New figures released by the TUC have discovered three million employees working on the frontline of our public services are actually "insecure" workers. A heavy reliance on temporary staff, has led the GMB to call this station "shocking" and has criticised the government for not addressing the problem. This is an 25% increase since 2011 overall and a large 42% rise in insecure working within education and a 133% increase in social care. The government has already come under fire for...

Valentine's Day is on the horizon and the sticky issue going through the minds of every taken man in the country is; what should I buy the missus? Flowers are safe, chocolates are safer and jewellery lands in the same minefield occupied by makeup and toiletries - not to be touched. But with clothes you feel like you might just have a shout. Not according to the vast majority of British women. A new survey has found a huge eight in...

I love surprises. The anticipation of a million possibilities is often just as exhilarating as the performance itself. It is with a head-in-a-bucket methodology that I choose the shows I’m going to see at the London International Mime Festival each year – basing my selection not on titles or posters or research, but only on which evenings I have free. I leave the rest to chance. This year the two completely random tickets I ended up with were firstly to...

Artists, writers, journalists and campaigners are among the candidates shortlisted for the 2017 Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards. Drawn from more than 400 crowdsourced nominations, the shortlist celebrates the people fighting for freedom of expression against immense obstacles, with many of the 16 shortlisted nominees regularly targeted by authorities or by criminal and extremist groups for their work: some face regular death threats, others criminal prosecution or exile. Nominees include Pastor Evan Mawarire whose frustration with Zimbabwe’s government led...

Rapper, producer, director and visual artist M.I.A. has been announced as the curator of the Southbank Centre's 24th Meltdown Festival, which will take place from 9-18 June 2017. Launched 25 years ago, the festival is famed for bringing to life the world of its curator, counting Patti Smith, David Bowie, Yoko Ono, David Byrne, Ray Davies, Morrissey and Ornette Coleman amongst those that have held the position. M.I.A., said: "For me this Meltdown will be about putting on a musical week...

Sport News 24/7 It could feasibly have happened at any point over the past three years. Following England’s harrowing Ashes whitewash in Australia in 2013/14, the captaincy of Alastair Cook has been open to debate. Quite how he survived the cull that took place after that disastrous tour is beyond me, but he stayed in situ for a further three years. In that three years England won the Ashes at home and beat South Africa in South Africa in their...

Hit the road, Jack - the latest puzzle to bamboozle the web has been dealt out. Lurking among the face cards in this deck is a single one-eyed Jack, and you’ll have to play your cards right to spot him. Greg Tatton-Brown, the Market Manager UK for Casumo.com, who dealt the brain-teaser, said: “We’ve got lots of card games on our site – but nothing quite like this." See how long it takes you to spot it: Greg Tatton-Brown adds: “The...

The gaming industry has exploded over the past two decades, and there have never been more options for gamers in terms of genre, platform and online capability. A recent study led by ESA found that 155 million people play video games regularly just in the US, with four out of every five households owning a video game console of some variety. There’s no doubt that gaming is one of the most popular forms of home entertainment, but what type of...

America loves sport. From the NFL Super Bowl to the NHL Winter Classic, there are multiple annual events that entice huge crowds from across the country. However, there’s one tournament that you might not have heard about. It’s called March Madness, and it features 68 college basketball teams battling it out for one of the most prestigious and desired prizes in US sport. College kids these participants may be, but March Madness is as much adored across the nation as...