Author: News Desk

The “King of Pop” even allegedly raps in one song: Cassettes with unknown recordings by Michael Jackson have appeared in California. But fans shouldn’t get their hopes too high. Michael Jackson: Ex-policeman owns unreleased songs by the pop star

UK’s economy shrinks unexpectedly by 0.1% in October Britain’s economy shrank by 0.1% in October, underlining the scale of Labour’s challenge to get the economy growing. Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the unexpected fall in GDP was driven by declines in construction and production, while the dominant services sector stagnated. Economists, polled by Reuters, had expected the economy to grow by 0.1%. It follows a decline of 0.1% in September and sluggish growth of 0.1% in the third quarter of the year, according to figures last month. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/dec/13/uk-economy-october-gdp

Prince Andrew friend loses appeal on UK ban over national security A Chinese businessman described as a “close confidant” of the Duke of York has lost an appeal over a decision to bar him from entering the UK on national security grounds. The man, known only as H6, brought a case to the special immigration appeals commission (SIAC) after the then-home secretary, Suella Braverman, said he should be excluded from the UK in March 2023. Judges were told that in a briefing for the home secretary in July 2023, officials claimed H6 had been in a position to generate relationships…

England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have discovered their 2026 World Cup qualifying opponents following Friday’s draw in Zurich. Home nations discover World Cup qualifying opponents England, under new manager Thomas Tuchel, will face Serbia, Albania, Latvia and Andorra. Wales will meet familiar foes Belgium, plus North Macedonia, Kazakhstan and Liechtenstein. Scotland will play Greece, Belarus and the loser of the Portugal v Denmark Nations League quarter-final. Northern Ireland are up against Slovakia, Luxembourg and the winner of the Germany v Italy Nations League game. The games will be played across five international breaks between March and November 2025. The…

The number of new companies rose 28.8% in October compared to the same month of the previous year, reaching a total of 10,679 companies, this being its highest figure for the month of October since 2006, according to data published by the National Institute of Statistics (INE). With the year-on-year rebound in October, the creation of commercial companies has seen four consecutive months of increases, although that of the tenth month of the year has been much more pronounced than that of September (+19.3%), July (+17%) and August (+3.9%). For the creation of the 10,679 companies created in October, more…

A close friend of Prince Andrew has lost his appeal against a decision banning him from the UK on national security grounds. An MI5 investigation alleged the man – known as H6 – was spying for China.

The UK economy shrank for the second month in a row in October as concerns about the Budget continued to weigh on confidence.

England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have discovered their 2026 World Cup qualifying opponents following Friday’s draw in Zurich. England will face Serbia, Albania, Latvia and Andorra.

In France, President Emmanuel Macron has named centrist leader François Bayrou as France’s next prime minister, in a bid to end months of political turmoil.

Another chilly and rather grey day across much of the UK. Outbreaks of light rain and drizzle possible, with a band of more persistent rain arriving across northwest Scotland later. Hill fog will lead to murky conditions in places. Tonight: Staying cloudy across much of England and Wales, with further rain and drizzle in places. Rain moving south across Scotland and Northern Ireland followed by scattered blustery showers.

Summary of Western Mail Newspaper Western Mail front page this morning – summarised’Our democratic rights as parliamentarians in Wales can’t be considered to be inferior when compared to legislators in other devolved legislatures’Plaid Cymru called for Wales to be given parity with Scotland on devolved powers. Rhun ap Iorwerth warned Wales remains the “poor relation” among devolved nations in policy areas ranging from rail, justice and tax to welfare benefits and the Crown Estate.He said: “Our democratic rights as parliamentarians in Wales can’t be considered to be inferior when compared to legislators in other devolved legislatures. But that is the…

Summary of The National Newspaper The National front page this morning – summarisedThe National says Starmer under fire as cap set to rise again despite pledge people would pay less. LABOUR have been accused of “betraying” voters as it was revealed energy bills are predicted to rise again from next April.Households could be in for yet another rise in costs as market “turbulence” and price cap reforms feed through to bills.The latest forecast from Cornwall Insight suggests the energy price cap could rise to £1762 per year for a typical dual fuel consumer – a 1% increase from the cap of…

Friday’s front pages lead with various domestic and international stories. There is ongoing coverage of the latest across the Middle East as G7 nations prepare to hold a virtual meeting on Friday to discuss the fast-moving developments. For Syrians, many have taken to the streets in celebration, marking the end of the Assad regime. 

Amid ongoing war in the Middle East and Europe, as well as the return of Donald Trump to world politics, several front pages lead with stories regarding NATO. European members of the alliance are holding talks about increasing the spending target to 3% of GDP. There is also a warning from the new head of NATO, Mark Rutte, that European members need to spend more on defence. 

A little closer to home, Prince Andrew has found himself on the front pages again, this time regarding a close confidant to the Duke who has reportedly been banished from Britain over claims he is a Chinese spy.