US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, was spotted buying a Taylor Swift album during an official visit to Beijing, as he took a detour between meetings. The purpose of the trip was to help ‘improve relations’ with China, however, Blinken decided ...

Swift now has joint highest number of chart-toppers for a female artist, as The Tortured Poets Department earns biggest opening week in seven years

A former parliamentary researcher facing charges under the Official Secrets Act for allegedly gathering information for China arrived at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday, 26 April. Christopher Cash, 29, from Whitechapel in east London, alongs ...

Alison Hammond revealed how she recently confronted a shoplifter trying to steal her bag. The presenter spoke about her ordeal during a discussion on shoplifting on Friday’s episode (26 April) of This Morning, after it was revealed the crime is at ...

The Tories say the mayor has 'evaded responsibility for his lamentable record'

Government allowed information to be released fully for only 34% of requests in 2023

Increase in walking among older people key to general activity in England returning to pre-Covid levels

More than 100,000 more shoplifting offences were recorded in 2023 than the previous year, figures reveal

There is "no way back" for the UK and Vladimir Putin's relationship, David Cameron has said. When pressed on a time when he took the Russian president to watch judo competitions at the Olympics in London during his time as prime min ...

Swift’s new album breaks another streaming record after already becoming the platform’s most-streamed album in a day

California has more people on death row than any other state in the country — and a governor who opposes capital punishment. A new audacious legal challenge to the death penalty in the state supreme court is seeking to finally end executions foreve ...

Gas and coal accounted for just 2.4% of power generation for an hour last week, data shows, amid ‘zero-carbon grid’ plans

Passengers numbers this year predicted to hit 82.4m but airport’s future uncertain, with proposed £6bn sale in doubt

Stock futures point to FTSE 100 index hitting a new record high when markets open

Index’s rise has been driven by the dollar’s strength against the pound – and that effect can reverse

Hopes of a UK interest rate cut and easing geopolitical tensions are not the only reasons for the intraday peak reached this morning

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

UK’s blue-chip index rises to 8,076, surpassing previous high of 8,047 in February 2023

International Energy Agency says 17m vehicles will be sold this year, up more than 20% compared with 2023

‘The opportunistic criminals who want to manipulate your children into disturbing acts of sexual abuse are not a distant threat – they are trying to talk to them now on phones and devices you can find in any family home,’ expert warns