Phil Mackie Midlands correspondent Reuters The flag-flying is spreading across different parts of England, including here in Harlow, Essex Driving through the south west of Birmingham, it’s hard not to notice something about the lampposts. For more than a mile, almost every one has a St George’s or union jack flag attached – thousands of…

Keya Jha is the second-youngest girl to defeat a grandmaster in classic chess – Courtesy of Ayoosh Jha Two ten-year-old girls have recently conquered one of the world’s oldest board games, taking down two grandmasters in chess, men considered to be the kings of the sport. It all started at the 2025 British Chess Championships…

Google Police, paramedics and firefighters were called to the fire at a restaurant on Woodford Avenue Five people have been hospitalised, with three in a life-threatening condition, after a suspected arson attack at a restaurant in east London. Police, paramedics and firefighters were called to the fire on Woodford Avenue in Gants Hill, Ilford, at…

Our partner Rob Brezsny, who has a new book out, Astrology Is Real: Revelations from My Life as an Oracle, provides his weekly wisdom to enlighten our thinking and motivate our mood. Rob’s Free Will Astrology, is a syndicated weekly column appearing in over a hundred publications. He is also the author of Pronoia Is the Antidote…

Jacqui Wakefield Global Disinformation Unit, BBC World Service Getty Images/ Carlos Barquero Women who used the Tea app in the US are facing backlash after their data was leaked Sally was stalked by her ex-boyfriend. After ending their relationship, he would turn up at work – and even her friends’ houses. She eventually had to…

Pulsar B1509-58 and a hand-shaped nebula known as MSH 15-52 – credit, NASA / CXC / Un Hong Kong Zhang et al. via SWNS A coalition of telescopes have allowed astronomers to produce an image of the nebula MSH 15-52 in unprecedented color and detail. Centered in the middle of the nebula is a pulsar,…

Kate Whannel Political reporter PA Media The government is seeking the right to appeal against a High Court ruling which blocks asylum seekers being housed in an Essex hotel. Earlier this week, Epping Forest District Council was granted a temporary injunction to stop people being placed at the Bell Hotel in Epping. The court refused…

Wang Tianyu, with people perched in his dozer scoop – credit, handout via SCMP A freak rain event dumped 40% of Beijing’s average yearly precipitation down in a single week, triggering floods. From out of the chaos, Chinese social media rose to salute the “Bulldozer Hero,” Wang Tianyu, a business owner turned rescuer. On July…

At least five people have been killed and dozens injured after a car bomb exploded on a busy street in the western city of Cali in Colombia, according to authorities. The blast targeted the Marco Fidel Suarez Military Aviation School in the city’s north and initial reports indicate 36 people were injured, police said. Alejandro…

Courtesy of the researchers, MIT An advance in prosthetics 7 years in the making has jumped into life with a lower-leg device that feels more like a part of the body than any other commercially-available product. Considered something like a prosthesis in three layers, tests have shown it to grant greater agility, comfort, and sense…