Month: June 2025

NEWS TODAY

Tough choices unavoidable, says IFS

Jun 1, 2025 News Desk

Faarea Masud

Business reporter, BBC News

Getty Images Chancellor Rachel Reeves. She has brown hair and is wearing a purple jacket. Getty Images

Tough choices are “unavoidable” as the government finalises spending plans for areas ranging from the NHS and defence, to schools and the criminal justice system, a think tank has warned.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the level of spending on health would dictate whether cuts were made to “unprotected” areas – those outside the NHS, defence and schools.

While funding increased sharply in 2024 for transport, net zero, hospitals, schools and prisons, it would no longer increase year on year, given the government’s commitments, the IFS said.

The government said the Spending Review on 11 June would “scrutinise every single pound the government spends”.

The review will outline day-to-day departmental budgets over the next three years and investment budgets over the next four.

Whitehall insiders have told the BBC they expect it will be “ugly”, and that ministers have been fighting over winning small amounts of cash for their respective departments.

There are concerns that plans such as increasing police numbers in a bid to halve violence against women and girls may not be allocated enough cash. There are also discussions over continued funding for capping bus fares.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves stance on ruling out borrowing more money and not raising taxes again has led to strong speculation spending cuts will be made.

The Conservatives say Reeves is only left with these seemingly “impossible choices” because she “chose to push borrowing and spending to the limit”.

“They have pushed up the cost of living, unemployment is rising, growth is stalling,” shadow chancellor Mel Stride said. “And yet Rachel Reeves still clings to her tax-and-spend dogma like it’s the 1970s.”

The IFS said the government had “front-loaded” its spending over the course of the parliament term in the first couple of years, which meant spending would slow down. “The consequences of this decision must be confronted,” the IFS warned.

When it comes to daily spending on public services, the think tank suggested a “huge amount depends on the generosity” of cash handed to the NHS – which accounts for 39% of day-to-day departmental spending – as well as defence.

NHS spending is planned to be £202bn in 2025-2026, the IFS said, which could pull funding from other areas as the government prioritises reducing patient waiting times and improving access to dental care.

“Increasing health funding at anything like the historical average rate would mean imposing real-terms cuts on other ‘unprotected’ departments,” the think tank said.

It said this would prove challenging, especially given the government’s ambitions to improve the criminal justice system and to deal with prison overcrowding.

‘More defence spending means cuts elsewhere’

The IFS added the level of health spending was “in some sense, the central trade-off for the Spending Review” and one that would only become starker if defence spending was increased further or faster than currently planned.

Bee Boileau, a research economist at IFS, said the Treasury faced “some unavoidably tough choices”.

“After turning on the spending taps last autumn, the flow of additional funding is now set to slow to more of a trickle,” she said.

The government has committed to increasing spending on the army and its estates, and announced it would cut the foreign aid budget to increase military spending to 2.5% of national income by 2027.

“Giving more to defence means, all else equal, bigger cuts to something else,” the IFS said.

In October, Reeves changed a self-imposed debt rule, freeing up billions for her to spend on long-term projects such as roads and energy infrastructure, but the IFS warned “not everything can be a priority for further increases”.

It said questions remained about “whether the trade-offs will be confronted rather than wished away”.

To continue to improve public services under tight restraints, the IFS suggested the government could improve productivity, thereby allowing it to deliver the same, or better services within lower budgets.

But that would be a challenge. The ONS reported in 2024 that productivity in public services is currently below pre-Covid pandemic levels.

A government spokesperson said it was “delivering what matters for working people – cutting hospital waiting lists, getting control of our borders and tackling the cost of living”.

The IFS warned choosing to cut public sector pay has led to strikes in the recent past, so keeping pay flat would “pose serious challenges”.

It concluded that cuts to public services would not be impossible to make, but would be challenging and require “ruthless prioritisation”.

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TRAVEL

UK tourists urged to carry ‘game-changing’ item with them to the beach

Jun 1, 2025 Travel Desk

Summer holidays are finally here, and there’s nothing like a day at the beach enjoying the sunshine – until it’s time to leave and your feet are all covered with sand.

Picture of a women's feet covered in sand at the beach
This is the best way of getting rid of the annoying sand on your feet after swimming at the beach(Image: Getty Images/Image Source)

Everyone loves going to the beach, but getting sand all over your stuff – and yourself – can be quite annoying and messy. But don’t worry, a genius hack will now solve all your problems using a plastic bag from home.

On the list of holiday pet peeves, trailing endless grains of sand all over your body hours after you left the beach is at the top. Pouring some water over your sandy body parts might be an alternative option, but there’s always still some residue left. And if you try and do this when on the beach, the chances are you’ll never rid it all.

But by using a plastic bag, you have found the solution to all of your problems – and it doesn’t cost you anything.

TikTok user @mrsvlifehacks’ seven-second video showed a person washing their feet using a plastic bag filled with seawater. Once her feet were out, they were completely clean, ready to wear the slides without discomfort.

READ MORE: Beautifully British Lake District village with cobbled streets and untold charm

A picture of feet covered in sand at the back
‘Clever’ mom hack will help you get rid of sandy feet – and you only need a plastic bag(Image: Getty Images/Johner RF)

“Mom’s best friend,” she captioned. This clever hack is particularly helpful for families travelling with small children, as it can be quite messy with the build-up residue of the sand getting on the car or inside the shoes.

So far, the video has accumulated over 14.8 million views, with users describing this hack as the “best thing”. A user commented: “Best thing I have seen on TikTok!!!!!!!! This deserves 20 million views!!”

A third one wrote: “Lol! I love doing this at the beach! It’s so easy, and my sandals don’t get sandy! Lol!” One joked: “Yeah if everybody does this, the sea will be empty in no time.”

READ MORE: Incredible Spanish town abandoned by mistake and left to rot for 55 years

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Other comments pointed out that the user could’ve waited until she was on the pavement, as she put on the slides while still on the sand. One commented: “And then you walk two steps, and you have to do it again.”

Now that the temperatures are getting warmer and warmer and holidays are around the corner, the beach will be the number one place everyone will be heading off to, whether is to soak up all of the UV or to have a refreshing dip whilst enjoying the waves of the sea.

By using this clever hack, British holidaymakers will get rid of the sand instantly. Another clever hack is to use baby powder to help remove sand from your body, simply by sprinkling some powder on areas where it’s stuck on you. This will absorb the excess moisture, making it much easier to brush away.

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SHOW BIZ

Taylor Swift reacquires the rights to her early music

Jun 1, 2025 News Desk

It’s all (Taylor’s Version) now.

Taylor Swift announced Friday that she had reacquired the rights to her early recordings, six years after music executive Scooter Braun bought her old record label (and with it, control of Swift’s first six studio albums).

Braun’s 2019 purchase of the Nashville-based Big Machine company — whose Swift holdings he later sold for a reported $300 million — inspired Swift’s massively successful “(Taylor’s Version)” campaign, in which the 35-year-old pop megastar has been meticulously re-recording each of those LPs in an effort to replace the originals in the marketplace.

“All I’ve ever wanted was the opportunity to work hard enough to be able to one day purchase my music outright with no strings attached, no partnership, with full autonomy,” Swift wrote Friday on her website after posting a photo on social media of herself surrounded by those early albums.

“I will be forever grateful to everyone at Shamrock Capital for being the first people to ever offer this to me,” she continued. “The way they’ve handled every interaction has been honest, fair, and respectful. This was a business deal to them, but I really felt like they saw it for what it was to me: My memories and my sweat and my handwriting and my decades of dreams. I am endlessly thankful.”

Last week, the New York Post’s Page Six reported that Braun — who once managed Swift’s nemesis Kanye West and whom Swift has accused of bullying her — was “encouraging” the new deal between the singer and Shamrock Capital, the L.A.-based investment firm that bought the rights to Swift’s early music from Braun in 2020. Yet a source close to the contract negotiations, who requested anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic, rebutted that claim.

“All rightful credit for this opportunity should go to the partners at Shamrock Capital and Taylor’s Nashville-based management team only,” the source told The Times. “Taylor now owns all of her music, and this moment finally happened in spite of Scooter Braun, not because of him.”

Shamrock was founded in 1978 by the late Roy E. Disney, a nephew of Walt Disney; Swift has struck several deals with the Disney company in recent years, including her decision to make a 2023 concert movie available to stream on Disney+.

The New York Post reported that Swift paid Shamrock between $600 million and $1 billion for the rights to her albums, a price range The Times’ source described as “highly inaccurate.”

Through a representative, Braun said on Friday: “I am happy for her.”

The pop star also provided an update on “Reputation (Taylor’s Version)” in her Friday note.

“[I]t’s the one album in those first 6 that I thought couldn’t be improved upon by redoing it. Not the music, or the photos or videos. So I kept putting it off,” she said of the anticipated redo, which will follow earlier “(Taylor’s Version)” updates of her albums “Fearless,” “Red,” “Speak Now” and “1989.” “There will be a time (if you’re into the idea) for the unreleased Vault tracks from that album to hatch,” she added.

Swift said she had “already completely re-recorded” her self-titled debut album, which she released in 2006 at age 16, and “really love[s] how it sounds now.”

The original “Reputation” followed a public feud with West and his then-wife, Kim Kardashian, that reshaped Swift’s established image as the girl next door: “My reputation’s never been worse,” she told a new love interest in the song “Delicate,” “So you must like me for me.” The LP found the singer — who had described 2014’s “1989” as her first “official pop album” — dabbling in sounds and textures borrowed from hip-hop and R&B; the song “End Game” even featured a guest verse from the rapper Future.

“Reputation” earned a Grammy nomination for pop vocal album, though it famously missed a nod for album of the year after Swift had scored three earlier nominations in that category. In 2024, the singer became the first artist to win album of the year four times when “Midnights” took the prize; Swift’s latest project, “The Tortured Poets Department,” was nominated for album of the year at February’s ceremony, but Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” won.

Friday’s announcement came around six months after the finale of Swift’s blockbuster Eras tour, which launched in March 2023 and ran for 149 shows across five continents. The tour is said to be the highest-grossing of all time, with ticket sales in the neighborhood of $2 billion.

And in case anyone was unclear about how much this deal with Shamrock Capital means to Swift, she laid it out pretty clearly in her note.

“My first tattoo,” she wrote, “might just be a huge shamrock in the middle of my forehead.”



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HOLIDAYS TODAY

Sunday 1 June Madaraka Day in Kenya

Jun 1, 2025 Kevin Gower

The first colonists from Europe to have a presence in Kenya were German. In 1890, the region came under the control of the Imperial British East Africa Company, and Kenya was part of the British East Africa protectorate from 1895 until it became a British crown colony in 1920.

Disputes over land were common, leading to the Mau Mau rebellion by the Kikuyu people in 1952, which effectively put Kenya into a state of emergency for the next seven years.

The first direct elections took place in 1957, with the Kenya African National Union led by Jomo Kenyatta, an ethnic Kikuyu, forming the first government.

On June 1st 1963, Kenya became a self-governing country when Jomo Kenyatta became the first prime minister.

Full independence from British rule followed on December 12th 1963 when Kenya became an independent nation.

This is one of the three national holidays created by Article 8 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010.

 
     
SPORT

PSG 5-0 Inter Milan: New-look PSG make history on emotional night for Luis Enrique in Champions League final

Jun 1, 2025 Sports Desk

Luis Enrique wept tears of joy and emotion as Paris St-Germain delivered the performance of a lifetime to win the Champions League for the first time on a remarkable night in Munich.

And, as PSG outclassed Inter Milan for a historic 5-0 victory, brilliant teenager Desire Doue confirmed his status as one half of a new duo of young superstars – alongside Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal – who have the genius to dominate the game for years to come.

The poignant human story was PSG coach Luis Enrique, who became only the sixth coach to win this tournament with two different clubs after his triumph with Barcelona in 2015.

The sporting story was one of the finest team displays in the history of this tournament, in this and its previous guise of the European Cup, with generational teenage talent Doue as its centrepiece.

On the most important night of a career, Doue made the biggest stage in European club football his playground.

This was also a win heavy with significance and meaning for 55-year-old Asturian Luis Enrique, beyond the glory of the brutal beauty of this PSG triumph that finally brought the giant Champions League trophy to The City Of Light.

The man who has transformed PSG has spoken about how he helped his daughter Xana plant a Barcelona flag in the centre circle after that 2015 triumph over Juventus in Berlin.

He said he hoped he might make the same gesture here in her memory after she died from a rare form of bone cancer aged nine in 2019.

In the afterglow of victory, he pulled on a t-shirt bearing an image of himself and his daughter planting a PSG flag.

And then, in a moment of raw emotion, PSG’s “Ultras” unfurled their own tribute – a giant flag emblazoned with an image of father and daughter, in the French club’s shirt, planting a flag.

It was a wonderful gesture on a joyful night for PSG in Munich, when all their agonies as they chased the Champions League were washed away in one of the greatest displays any team has produced in a European final.

“I’m very happy. It was very emotional at the end with the banner from the fans for my family. But I always think about my daughter,” said Luis Enrique.

“Since day one, I said I wanted to win important trophies, and Paris had never won the Champions League. We did it for the first time. It’s a great feeling to make many people happy.”

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TOP NEWS

Hegseth: Prepare for war to ensure Indo-Pacific peace

Jun 1, 2025 News Desk

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says nations must prepare for war to ensure peace amid Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific region during the International Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-la Dialogue Defence Summit in Singapore on Saturday. Photo by How Hwee Young/EPA-EFE

May 31 (UPI) — The United States and its allies won’t allow China to dominate the Indo-Pacific region, but do not seek war, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Saturday morning in Singapore.

He addressed regional concerns while speaking during the International Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-La Dialogue event in Singapore.

Hegseth said the Indo-Pacific region is the United States’ “priority theater” and won’t allow China to push the United States and its allies out of the region, the Department of Defense announced Friday in a news release.

Instead, deterrence will be the primary tool by which the United States and its allies will counter any aggressive moves made by China, particularly in the South China Sea and against Taiwan.

“As our allies share the burden, we can increase our focus on the Indo-Pacific,” Hegseth said, adding that the region is the nation’s “priority theater.”

He said the futures of the United States and its allies in the Indo-Pacific depend on each other.

“We share a vision of peace and stability, of prosperity and security,” Hegseth said, “and we are here to stay.”

Common sense and national interests with guide policy making in the region, while respecting mutual self-interests.

President Donald Trump is working to get European nations to do more to increase their respective national security interests instead of largely relying on the United States.

As European nations do more to protect themselves, Hegseth said the United States will be better able to focus on matters in the Indo-Pacific region and do more to thwart Chinese aggression.

“This enables all of us to benefit from the peace and stability that comes with a lasting and strong American presence here in the Indo-Pacific,” Hegseth said.

That presence won’t come at a cost for the nation’s allies, though.

“We are not here to pressure other countries to embrace and adopt our politics or ideology,” Hegseth told the audience. “We are all sovereign nations.”

He said the United States does not “seek conflict with communist China.”

But the United States “will not be pushed out of this critical region,” Hegseth added. “And we will not let our allies and partners be subordinated and intimidated.”

He said China’s leaders are “preparing to use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific,” including occupying Taiwan.

Any move by China to take over Taiwan, which China has claimed as part of its sovereign state, would trigger “devastating consequences” for the region and the world, Hegseth told the audience.

“The threat China poses is real, and it could be imminent,” he said, adding that the United States and its allies must be prepared with “urgency and vigilance.”

If deterrence doesn’t work and a fighting war is inevitable, “we are prepared to do what the Department of Defense does best: to fight and win decisively,” Hegseth said.

The best way to ensure peace is to prepare for war, “but we have to do this quickly,” he said. “We have no time to waste.”

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NEWS TODAY

How Bitcoin Hyper (HYPE) Turns Your Idle Tokens into Passive Income Before Launch

Jun 1, 2025 News Desk

Most people buy tokens during a presale and just wait, hoping the price will go up later. But what if you didn’t have to wait? What if your tokens could start working for you before the project even launches? Bitcoin Hyper (Hyper) is making this possible.

While the presale is still live, buyers are already staking over 18 million tokens, earning massive passive rewards of more than 2,500% APY at this current stage.

What Is Bitcoin Hyper and How Does It Work?

Bitcoin Hyper is a Layer 2 built on top of Bitcoin. Its mission is simple: fix Bitcoin’s biggest limitations. Bitcoin is known for being secure but slow, expensive. It is also hard to build on. It doesn’t support smart contracts natively, which means it has been left out of the DeFi, NFT, and gaming revolutions.

Bitcoin Hyper changes that. It runs its own high-speed network that handles transactions instantly and cheaply. Smart contracts are made possible through the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM), which is plugged directly into the Bitcoin Hyper chain.

The Canonical Bridge allows users to deposit BTC and interact with wrapped BTC inside the Hyper ecosystem, without losing Bitcoin’s core security.

So you get the best of both worlds: Bitcoin’s security and trust, combined with the speed and flexibility of Solana.

How $HYPE Tokens Power the Ecosystem

The $HYPE token is the lifeblood of the Bitcoin Hyper network. It is used to pay gas fees, power transactions, and access DeFi and dApp services. But more than that, it’s also a reward token.

If you stake $HYPE during the presale, you can start earning rewards immediately. The staking feature is built right into the presale dashboard, and it’s extremely easy to use. Simply choose the “Buy and Stake” option during purchase, and your tokens begin generating returns instantly.

Right now, the early staking APY is around 2,500%. The reward cannot be claimed until after the Token Generation Event (TGE), but the value accumulates daily, giving early participants a significant edge.

The earlier you stake, the higher your total rewards. Each stage of the presale comes with a slightly higher token price and potentially lower staking APY. That’s why many people are moving fast to lock in this early passive income before the next price hike.

Bitcoin Hyper Roadmap and Why It Matters

Bitcoin Hyper’s roadmap is carefully planned to deliver utility step by step. It started with foundation work like branding, documentation, and early community growth. The current stage focuses on the presale, staking system, and strategic audits of the project’s security.

The next phase will bring the actual mainnet launch. That’s when the Canonical Bridge goes live, allowing BTC to be moved into the Hyper network. Smart contracts will start rolling out, and the Solana VM will go into full use. After that, we’ll see an expansion of the ecosystem—more dApps, tools for developers, and governance through a DAO.

By early 2026, the goal is complete decentralization, giving the community control over upgrades, rewards, and network decisions.

How the Tokens Are Allocated

Bitcoin Hyper has a total supply of 21 billion $HYPE tokens. The distribution is designed for long-term growth and fairness. About 30% goes to development, 25% to marketing, 10% for listings, and another 30% is held in the project treasury.

Only 5% is set aside for staking and rewards during the presale, making the early APY even more attractive.

There are no private presales or insider deals. Everyone joins under the same terms. This helps keep the launch fair and decentralized from the start.

Listing Plans and How to Join the Presale

Once the presale ends, $HYPE will list on decentralized exchanges and major centralized platforms. The listing price is already set at $0.012975, slightly above the current presale price of $0.011625. That means participants earn staking rewards, but they also get a clear price advantage once trading begins.

If you want to join the presale, here’s how to do it:

First, load up your wallet (like MetaMask or Best Wallet) with crypto: ETH, BNB, or USDT. Then go to the official Bitcoin Hyper site and connect your wallet. Choose how many tokens you want to buy.

You can also select the “Buy and Stake” option to start earning rewards immediately. Even credit card payments are supported through wallet integrations.

Once you buy and stake, just sit back and watch your rewards grow. You’ll be able to claim your tokens and rewards at the Token Generation Event later in 2025.

VISIT THE BITCOIN HYPER COMMUNITY

                                                   Website  |     X  (Twitter)    |   Telegram

This article is for informational purposes only and does not provide financial advice. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile, and the market can be unpredictable. Always perform thorough research before making any cryptocurrency-related decisions.

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SHOW BIZ

British Soap Awards 2025 winners list in full as EastEnders storms to victory

Jun 1, 2025 News Desk

EastEnders and Emmerdale were the joint shows to beat at the 2025 British Soap Awards as both had an impressive 13 nominations over 12 categories each – but the BBC soap proved triumphant on the night

21:11, 31 May 2025Updated 22:57, 31 May 2025

The full winners list of the British Soap Awards 2025 has been unveiled
The full winners list of the British Soap Awards 2025 has been unveiled(Image: PA)

EastEnders were the big winners at tonight’s British Soap Awards, taking away the top gong. Named Best British Soap, they beat Emmerdale, Coronation Street and Hollyoaks to the coveted accolade.

Walking away with eight awards in total, Steve McFadden picked up Best Dramatic Performance and Best Single Episode for Phil Mitchell’s psychosis. It comes in the soap’s 40th anniversary year.

Hollyoaks got three awards, Emmerdale got two and Coronation Street walked away with one – the Outstanding Achievement Award to David Neilson, who has played Roy Cropper for 30 years. The biggest names in soapland dazzled on the glitter carpet – with Hollyoaks actress Jorgie Porter and Corrie favourite Tina O’Brien both looking sensational in the same dress, a sparkly Oh Polly number.

EastEnders icons Gillian Taylforth and Anita Dobson were in attendance at the awards
EastEnders icons Gillian Taylforth and Anita Dobson were in attendance at the awards(Image: PA)

Speaking before she was presented with the scene of the year award, EastEnders legend Anita Dobson said: “It was just perfect.” And asked if she could return again, she said: “I don’t think so, although I should say never say never, it would have to be something extra special.”

Gillian Taylforth, who plays Kathy Beale, added: “It was just brilliant, although none of us knew that she was coming back! We’ll need Ange back if anything ever happened to Kathy, not that I want it too.”

Hosted by Jane McDonald, telly favourites Sir David Jason and Larry Lamb presented awards at London’s Hackney Empire.

The awards were back after being cancelled last year. Watch the British Soap Awards 2025 on Thursday 5 June via ITV1 and ITVX at 8pm.

The British Soap Awards 2025 winners list in full;

BEST BRITISH SOAP

EastEnders

BEST LEADING PERFORMER

EastEnders: Lacey Turner (Stacey Slater)

VILLAIN OF THE YEAR

EastEnders: Navin Chowdhry (Nish Panesar)

BEST COMEDY PERFORMANCE

Coronation Street: Jack P. Shepherd (David Platt)

BEST FAMILY

Hollyoaks: The Osbornes

BEST DRAMATIC PERFORMANCE

EastEnders: Steve McFadden (Phil Mitchell)

BEST SINGLE EPISODE

EastEnders: Phil’s Psychosis: The Mitchells In 1985

BEST ON-SCREEN PARTNERSHIP

EastEnders: Rudolph Walker & Angela Wynter (Patrick & Yolande Trueman)

BEST NEWCOMER

Hollyoaks: Isabelle Smith (Frankie Osborne)

BEST STORYLINE

Hollyoaks: Sibling Sexual Abuse

BEST YOUNG PERFORMER

Emmerdale: Amelia Flanagan (April Windsor)

SCENE OF THE YEAR

EastEnders: Angie Watts’ Shock Return

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

David Neilson presented by Julie Hesmondhalgh

THE TONY WARREN AWARD

Emmerdale – MIKE PLANT

Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads.

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