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Liz Truss presents herself as the “hope” candidate in the Tory Party leadership race. She’s going to need every ounce of it to be successful once in the job, for the reality is that the economy is about to sail into a veritable hurricane of trouble, starting with a renewed round of interest rate and energy price shocks. According to the latest forecast from the consultancy Cornwall Insight, the average household energy bill is set to top £3,600 this winter , with little sign of a respite in the consultancy’s view until 2024 at the earliest. The current Ofgem price cap is £1,971 on average; Cornwall reckons it will be up at £3,729 by April next year, and still at £3,469 at the next review in October 2023. If the Kremlin cuts off gas supplies to Europe this autumn, as threatened, the damage is going to be great still. Against such an onslaught, the Truss camp’s promised reversal of Rishi Sunak’s rise in National Insurance and the temporary suspension of green levies is like … [Read more...] about We are in a different world… and Trussonomics misses the scale of the challenge

TO put it simply, the original Xbox was revolutionary. After Sega and Atari both bowed out of the console market, it looked like Nintendo and Sony were going to dominate the scene unchallenged. However, in March 2000 it became clear that wouldn’t be the case as Microsoft announced the Xbox . It launched in November 2001 and quickly took the world by storm. In the years since, Microsoft’s influence has shaped the games industry in countless ways. Game Pass, cloud saves, and in-game voice chats are all around today thanks to the innovations of Xbox. Innovation alone won’t sell a console though, and the original Xbox has a fantastic lineup of games. It was hard to pick out the best, but here they are. More in Xbox X-BOXED Xbox owners are about to lose access to HUNDREDS of games in major cull GAME ON All the video game releases coming on PS5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and PC in 2022 Burnout 3: Takedown … [Read more...] about The 8 best original Xbox games of all time

SURVIVAL games are often a mixed bag, but these ones are the very best. The genre has become somewhat oversaturated in recent years thanks to YouTuber's obsession with them. It took off in a major way in the 2010s, and seemingly every indie developer on the planet wanted to have a go. This means there are plenty of cheap and terrible survival/crafting games out there for you to try. However, every now and then a shining beacon emerges from the rubble, a truly great survival game that has unique ideas and competent mechanics. It can often be hard to pick out these gems amongst all the rubbish, so we’re here to tell you the very best survival games on all platforms. More in Gaming XBOX OFFICE FLOP These tie-in games did not live up to the great movies they were based on START LIVING Live A Live: Beginner tips you should know before starting Whether you own a PlayStation , Xbox , Switch , or PC, you’ll … [Read more...] about The best survival games on PC and console

GAMES have had a controversial past, and all around the world law-makers have questioned if they should be legal. Whether it’s Mortal Kombat’s gruesome fatalities, or Night Trap’s saucy lingerie, judges have questioned if the public should play these games. However, there are some games which seem so harmless it’s hard to understand why they were banned in the first place. Here is our list of the 10 video games which were banned for the strangest reasons. 10. South Park: The Stick of Truth - Australia South Park is known for its controversial sense of humour, and there is plenty of that in its RPG . While South Park: The Stick of Truth was released in Australia , there was a catch. More in Gaming SIMPLY THE BEST Popular video games ranked by sales XBOX OFFICE FLOP These tie-in games did not live up to the great movies they were based on One of the more controversial scenes was censored, and … [Read more...] about Top 10 video games banned around the world for the strangest reasons

Lewis Hamilton appeared to back down in the Formula 1 jewellery row by removing his nose stud ahead of Friday's practice sessions. But it is clear the seven-times world champion is exasperated by the ongoing clampdown and will have talks with the governing body’s boss Mohamed Ben Sulayem in a bid to reach some sort of compromise. Ben Sulayem, president of the FIA , has decided the sport’s long-standing jewellery ban for drivers – which has been largely ignored for many years – should be enforced, with possible sanctions to include being suspended from a race. Hamilton thinks the edict is ridiculous and has taken to turning up for media duties wearing as much jewellery as possible. He argued that one nose stud would be particularly difficult to remove and that led to a series of medical exemptions being granted for previous Grands Prix. While he was pictured arriving at Silverstone with the stud clearly visible, it was gone when he put on his helmet for the first practice … [Read more...] about Lewis Hamilton backs down in jewellery feud with FIA to avoid British GP ban

The General Election on Thursday was the most extraordinary in British history since modern elections began in 1918. We’ve had some exciting votes, from the closer than expected result of 2010 to the transformational victories of Clement Attlee, Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair in 1945, 1979 and 1997. But I’ve known nothing like 2017 in the dozen elections I have lived through since February 1974 for sheer unpredictability, drama and emotion . Ted Heath’s February 1974 general election, extraordinary in itself, provides the best mirror through which to view the utterly historic events of the last 36 hours. In both February 1974 and this time, Conservative Prime Ministers who were ill at ease with themselves and not natural communicators called a general election that they need not have triggered only to see it backfire disastrously against them and their party, leaving the country in a desperately vulnerable position at a time of great national need. Probe a little deeper, … [Read more...] about This has been the most extraordinary General Election since 1918

Chelsea star Ben Chilwell reacted well to the arrival of Marc Cucurella (Image: GETTY) SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info Ben Chilwell has revealed Thomas Tuchel asked him whether he was ready to rumble with Chelsea the day prior to their opening-day-of-the-season victory over Everton. The England international had to be at the top of his game this week in training as Marc Cucurella's transfer from Brighton continued to gather pace. Related articles Chelsea confident of signing Wesley Fofana as Boehly prepares new bid Chelsea beat Everton: Five talking points as Jorginho nets winner The Spaniard is now through the door and came off the bench to help the Blues record a clean sheet in their cagey 1-0 win at Goodison … [Read more...] about What Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel asked Ben Chilwell after £63m Marc Cucrella signing

It's been a year since the chaotic end of America's war in Afghanistan, and it doesn't look any better in retrospect to Elliot Ackerman: "This was a collapse of American morals and how we treat our allies," he said. "It was a collapse of American competence, our ability to execute this mission." For Ackerman, who served four combat tours in Afghanistan (both with the Marines and the CIA), the collapse was also personal. "Suddenly, I'm right back in the war. I thought I left the war." He had been away from the war for a decade making a living as a writer. Now he has written a book about America's longest war called "The Fifth Act" (published by Penguin Press on August 9). CBS News national security correspondent David Martin asked, "Five acts. Shakespeare's tragedies?" "You have Bush, Obama, Trump, Biden, and the fifth act, the denouement, is the Taliban," Ackerman said. The Taliban had outlasted the world's greatest superpower and were looking to take their revenge on Afghans … [Read more...] about How one Afghan family escaped the Taliban

When Ella Mills, 31, says that her life is ‘on fast-forward’ it’s hard to disagree. Just ten years ago, as a student, she started the blog Deliciously Ella, detailing her recovery from debilitating illness through meditation and plant-based recipes. Today, Deliciously Ella is a multifaceted lifestyle brand with projected revenues for 2022 of £20 million (putting the company’s value at around £60 million) and over two million Instagram followers. In 2012, plant-based eating was a niche concern. ‘But now 50 per cent of the UK population are into it,’ she says. Clearly there is a lot of money to be made from cacao nibs. Ella and her family (husband and Deliciously Ella’s CEO Matthew Mills, 38, and their daughters Skye, three, and May, nearly two) live just off London ’s Kensington Church Street, where houses sell for north of £5 million, but Ella insists their lifestyle is not lavish. She can’t drive and her husband Matthew’s car is a secondhand BMW. Their last holiday was four days … [Read more...] about THE £60 MILLION BRAND THAT TOOK (CACAO) BALLS TO BUILD! Ella Mills opens up about family, fame and facing down her haters

Immigration lawyers are dealing with a lot right now: large caseloads, court challenges, regulations in dispute. One of the most significant things in flux is the Flores settlement agreement, the 1997 consent decree that has governed the conditions under which migrant children can be detained. Among other things, a 2015 interpretation of that agreement calls on the government to release children into family custody or a licensed program after 20 days. On August 21, the Trump administration announced a rule change to Flores that would lift the 20-day cap and expand family detention. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have challenged the change in court, and it must still be reviewed by U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee, in California, before it goes into effect. For lawyers working with detained migrants, the result is profound uncertainty. One of those lawyers is Hardy Vieux, who leads the legal work of Human Rights First, an advocacy group that provides legal … [Read more...] about What Immigration Attorneys Are Telling Their Clients Now: ‘Brace Yourselves’