ireland.
King Charles looks for soothing touch in Northern Ireland
The King’s visit included meetings with those who want to end his reign, but he vowed to work for the welfare of ‘all’ his subjects.
Queen Elizabeth’s coffin to be flown to London
The queen’s coffin is to be flown from Scotland to London, then driven to Buckingham Palace, where her body will lie in state for four days before her funeral.
July 2022
UK political chaos sets off alarm bells in City of London
The resignations of Chancellor Rishi Sunak and John Glen, economic secretary to the Treasury, sent shock waves across financial firms.
May 2022
Northern Ireland’s leader Michelle O’Neill marks a break with the past
Five years ago, Sinn Fein’s Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness were succeeded by two personable women untainted by IRA violence. That has reaped its first huge dividend.
Prospect of a united Ireland comes into sharp focus
For the first time since Northern Ireland’s creation in 1921, unionists who defend its place as part of the UK have been relegated to runners-up.
Brexit casts a shadow over Sinn Fein’s election win
Victory for the party, which has its roots in the Irish Republican Army, is less a breakthrough for nationalism than a marker of the demoralisation of unionist voters.
Sinn Fein calls for united Ireland debate after historic election win
The former political wing of the Irish Republican Army is the first nationalist party to win a Northern Ireland election, saying it is time to debate leaving the UK.
January 2022
Travelling to Britain is about to get easier
Britain is about to scrap its pre-departure coronavirus testing mandate for fully vaccinated travellers.
UK testing rules to be relaxed to solve staff shortages
Millions who test positive on lateral flow devices were on Wednesday expected to be told they did not need to take follow-up PCR tests, which delay isolating.