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By Rose Taylor As the waters recede and families begin to count the cost of the floods that killed more than 300 people, injured over 1,000 and destroyed countless properties in Tamil Nadu, for one woman it has heralded the start of a better life. NagammaNagammal was discovered drenched and starving in a partially destroyed goat shed where she had been living for 17 years, after being abandoned by her husband – because she had leprosy. “No one came to...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Jossy Yendall, 28, was selected as a finalist for Ms Galaxy 2016 but was told at the last minute she was not eligible - because she was not born a female. Shocked Jossy claimed she said from the outset she is transgender and even published it in the first sentence on her application web-page. The activities co-ordinator, who hopes to be a model, said she felt discriminated against because of her gender transition - which...

Caitlyn Jenner was briefly a saint to the left thanks to her global coming out as a woman. When Bruce became Caitlyn the world became just a little more accepting of transgender people and for that she deserves credit. However, many on the left, especially social justice advocates, have snapped back now it’s become clear that Caitlyn shares the same political beliefs as Bruce – and those beliefs are conservative. Bruce Jenner was a Republican whose views on social issues,...

It was a disaster waiting to happen. In a highly publicised press conference, Tommy Robinson and Quilliam announced that the former had seen the error of his ways and decided to part with the English Defence League, a hard-line anti Islam group. Many prominent organisations and personalities had expressed scepticism at the time, dismissing it as nothing but a PR stunt to bolster the images of both Quilliam, a counter extremism think tank founded by former members of the radical...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor The final PMQs before the New Year had an extra-terrestrial vibe and I don’t mean the Tory backbenchers from Cocoon. It began with the PM praising UK astronaut Tim Peake, and everyone who was watching at home. Well we did Dave, you turned your head 180 degrees, like a lizard, and flicked your tongue at the screen. Corbyn wished everyone a happy Christmas even “Tim who wasn’t on this planet,” which inevitably set the Tories...

Callum Towler, Stephen Adams and Owen Black chat about the worrying rise of far-right politics following the Paris attacks. Should Donald Trump be banned from the UK? Do ISIS thank their lucky stars for characters like Farage and Le Pen? Is western liberalism dying in the face of terror? And how can the left reverse this surge? Alternatively, you can also listen via Soundcloud here  Follow us @callumtowler @stephenjcadams1 @owenblk And please leave your thoughts below.

London Waterloo has been crowned the UK's busiest railway station once again after the latest figures from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) revealed 99 million passengers passed through the station in the past year. Nine out of the top ten spots went to stations in London, with the top five dominated by the capital. Victoria, Liverpool Street and London Bridge came two to four respectively, with Charing Cross climbing ahead of Euston in the rankings. Martin Abrams of the Campaign...

By Oliver Ward Last weekend’s gruelling late night talks concluded in La Bourget and Paris was finally able to celebrate something as COP21 talks resulted in an agreement signed by 195 nations. Politicians linked hands, people were hugging and standing on desks. Like a work Christmas party, all that was missing was François Hollande with his tie round his head dragging everyone to the middle of the dance floor to boogie to Come on Eileen. There was much to celebrate;...

By Professor Colin Garner, Chief Executive of Antibiotic Research UK, comments: Today, patients undergoing routine treatments such as cancer treatment, organ transplantation and hip and knee replacements, are given antibiotics to prevent infection during these treatments. However, the frequency of antibiotic resistant infections is increasing, meaning that there are more and more deaths from antibiotic resistant bacteria. Sepsis is a common cause of death in the UK with over 37,000 deaths each year, more than lung cancer (35,000) and bowel cancer...