Rachel Reeves arrives at today's Budget under intense scrutiny, aiming to steady a struggling government and buy a little breathing room for Labour.She will frame the package as a set of difficult but necessary trade-offs, focused on three headline goals: easing pressure on household budgets, shortening NHS waiting lists and beginning to bring public debt under control.Delivering on those aims...

One of Jacob Zuma’s daughters has filed a criminal complaint alleging her sister recruited South African men to fight alongside Russian mercenary forces in the Ukraine war.Nkosazana Zuma-Mncube says Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, a member of parliament, and two others persuaded 17 men to travel abroad by telling them they were going to Russia to train as bodyguards for the former president’s party,...

Four more people from the Paris region have been taken into custody as investigators widen their probe into the October theft of high-value jewellery at the Louvre.Authorities said the detainees — two men aged 38 and 39 and two women aged 31 and 40 — were arrested on Tuesday.Investigators believe one of them may be the remaining member of the four-person team that carried out the daylight...

Motability has removed high-end brands such as BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Alfa Romeo and Lexus from its vehicle list with immediate effect as it refocuses the scheme on British-built models.The move comes as the charity sets a target for UK-manufactured cars to make up 25% of its fleet by 2030 and half by 2035, up from around 7% today.Motability says the change will prioritise vehicles that are safe,...

The Royal Navy intercepted and shadowed two Russian ships as they sailed west through the Dover Strait into the English Channel, the UK Ministry of Defence has said.HMS Severn moved to intercept the corvette Stoikiy and the tanker Yelnya in the past fortnight before handing monitoring duties to a NATO vessel off the coast of Brittany.Severn remained nearby, observing from a safe distance and...

The European Union's highest court has ordered Poland to accept same‑sex marriages that were legally concluded in other EU countries.The judgment stems from the case of a Polish couple who married in Berlin in 2018 and found their union rejected by Polish authorities when they returned home.The European Court of Justice said member states must respect the rights of EU citizens who marry abroad,...

Seven suspects have appeared in a Dresden court accused of belonging to a militant far-left cell dubbed Antifa Ost, or the "hammer gang." Prosecutors say the group carried out a string of brutal assaults in Germany and in Budapest.The defendants — six men and one woman — face serious counts including attempted murder, aggravated assault and damage to property.German privacy rules mean they...

President Emmanuel Macron will unveil a new military service plan later this week aimed at increasing the size and resilience of France’s armed forces.Details remain limited, but French outlets report the scheme would be voluntary, paid and run for about ten months, with recruits receiving roughly €900–€1,000 a month.Macron has taken pains to say the proposal does not mean young people...

As Chancellor Rachel Reeves prepares to deliver the Budget, ordinary Britons are voicing clear and varied priorities.From housing taxes to care for disabled people, voters across incomes have specific asks they want reflected in government plans.Wesley Thorne, 52, and his wife Toni run a sweets business near Bristol and say moving into a larger home is out of reach because stamp duty could tack...

Rachel Reeves has appealed for cohesion within Labour as she gets ready to present a Budget she says is crucial to the party's electoral chances.Speaking to Labour's Parliamentary Party on Monday evening, the chancellor urged MPs to back the package in full if they want to take power at the next election.The Budget, due on Wednesday after weeks of speculation, is expected to include measures to...