Ukraine and Russia agree to prisoner swap as Putin announces ceasefire Politics Russia and Ukraine said on Saturday they had swapped hundreds of prisoners in the largest exchange since the Russian full-scale invasion started over three years ago. Russia’s ministry of defence said that 246 Russian service members were returned from territory controlled by Kyiv and that, “as a gesture of goodwill”, 31 wounded Ukrainian prisoners of [...]
High income households could pay more for electricity, Ofgem says Business High-earning households could be forced to front more of the cost for running and upgrading the UK’s energy network, Ofgem has said. Jonathan Brearley, the boss of the energy regulator, told a briefing on Tuesday that wealthier households may have to pay more via the standing charge on their energy bills, while those out of [...]
‘It’s existential’: Unpacking a looming tax scarier than the National Insurance hike Business For William Fugard, chief executive and co-founder of Gusto Organic, headaches caused by issues beyond his control are an occupational hazard. The terms on which the UK decided to leave the European Union meant that – in 2019 – the cost of exporting a pallet of his firm’s premium soft drinks went from £70 to [...]
Bank of England should be ‘more careful’ about rate cuts, say deputy governor April 10, 2025 A Bank of England rate-setter has said that policymakers need to be “more careful” about cutting rates after years of high inflation, adding that it was “too soon to say” whether President Trump’s tariffs will weigh on price growth in the UK. Sarah Breeden became the second official since Trump’s Rose Garden speech to take [...]
US tariffs: Reeves stresses ‘imperative’ to improve UK-EU trading relations April 9, 2025 Rachel Reeves has stressed it is “imperative” for the UK to improve its trading relationship with the European Union (EU), amid US President Donald Trump’s global trade tariff war. The Chancellor’s comments emerged in an interview with the Financial Times (FT) ahead of a crucial summit with EU leaders in London next month. Reeves told [...]
Aboard the real Orient Express train from Europe to the East April 9, 2025 It has always irked me that trains billed as the Orient Express, like the Venice-Simplon-Orient-Express, only go as far as Istanbul. Why evoke the romance of the Orient only to end the journey at the edge of Europe? It’s a disappointment, but more gallingly for anyone passionate about long-distance train travel, it’s also a missed [...]
British Steel: ‘All options on table’ over nationalising Scunthorpe, Starmer says April 8, 2025 The UK is keeping “all options on the table” over the potential nationalisation of the Chinese-owned British Steel plant in Scunthorpe, Sir Keir Starmer has said. The Prime Minister insisted he understood the importance of the plant, which is Britain’s last remaining steelmaker, in a Q&A with the House of Commons Liaison Committee, after its [...]
Fifa president Infantino ‘cheering’ for Russia’s return to football April 3, 2025 Fifa president Gianni Infantino wants Russia to return to world football as part of a peace pact with Ukraine, saying it is “what we have to cheer for”. Russia have effectively been barred from Fifa and Uefa club and national team competitions at all levels since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The US is [...]
UK to land Europe’s first rover on Mars March 29, 2025 Airbus UK has secured a £150m contract to engineer the landing platform for Europe’s first Mars rover. The Rosalind Franklin rover, which was built entirely in Stevenage, is scheduled to launch in 2028 and touch down on the red planet in 2030, marking a major milestone in European space exploration. The mission, led by European [...]
Interpol has a Russia problem March 27, 2025 The Kremlin is weaponising red notices to silence its enemies - and Interpol is tolerating it, write Ben Keith and Rhys Davies.