GaudiLab/ShutterstockDoes all music sound the same these days? Many listeners – and artists – think so. There’s a concern that today’s hits are increasingly generic, predictable and indistinguishable. And it might all come down to money.
Andre Place/ShutterstockThe UK government has launched NHS league tables for every trust in England, promising transparency and an incentive for improvement. The idea is simple: rank providers of health care and reward the best.
Monster Ztudio/ShutterstockRegional inequality is a long-standing problem in the UK that successive governments haven’t been able to get to grips with. The Labour government is aiming for economic growth, but this will only happen by boosting the UK’s regions and nations along with London and south-east England.
Sundry Photography/ShutterstockDonald Trump’s recent state visit to the UK ended without the removal of steel tariffs, which the host nation had been hoping for. For months, the US president’s array of “liberation day” tariffs have sparked controversy and caused chaos for America’s trading partners.
Cryptographer/ShutterstockThe UK’s science minister, Sir Patrick Vallance, has sounded the alarm over the country’s declining investment in medicines. He warned that the NHS risks losing out on important treatments and the country could lose its place at the cutting edge of medical research if spending does not recover.
Steve Travelguide/ShutterstockThe £2.2 billion plan for a second runway at London’s Gatwick airport has divided opinion over environmental concerns and its ability to kickstart the economic growth the UK so badly needs. Critics have said that the economic benefits are overstated and the environmental harms unavoidable.
US president Donald Trump’s “meme coin” $TRUMP fell about 8% in five minutes in late September 2025, wiping millions off its value. Users can buy and sell this cryptocurrency, inspired by an internet meme, on the open market.
Champions of free speech will have breathed a sigh of relief when The Walt Disney Company returned Jimmy Kimmel Live! to air on its US broadcast network, ABC, on September 23.
starlings_images/ShutterstockWhen we think about the impact of climate change on the economy, images of droughts in Africa or hurricanes in the Caribbean might come to mind. But even in advanced economies such as the UK, hotter summers are being shown to carry a heavy price.
Standret/ShutterstockThe UK government announced a landmark review of parental leave in July 2025. This responds to widespread concern about failings within the current policy framework.
