UK and Moldova sign defence and security agreement

Britain and Moldova signed a defense and security agreement yesterday. According to the British Foreign Office, the agreement should, in particular, allow Moldova to “strengthen its resilience” in the face of threats from Russia.more

Ukraine has, for the first time, fired on targets in Russia with British-made longer-range Storm Shadow missiles, the Bloomberg news agency reported yesterday, citing officials from Western countries, who requested anonymity.more

Two-thirds of British drivers don’t know how to drive safely on icy roads, a new survey has found. The study, which aimed to determine how many drivers would pass their theory test if they retook it based on their knowledge of winter driving, found just two per cent of Brits would receive a passing score.more

Born in Prestatyn, Wales, on 31 May 1938, John Prescott, the son of a railwayman, left school aged 15 to work as a trainee chef, then as a steward on the Cunard Line before entering politics in a career that spanned decades.more

The rebranding of the London Overground will start on Wednesday, Transport for London has announced. It said a “small number” of stations would feature the new livery, with the Overground’s orange-coloured network broken down into six lines each with their own name and colour.more

More than one in three children and a quarter of adults are living in poverty in the UK as deprivation levels rise to the highest in the 21st century, according to a landmark report.more

Policymakers have been “left in the dark,” by official jobs figures since the pandemic, which may have “lost” almost a million workers according to the thinktank Resolution Foundation.more

A missing British 18-year-old who was last seen at a Polish airport is a beauty queen finalist who also vanished after a UK festival weeks ago. A massive search operation has been launched after Ania Czopinski disappeared in Poland. She was last seen at around 11pm at the Krakow John Paul II International Airport in Balice, on November 11 and hasn't been sighted since.more

Thousands of people have protested in London over changes to inheritance tax for farmers announced in the Budget. The prime minister said he understood farmers' concerns and "wants to support" them but added "the vast majority" would be unaffected.more

Each year the whispered chant of “holidays are coming” starts the firing gun on the festive season. For many who grew up with the original TV advert, Christmas hasn’t begun until the Coca-Cola trucks have rolled onto our screens.more

Green Park is one of the Royal Parks of London. Just down the road from Piccadilly Circus, the park is known for being a green haven in the centre of London and for its popular Tube stop that serves both the Victoria and Jubilee lines. The park is part of a green belt in London being a chain connected to St James's Park, Hyde Park, and Kensington Gardens, but long ago, it wasn't a park at all.more

Ozempic is only available on the NHS for people with type 2 diabetesmore

On average 20 customers were using the cable car during its first hour - a drop in the ocean compared to the 2,500 passengers it can hold each hour.more

High Street job losses are "inevitable", prices will rise, and shops will close because of tax rises in the Budget and other rising costs, a group of the biggest retailers in the UK is warning.more

Homes worth more than £465bn are empty, according to the Empty Homes Network. Here's how people are making money by identifying and reporting them. more

Universal credit, council tax discounts and child benefit are among the most common financial support identified by the tool so far, the bank said.more

The UK today imposed sanctions on 10 representatives of Russian government and state-linked youth organisations involved in the deportation and indoctrination of Ukrainian children.more

Two drones flew just 50ft above the aircraft in breach of flight rules.more

Following US President Joe Biden's authorisation of Ukraine's use of ATACMS missiles to attack targets inside Russia, a similar decision by the UK authorities is expected for Franco-British Storm Shadow missiles, ‘The Guardian’ daily reported yesterday.more

Motorists and commuters are being warned of disruption with weather warnings for snow and ice in several areas across the UK. Snow started falling across parts of the country on Monday in what BBC Weather says is likely the "first glimpse of the season".more

The study by the Food Farming and Countryside Commission looked at the cost of healthcare, welfare and productivity issues related to what we eat.more

Tripadvisor has revealed the top trending travel destinations in the UK and across the world for the season ahead - and a Scottish town has been named as the top spot in the countrymore

High domestic energy prices are likely to be "the new normal" with a slight rise predicted for January, according to consultancy Cornwall Insight. A home using a typical amount of gas and electricity will pay £1,736 annually from the new year, according to the forecaster.more

New research has revealed which London boroughs are the cheapest to rent in. Trust for London, a funder of hundreds of organisations 'fighting for economic and social justice across the city', has crunched the numbers.more

Emergency doctors have sounded the alarm over an approaching winter crisis that they say is already putting patients in overstretched A&E departments at risk.more

Companies are to be forced to make it “simple and straightforward” for consumers to cancel unwanted subscriptions or get their money back under new rules to stamp out the so-called subscription traps that are costing Britons £1.6bn a year.more

As reported by the Polish Border Guard, two passengers started a row on board a plane flying from Edinburgh to Gdańsk on 15 November. Right after the plane landed at Lech Wałęsa Airport, officers from the Special Intervention Team of the local Border Guard had to intervene.more

Almost £1bn in funding will go to delivering London-style buses across England as part of a massive Budget boost, the government has promised. The Department for Transport (DfT) has given more details on its plans for 2025 after announcing the funding last month.more

A guitar described by Noel Gallagher as "the best in the world" has sold for more than £226,000. Gallagher played the custom Silver Sparkle Gibson Les Paul Florentine guitar on the third Oasis album Be Here Now, released in August 1997.more

Labour has confirmed council tax rises will be kept at the 5% cap next year, which could mean a rise of £100 for the average family’s bills.more

The annual EU Citizens' Assembly and the first EmpowerEU Awards, celebrating the achievements of the EU community in the UK, took place last Tuesday at the Trades Union Congress Hall in London.more

Zombie knives and machetes are still available to buy online, some for under £20, more than a month after they were banned in England and Wales. BBC News was able to purchase four knives from online retailers with UK websites, two of which were shipped from overseas.more

Adding folic acid to flour could prevent around 200 cases of neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, every year, and improve the health of pregnant women, says the government, which is giving manufacturers until the end of 2026 to conform to the new legal requirement, external.more

Rachel Reeves’s tax raid risks turning high streets into “ghost towns” for much of the week, as pubs, restaurants and shops prepare to shut earlier and open on fewer days.more

A cold spell is set to grip London and the rest of the country within days as temperatures plunge towards zero. The Met Office has predicted a shift to cooler, more unsettled weather in London from the weekend into next week.more

New statistics reveal that 45 per cent of Londoners have ended a night out before midnight in the last year despite wanting to stay out later, according to YouGov. The figures reflect the growing concern over London’s nightlife industries, with many Londoners cutting nights out short simply because there was nowhere else to go.more

The Bank of England governor has urged ministers to “rebuild relations” with the EU, warning that Brexit has undermined the UK’s economy. Speaking at the Mansion House dinner in the City of London on Thursday evening, Andrew Bailey said he took no position on Brexit “per se”, but added: “I do have to point out consequences.”more

A Polish family's safety is threatened in Huyton as they face harassment from local youths. The incidents are under investigation as hate crimes.more