The Guardian
9 minutes ago
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Bank of England holds interest rates at 3.75% as Iran war prompts inflation fears
Decision comes as concerns mount over economic fallout from conflict bringing fresh cost of living shockBusiness live – latest updatesThe Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold amid growing fears over an inflation shock triggered by the US-Israel war on Iran.As households brace for a rise in living costs, the Bank’s rate-setting monetary policy committee (MPC) voted by a majority to keep its key base rate at the current level of 3.75%. Continue reading...
The Guardian
9 minutes ago
Farage called Welsh people ‘foreign speakers’ in paid-for video message
Reform UK leader’s remarks in Cameo clip risk damaging party’s ambitions in upcoming Welsh electionsFarage videos reveal support for rioter, neo-Nazi event and far-right slogansNigel Farage described Welsh people as “foreign speakers” in a paid-for personalised video message that could prove awkward for Reform UK in forthcoming elections in the country.Farage made the remarks in a video he was paid to make on Cameo, a personalised video platform, to celebrate a wedding. Continue reading...
The Guardian
10 minutes ago
Buzz kill: US breweries shutter as fanfare over craft beers appears to fade
Covid-related downturns and reductions in alcohol consumption have taken a toll on a once booming industryIn the early 2000s, Chris Bell, then a student at University of Colorado Boulder, followed a common path among people interested in brewing beer. He started doing so at home, then spent years working at established craft beer makers Long Trail Brewing in Vermont and Avery Brewing in Colorado before opening Call to Arms Brewing Company in 2015 in Denver.In a crowded market, the business was successful. Its More Like Bore-O-Phyll beer won a gold medal in the fresh or wet hop ale category at the 2018 World Beer Cup. A local outlet called it one of the city’s best breweries, and it had a 4.7 rating from more than 400 reviews on Google. Continue reading...
The Guardian
10 minutes ago
Gas prices surge 25% as Middle East conflict ‘spooks the markets’; airlines warn of higher fares as oil jumps 10% – business live
Attacks on South Pars and Ras Laffan, and Donald Trump’s threat to “massively blow up” the world’s largest gasfield, all hit marketsUK wage growth slows sharply as unemployment holds steadyFed holds interest rates steady as Iran war drives up oil prices and inflation fearsMiddle East crisis live: Trump threatens to ‘blow up’ entire South Pars gasfield if Iran strikes QatarEuropean stock markets have dropped sharply at the start of trading, hit by worries about surging energy prices.In London, the FTSE 100 blue-chip share index has tumbled by 162 points, or 1.6%, to 10,142 points.“Fears of a sustained energy shock have resurfaced after the escalation in the Iran war sent oil and gas prices soaring. The prospect of a longer, more drawn-out conflict is in sharp focus, as both sides ratchet up attacks on energy infrastructure.Brent crude remains highly volatile but has traded as high as $114 a barrel today, threatening to climb back towards recent scorching levels. Gas prices have surged by 25%, reaching a range not seen since early January 2023.The Company is ready to restart production and exports quickly with an improvement in the security environment. Continue reading...
The Guardian
10 minutes ago
Badenoch offers new explanation for Tory attack on Muslim event, saying party objecting to gender segregation – UK politics live
Tory leader continues to back Nick Timothy after he said public prayer for Ramadan was an ‘act of domination’Starmer claims Tories have ‘problem with Muslims’ after Timothy tweetCleverly is trying to show a video, but it is not working. So he just invites Kemi Badenoch to start her speech.The Conservatives are launching their local elections campaign. There is a live feed here. Continue reading...
The Guardian
15 minutes ago
Could Iran war trigger the next global food shock?
From factories to supermarket shelves, the Iran war is disrupting global supply chains.
Al Jazeera
19 minutes ago
Gas price soars 25% after strikes on Qatar hub
Energy costs jump after fresh strikes hit key infrastructure in the Middle East,
Bbc.com
23 minutes ago
Conflict shifts to ‘energy war’ as Iran targets Gulf oil and gas
Following Israel’s South Pars strike, Iran has targeted Gulf energy sites to pressure an end to the conflict.
Al Jazeera
25 minutes ago
Middle East crisis live: Hegseth to address media after Trump threatens to ‘blow up’ entire South Pars gasfield
US president says Israel will not launch another attack on the giant gasfield shared by Iran and Qatar, but promises to destroy it if Tehran retaliatesThe war cost the US $12.7bn by day six. Here’s how it’s been spent – in chartsTurning to Australia now, a petrol tsar will manage “unprecedented” supply issues caused by the Middle East conflict as the finishing touches are put on measures to address dire shortages in many regional areas.Prime minister Anthony Albanese convened a snap virtual meeting of the national cabinet on Thursday to discuss major price shocks and shortages driven by the US-Israel war on Iran.My government will be announcing more measures to prepare the nation for supply chain challenges over coming days and weeks.Our fuel supply is currently secure. However, I want us to be over-prepared. Continue reading...
The Guardian
30 minutes ago
What did Arab and Muslim ministers discuss in Riyadh meeting on Iran?
Foreign ministers formulate a unified response to Iranian strikes, asserting their right to self-defence.
Al Jazeera
31 minutes ago
Hungary’s Orbán says he won’t back down and allow EU’s €90bn loan to Ukraine – Europe live
Hungarian PM, who is facing an upcoming election, appears in no mood to compromise as EU leaders meet in Brussels this morningGermany’s chancellor Friedrich Merz also called for de-escalation in the Middle East, welcoming what he said were signals by US president Donald Trump that combat action in Iran could come to an end, which could allow Europe to contribute to securing peace in the region.“I am expressly grateful that the US president sent a signal in this regard last night that he is prepared to bring the fighting to an end,” he told reporters ahead of an EU summit in Brussels in comments reported by Reuters. Continue reading...
The Guardian
39 minutes ago
First Thing: Trump threatens to ‘blow up’ all of Iran’s South Pars gasfield if Tehran strikes Qatar
The move would be a major escalation in the US-Israel war against Iran. Plus, FBI director admits to buying data tracking Americans’ locationsGood morning.Donald Trump threatened to “massively blow up” the world’s largest gasfield after Israeli strikes on Iran’s South Pars field led Tehran to take revenge on energy facilities across the Middle East.What’s happening to oil and gas prices? Brent crude rose by 8% to $116 a barrel. European gas prices jumped, with the Dutch wholesale gas price up 24%.What do we know about the war’s economic cost? The war cost the US $12.7bn by day six – the total is likely to have now exceeded $18bn. Here’s a visualization of how that has been spent.Could US-Israeli attempts to take out Iranian leaders backfire? Some analysts think so. “It is not an approach that produces Jeffersonian democrats but hardened resistance fighters. It breeds more resistance,” said Sanam Vakil, an Iran expert at Chatham House.Follow our live coverage here.Who has spoken out? Labor rights activist and co-founder of the UFW Dolores Huerta, 95, released a statement on Wednesday saying: “I have kept this secret long enough. My silence ends here.” The report also includes the stories of two women, who were daughters of organizers in the movement, who said they were children when the grooming and abuse began. Continue reading...
The Guardian
46 minutes ago
BP to sell German oil refinery as part of $20bn cost-cutting plan
Energy company plans full return to London by moving global HQ to new development on South BankBusiness live – latest updatesBP has agreed to sell its giant German oil refinery site in Gelsenkirchen to the investment firm Klesch Group as part of the British oil company’s plan to sell off $20bn (£15bn) worth of assets and cut its costs.The value of the sale was not disclosed but BP said it would save the oil company about $1bn of underlying operating expenditure at the complex, which processes about 12m tonnes of crude oil every year, mainly as fuel for cars and aircraft. Continue reading...
The Guardian
49 minutes ago
DR Congo and Rwanda agree to ease tensions after talks in US
The conflict has persisted despite a peace deal signed by DR Congo and Rwanda in December.
Bbc.com
56 minutes ago
Cyprus leader calls for frank discussion on 'colonial' UK bases
The UK's two military bases on Cyprus are a "colonial consequence" on the island, says President Nikos Christodoulides.
Bbc.com
1 hour ago
Analysis from West Point warns that strait of Hormuz blockade will strangle US defense industry
Report shows how minerals critical to defense readiness have seen a ‘near total’ disruption in seaborne tradeSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe closure of the strait of Hormuz is causing a “paralyzing, real-time problem” for any prospective manufacturing surge in the US defense industrial base, and even for the repair of defense equipment damaged by Iranian attacks, according to analysis published by West Point’s Modern War Institute.In particular sulphur, a vital upstream input in the extraction of critical minerals including copper and cobalt, has seen a “near total” disruption of seaborne trade in the straits, which makes up half the world’s total shipments, and prices have spiked nearly 25% since the war began, and seen a 165% rise year on year, the report said. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 hour ago
Independent autism committee that challenges RFK Jr’s overhaul draws criticism
Kennedy’s appointees promoted ‘treatments’ like bleach enemas, but new committee has only one autistic memberThe first public meeting of US autism advisers – notably, since Robert F Kennedy Jr reshaped the committee – was cancelled recently with few details, coinciding with the creation of a rival organization that has prompted some questions within the autistic community about their focus.Kennedy, the secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) who has long argued for a debunked link between vaccines and autism, chose entirely new members for the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) in late January, with fewer autistic people and several anti-vaccine advocates. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 hour ago
EU leaders slam Hungary’s Orban for blocking Ukraine aid package
Hungarian leader fuels EU outrage with veto on $103bn Ukraine aid, citing pipeline dispute amid tense election campaign.
Al Jazeera
1 hour ago
Tropical Cyclone Narelle to make landfall in far north Qld on Friday as category 5 storm, bringing 315km/h wind gusts
Massive storm tracking a path to Queensland coast, which intensified offshore Thursday morning to category 5, fuelled by warm waters in Coral SeaCyclone Narelle path tracker mapGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastSevere Tropical Cyclone Narelle is expected to make landfall in far north Queensland on Friday morning as a monster category 5 storm, bringing destructive wind gusts of 315km/h, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.The severe cyclone rapidly intensified over the past 48 hours and on Thursday morning had built to a category 5 storm that was barrelling west, sitting about 355km east of the small town of Coen. Coen has a population of approximately 330. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 hour ago
Japan PM to hold 'difficult' talks with Trump as Iran conflict looms large
It comes days after Trump criticised Japan for not answering his demands for help in the Strait of Hormuz.
Bbc.com
1 hour ago
Are Iran’s athletes political pawns?
Samantha Johnson looks at how Iran’s women footballers became caught in the middle of geopolitics.
Al Jazeera
1 hour ago
Gabbard says Pakistan missiles a future threat to US, but experts push back
The US raises concerns but analysts say Pakistan’s missile programme focuses on India, which has longer-range missiles.
Al Jazeera
1 hour ago
Three Palestinian women killed as missile debris hits West Bank beauty salon
They were killed when shrapnel landed in Beit Awwa, while a Thai worked was also killed by shrapnel falling in Israel.
Bbc.com
1 hour ago
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