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Prepayment meters may cost households a third of income this winter

Economics correspondent

Morrisons offers discounts after IT glitch affects orders

Morrisons' technical troubles may affect delivery orders as well as holders of the chain's loyalty card

Homebase to live on as brand in old stores owned by the Range

Homebase is to live on as a brand online and in up to 70 former stores reopened next year as branches of the Range, its new owner has announced.

Aviva agrees deal to buy Direct Line for £3.7bn, putting 2,300 insurance jobs at risk

Aviva has agreed to buy the rival insurer Direct Line for £3.7bn, with up to 2,300 job cuts planned as the companies aim for at least £125m in cost savings.

Borne again: former PM among names in France's latest cabinet

The French prime minister, François Bayrou, has announced his new government - the country's fourth this year - in the hope he can see off another vote of no confidence from a bitterly divided parliament.

BP faces legal action over pipe supplying oil to Israel

Palestinian victims of the war in Gaza are taking legal action against BP for running a pipeline that supplies much of Israel's crude oil.

More than 1,000 North Korean casualties in Ukraine, says Seoul

More than 1,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded fighting alongside Russian troops in Ukraine, South Korean military officials said yesterday.

China denied request to board ship linked to severed undersea cables, says Sweden

Sweden has accused China of denying a request for Swedish prosecutors to board a Chinese ship that has been linked to the cutting of two undersea cables in the Baltic despite Beijing having pledged \"cooperation\" with regional authorities.

In plain sight The little red cabin housing a key European datacentre

Stockholm archipelago

2024: the year of elections Democracy under stress despite billions of votes

In January, as this bumper year of elections got under way, breathless editorials and reheated hot takes made it clear the stakes could not be higher.

Greece faces 'emergency' as number of child refugee arrivals soars

Greece is facing a refugee \"children's emergency\" as the number of unaccompanied minors reaching the country rises and concern grows over a lack of safe places to host them.

Biden commutes nearly all federal death sentences to life imprisonment

The US president, Joe Biden, yesterday commuted the sentences of 37 out of 40 federal death row inmates, changing their punishment to life imprisonment without parole.

Suspect in healthcare CEO killing pleads not guilty to state murder charges

The suspect in the fatal shooting of the UnitedHealthcare CEO pleaded not guilty to murder and terror charges yesterday in a state case that will run parallel to his federal prosecution.

Just friends? Exhibition to explore Elizabeth I's relationship with Dudley

Exhibition to explore Elizabeth I's relationship with Dudley

Syrian family in limbo over Christmas as Home Office suspends asylum claims

A Syrian family say they are \"fearing for their future\" this Christmas after having an imminent decision on their asylum application stopped by the government.

Cabinet Office interviews Siddiq over Bangladesh corruption claim

The Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq has been questioned by the Cabinet Office's propriety and ethics team after Bangladesh's anti-corruption commission accused her and family members of embezzling billions for a nuclear power plant.

Two-tier policing? Majority of banned marches were proposed by far right

The bar is said to be appropriately high, but there have been 24 marches banned by a home secretary in response to police requests in the past 30 years.

Artist who led British abstraction is subject of revelatory show

Britain's pioneering abstract artist whose legacy has mostly been obscured by a mix of sexism and the second world war is to have her first major exhibition in over 40 years.

'Obsessed' The festive ritual of a Christmas parkrun

For some, the idea of a Christmas that contains any more exertion than reaching for the Quality Street is the stuff of nightmares. But for others, the most wonderful time of the year would not be complete without a festive parkrun.

Birmingham LGBTQ+ church members 'cut off' after sexual assault complaints

The Methodist church in Birmingham has been accused of silencing and cutting off members of an LGBTQ+ congregation after they reported a senior member of the group for alleged sexual assault.

Champagne's dirty secret: pickers underpaid, underfed and sleeping on the streets

A Guardian investigation has found that workers in France's champagne industry are being underpaid and forced to sleep on the streets and steal food to stave off hunger.

Advice on bites and burns high on search list last Christmas

Information on alcohol consumption, rabies and bites - animal and human - was among the most sought-after NHS advice on Christmas and Boxing Day last year, data shows.

'The joy went out of my life' Pensioners struggling after winter fuel payment cut

When Colin Anderson moved home to Devon after 30 years in London, he was looking forward to a quiet retirement close to where he had grown up.

Opera review Manic energy and fury at the witch keep the children enrapt

Operas don't get more Christmassy than Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel. Not so much in content - crushing poverty, a scary forest, a child-eating witch - as by venerable association since its world premiere on 23 December 1893.

Delia Smith takes year off festive cooking for first time in half a century

Delia Smith, the doyenne of Christmas dinners, is taking a year off from cooking the festive feast for the first time in more than 50 years.

King's message to focus on health workers

The king's Christmas message will focus on the efforts of healthcare workers after a year in which Charles and the Princess of Wales were treated for cancer.

Man jailed over threat to 'blow away' English Defence League

A man who posed with an \"ornamental\" AK-47 rifle and threatened to \"blow away\" the English Defence League during the summer riots has been jailed for more than two years.

Holiday on ice Scientists and fossil hunters in Antarctica hunker down to climate work

Most of us will not get a white Christmas this year, but a group of scientists is guaranteed one while carrying out research on the Antarctic peninsula.

Government urged to take action to end the 'vicious downward spiral' of Send provision

Children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) have been victims of a \"vicious downward spiral\" of declining support over the past decade, pushing more families into crisis, the former children's commissioner for England has said as she urged the government to take action.

'The worst it's been' Teachers and parents share their experiences of living inside a crisis

\"The Send [special educational needs and disabilities] system is broken; completely and irrevocably,\" said David Wilson, a deputy headteacher at an inner-city Manchester primary school where between six and 10 children with Send are in each classroom.