‘We have further to go,’ says Huw Pill after increase to 4% last month as Bank seeks to tackle rising inflation

The Bank of England will probably need to raise interest rates next month and again in early 2027 to combat rising inflation, its chief economist has said.

Signalling a sharp rise in mortgage payments for an estimated 2.3 million homeowners who will have to refinance their loans next year, Huw Pill said that while the decision to nudge interest rates from 3.75% to 4% earlier this month was a “significant step” towards getting monetary policy into a better place, “we ⁠have further to go”.

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Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood reminded me of my dad’s decency and mischief. I laughed as I cried, and realised there’s no right way to go through the grieving process

I expected to break. But I felt nothing. I did not cry, nor struggle to sleep. I seldom thought of him. I felt only guilt about how little I felt. Ours was a complex relationship. As a teen, I often resented my dad, occasionally despised him. I expected the world and found disappointment. But, as I grew older, I understood that he had struggles of his own. I learned to appreciate his decency and humour, his ability to make everyone laugh with only a few words. I loved my dad, from the first time he held me to the last time I held him.

But still, as weeks turned into months, I struggled to grieve. Then, when my partner and I rearranged our bookshelves, I found the first edition of Under Milk Wood that my parents gave us on our wedding day. I turned the cover and saw the note: “And all the bells of the tills of the town shall ring for our wedding.” It was my mum’s writing, but my dad’s idea. The man loved literature and poetry and considered Dylan Thomas, along with his dad and the Welsh rugby full-back JPR Williams, one of the best man to ever occupy our world.

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The first ever Eurovision Asia song contest takes place in Thailand on Saturday, and it won’t disappoint those hoping for some bizarre acts

The first ever Eurovision Asia is being held in Thailand on Saturday. The event is a more compact affair than the European version has become, and with only 11 countries competing, it isn’t a straightforward cultural import.

None of the entrants have gone near wacky Eurovision vibes such as having a singing turkey or banana-eating wolves. Restrictive attitudes to homosexuality in some of the countries where the show will be broadcast have also tempered the overt campness and LGBTQ+ representation with which Eurovision has come to be associated – there will certainly not be an equivalent of Olly Alexander getting sweaty in a grubby gym changing room.

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Experts warn of risks of platforms hosting bets tied to US public health – including vaccine mandates and drug trials

The sign was pasted on a construction fence next to an elementary school in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. “Vaccines,” it proclaimed in bold capital letters against a blue star-spangled background – appearing, at first glance, to be like any other public health message on the importance of getting vaccinated.

But at the bottom of the sign, in smaller letters, it read: “Will any state end vaccine markets?” It was accompanied by the logo for Polymarket, an online prediction market where users can log in to wager on the outcomes of nearly any event – including, now, public health.

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From diva-like behaviour to freebie requests that never result in a review, ‘entitled’ content creators are a growing blight on small-business owners. Now entrepreneurs are calling them out

Nicole Flanagin remembers exactly the moment an influencer came after her business. It was the early hours of a March morning and the cat cafe owner in Lenoir, North Carolina, got a message. “At 1.37,” she says, “a friend sent me the link to this girl’s TikTok.”

The 41-year-old was already having a bad 24 hours. A mother of four, Flanigan also works at a pet rescue shelter and had spent the previous day unsuccessfully fighting for a dog not to be put down. She got home exhausted and promptly conked out in bed. Then she woke up to the message.

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Van Gogh and Cézanne paintings among magnificent collection stained by allegations of abduction and killing

Twelve rarely seen masterpieces glowing with life and beauty will go on sale at Sotheby’s in New York on Wednesday.

The collection, which resembles a miniature Courtauld gallery, includes Van Gogh’s towering chestnut tree, Monet’s shimmering vista of the Tuileries and Paul Cézanne’s Arlequin, a portrait of his son in a red and black diamond-patterned costume whose angularity pushes into abstraction and must have inspired Picasso’s Harlequins.

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peaceful-jp-scenery has added a photo to the pool:

Enzoji temple, Sanmon gate
円蔵寺・山門

This temple gate is located partway up the stairs. A large pair of straw sandals was on display.

階段の途中にある山門です。大きなわらじが飾られていました。

Yanaizu-machi, Fukushima pref, Japan

peaceful-jp-scenery posted a photo:

Enzoji temple
円蔵寺

By the bridge at the foot of the mountain, he is Fukutaro, the father of the Akabeko (red cow) family.

麓の橋の所、赤べこ親子の父、福太郎です。

Yanaizu-machi, Fukushima pref, Japan

peaceful-jp-scenery posted a photo:

Enzoji temple, Sanmon gate
円蔵寺・山門

This temple gate is located partway up the stairs. A large pair of straw sandals was on display.

階段の途中にある山門です。大きなわらじが飾られていました。

Yanaizu-machi, Fukushima pref, Japan

De opvolger van Stefan de Walle is acteur Gijs Naber, zo bleek zaterdagmiddag uit het verslag van de intocht door Het Sinterklaasjournaal. Het was de ontknoping van een merkwaardige mediahype.