Thursday is budget day in Manitoba, and many political observers are watching to see whether there will be a long-promised tax cut that would lead to an early election. The Progressive Conservative government vowed in the last election campaign to cut the provincial sales tax to seven per cent from eight per cent before the end of its first term. […]

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s ruling Communist Party is ramping up calls for political loyalty in a year of sensitive anniversaries, warning against “erroneous thoughts” as officials fall over themselves to pledge allegiance to President Xi Jinping and his philosophy. This year is marked by some delicate milestones: 30 years since the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in and around Tiananmen […]

Wet and windy conditions will affect nearly all parts of the UK on Thursday with a dreary weather front blasting in from the west. Some areas of the far south will get off with drier spells – but here will see the worst of the winds, forecasters say. Elsewhere, the rain will be severe at times as experts warn the […]

Vicar, 89, faces jail for sexually abusing young boy in the 1970s after Church of England promoted him and twice covered up his crimes Charles Gordon Dickenson assaulted his victim in the church hall and vicarage He had preyed on the boy and had forced him to keep the secret for decades  The Church of England were twice alerted to […]

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s election board has approved far-right Jewish candidates accused by rivals of racism for next month’s election while disqualifying an Arab party that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said supported terrorism. The Central Elections Committee’s decisions, taken late on Wednesday, were unlikely to be implemented before court appeals, but stoked an already acrimonious race for the April 9 […]

Butcher, 21, hooked on heroin at birth due to his mother’s addiction killed himself after being unable to deal with his early childhood, inquest hears Luke Morris, 21, from South Normanton, Derbyshire, took his own life last year The butcher ‘heard degrading voices’ in his head and struggled with his past He was described as ‘pleasant’ and ‘articulate’ despite his internal […]

Conman builder who swindled customers out of £220,000 and jetted off on lavish holidays while bodged projects remained unfinished and in ruins is jailed for four years John Miller posed as a home extensions specialist but left projects unfinished Victims had to use their life-savings and take out loans to undo the damage  He left a parent and a new […]

We explain what it is and if it’s been axed for this year. Here’s what you need to know. What is Bestival? Bestival is a four-day festival in the south of England every summer. The first one was in 2004 and it was held on the Isle of Wight every year until 2017 when it moved to Dorset. The festival […]

The Prince of Wales has said he has faith the friendship between Ireland and the UK will endure for generations as he vowed to visit all 32 counties on the island. Charles made the remarks in a speech, which featured a few words of the Irish language, in front of stars including Sir Kenneth Branagh at the Embassy of Ireland […]

A senior diplomat has said the search for a British climber who went missing on the world’s ninth-highest mountain was “never called off”, contrary to previous reports. Tom Ballard, 30, was climbing Nanga Parbat in Pakistan with his Italian climbing companion Daniele Nardi when they lost contact a week ago. The pair had set off on 22 February and last […]