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A children’s cancer charity has thanked comedian Alan Carr for his “commitment, compassion and drive” after he donated the £87,500 prize pot from his Celebrity Traitors victory. View this post on Instagram A post shared by New Dope (@newdopehq) Neuroblastoma UK told the Chatty Man star “we can’t tell you how grateful we are” after he was crowned the winner of the hit BBC spin-off series during Thursday night’s tense final. Carr, who has been patron of the charity since 2016, said it was

Dick Cheney, who became one of the most powerful vice presidents in US history as George W. Bush’s number two during 9/11 and catastrophic wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, died Monday. He was 84. Cheney forged an unusually muscular job in the traditionally inconsequential role and was seen by many as a major power behind the throne, as Bush thrust America into the so-called war on terror, with a dark underbelly of renditions, torture and the controversial Guantanamo prison site. A hate-figure to

Former US president Barack Obama hit the campaign trail Saturday for fellow Democrats ahead of closely-watched state elections, laying into Donald Trump over his “shambolic” policies and warning of the dangers facing American democracy. Obama, who remains a powerful figure in today’s Democratic Party, took the stage to robust applause in Virginia and then New Jersey to stump for two candidates in gubernatorial elections seen as critical bellwethers ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The 64-ye

In an unprecedented situation, millions of Americans could lose access to a crucial food assistance programme next week amid the federal government shutdown. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has said it does not have the money to pay $8 billion in food stamp benefits for November amid the funding impasse on Capitol Hill that led the government to shut down on October 1. The agency argues it cannot tap into its roughly $6 billion contingency fund to cover next month’s benefits, though Democra

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he is “not allowed” to run for a third term, acknowledging the limits laid out in the US Constitution. Trump and his supporters have repeatedly raised the question of a 2028 presidential run for the 79-year-old, drawing concern from his foes and cheers from backers. “I have my highest poll numbers that I’ve ever had and, you know, based on what I read, I guess I’m not allowed to run, so we’ll see what happens… It’s too bad,” Trump said on Air Force One. T

Microsoft hit the milestone a second time, while Nvidia marched toward $5 trillion. Apple on Tuesday became only the third company to break through the $4 trillion market value milestone. Apple shares rose fractionally in early trading, just enough to briefly push the company’s value above the historic level. It ended the trading day at $3.99 trillion. Nvidia and Microsoft crossed the $4 trillion threshold in July. Nvidia’s market valuation has grown even more since then, hitting $4.88 trilli

The U.S. has reached a framework agreement with China to avoid imposing an additional 100 per cent tariff on Chinese imports, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said yesterday. The development comes during the first leg of President Donald Trump’s diplomacy tour in Asia, easing tensions before this week’s highly anticipated meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.  Beyond trade talk, Trump is expected to urge Xi to join the US pressure campaign against Russia. Trump spent the first day of h

Suspects have been arrested over the brazen jewellery heist at the Louvre, just as one of them was about to fly out of France, the Paris prosecutor said on Sunday. Two men in their 30s and originally from the capital's Seine-Saint-Denis suburb - which includes some of the country's most deprived areas - were detained on Saturday evening, according to Le Parisien newspaper, which first broke the story. They were known to French police and one of the suspects was about to fly to Algeria from Cha

Changpeng Zhao, founder of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has been pardoned by US President Donald Trump. Zhao, also known as "CZ", was sentenced to four months in prison in April 2024 after pleading guilty to violating US money laundering laws. Binance also pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay $4.3bn (£3.4bn) after a US investigation found it helped users bypass sanctions. The pardon reignited debate over the White House embrace of cryptocurrency as the Trump family's

The US has announced new sanctions targeting Russia's two largest oil companies in an effort to pressure Moscow to negotiate a peace deal in Ukraine. The announcement came one day after US President Donald Trump said a planned meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Budapest would be shelved indefinitely. "Every time I speak to Vladimir, I have good conversations and then they don't go anywhere," Trump said. While the economic impact to Russia is likely to be minimal, it repres

Mosquitoes have been discovered in Iceland in a first for the island nation, which has long been one of the world’s mosquito-free places, a researcher told AFP Monday. Three Culiseta annulata mosquitoes, two females and one male, were sighted around 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of the capital, Reykjavik, according to Matthias Alfredsson, an entomologist at the Natural Science Institute of Iceland. “They were all collected from wine ropes… aimed at attracting moths,” the researcher said in an

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review whether Americans who regularly use marijuana can legally possess firearms, a case that could further define the boundaries of the Second Amendment and federal drug law. The dispute arises from a Justice Department appeal seeking to revive a prosecution against a Texas man, Ali Danial Hemani, after the Fifth Circuit struck down the federal statute barring gun ownership by unlawful drug users. The law, which dates back decades, prohibits individuals wh

France’s ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy became the first former head of an EU state to be jailed Tuesday, proclaiming his innocence as he entered a Paris prison. France’s right-wing leader from 2007 to 2012 was found guilty last month of seeking to acquire funding from Moamer Kadhafi’s Libya for the campaign that saw him elected. AFP journalists saw the 70-year-old — who has appealed the verdict — leave his home, and after a short drive flanked by police on motorbikes, enter the La Sante prison

Food Stamps, the country’s biggest anti-hunger lifeline, is about to collapse—and millions of Americans are staring down an empty November. As the government shutdown stretches into its third week, 42 million people across the U.S. could lose access to food stamps. According to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP, is projected to run out of funds by November 1. She warned that “millions and millions” of families could soon be

The Trump administration has cancelled the visas of at least six people for public comments made about the murder of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk. In a post on X, the US Department of State wrote: "The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans." It shared screenshots of six social media posts which it said were examples of foreign visa holders welcoming Kirk's death in September, and suggested further visa cancellations would follow. Kirk, an ally of

Beyoncé shares an emotional tribute following the passing of D’Angelo. D’Angelo passed away at the age of 51. According to reports, the Neo-soul pioneer passed following a a private battle with pancreatic cancer. “Rest in peace, Michael Eugene Archer, known to the world of music as the inimitable D’Angelo. We thank you for your beautiful music, your voice, your proficiency on the piano, your artistry,” Beyonce writes via her website. “You were the pioneer of neo-soul and that changed and trans

New York City filed a sweeping federal lawsuit Wednesday against several major social media companies, alleging that their platforms have fueled a youth mental health crisis by intentionally designing addictive products that exploit the psychological vulnerabilities of minors. The 327-page complaint, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, names Meta Platforms Inc., ByteDance Ltd., Alphabet Inc., and Snap Inc. as defendants. City officials accuse the companies o

President Donald Trump said Friday that he’s placing an additional 100% tax on Chinese imports starting on Nov. 1 or sooner, potentially escalating tariff rates close to levels that in April fanned fears of a global recession. The president said on his social media site that he is imposing these new tariffs because of export controls placed on rare earth elements by China. The new tariffs built on an earlier post Friday on Truth Social in which Trump said that “there seems to be no reason” to m

United States President Donald Trump has announced that Israel and Hamas have agreed on the first phase of a peace framework that aims at a Gaza ceasefire, and the release of Israeli captives and Palestinian prisoners. The announcement follows from Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war on Gaza, which he announced last week, and which Israel, Hamas and most of the world broadly welcomed. More than 67,000 people have been killed in Israel’s war on Gaza, described by many international rights orga

Indirect talks aimed at reaching a final agreement on a US peace plan to end the war in Gaza have begun in the Egyptian city of Sharm El-Sheikh.  Palestinian and Egyptian officials have told the BBC that the sessions are focused on "creating the field conditions" for a possible exchange that would see the release of all Israeli hostages in return for a number of Palestinian prisoners. Hamas has said it agrees to the peace plan proposals in part, but has not responded to several key demands - i

The US Treasury Department is considering minting a one-dollar coin that features President Donald Trump, in order to commemorate the country’s 250th independence anniversary, officials said Friday. In a social media post retweeted by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, US Treasurer Brandon Beach shared early drafts of the coin. Beach posted “first drafts” of the design on X, adding that he was “looking forward to sharing more soon, once the obstructionist shutdown of the United States governmen

Sean “Diddy” Combs has been sentenced to 50 months in federal prison following his conviction on prostitution-related charges. The 55-year-old Bad Boy Records founder was convicted under the Mann Act, a federal law prohibiting the transportation of individuals across state lines for prostitution. While jurors acquitted Combs of more serious charges — including racketeering and sex trafficking — the guilty verdict on two counts of transportation secured the prison sentence. On Thursday, a feder

The US Supreme Court has ruled Lisa Cook can stay on as a Federal Reserve governor for now, a setback for President Donald Trump in his fight with the central bank. In an unsigned order, the court turned down Trump's request to immediately remove Cook and said it would hear arguments over her firing in January. Trump, who has blasted the Fed for not cutting interest rates as much as he would like, said in August he was removing Cook over claims of mortgage fraud, which she denied.  Cook immed