US banks have already pulled out of NZBA, the UN environment programme’s finance initiative Barclays has become the second UK bank to withdraw from a UN-backed net zero target-setting group, claiming that a wave of defections by international lenders meant it was no longer fit for purpose. It marks a...
UK services sector has biggest fall in orders for nearly three years
Figures add to pressure on Bank of England to cut interest rates when it meets on Thursday The UK’s dominant services sector has reported its biggest drop in new orders in almost three years in July, adding to pressure on the Bank of England to cut interest rates on Thursday....
Trump’s new tariffs – from India to Taiwan
The US president’s increased ‘reciprocal’ tariffs on dozens of countries came into effect at a minute past midnight Washington time on Thursday. “Reciprocal” tariffs ranging from 10% to 41% on imports into the US from dozens of countries have come into effect, as part of Donald Trump’s accelerating trade war....
New Trump tariffs come into effect
Donald Trump’s latest wave of ‘reciprocal’ levies were in place as of a minute past midnight Washington time on Thursday. Dozens of countries face higher taxes on their exports to the US now that Donald Trump’s latest wave of country-specific tariffs has come into force. The sweeping “reciprocal” levies announced...
US destruction of contraceptives denies 1.4m African women and girls lifesaving care
Incineration of $9.7m of contraceptives to lead to 174,000 unintended pregnancies and 56,000 unsafe abortions. A decision by the US government to incinerate more than $9.7m (£7.3m) of contraceptives is projected to result in 174,000 unintended pregnancies and 56,000 unsafe abortions in five African countries. More than three-quarters of the...
Carcinogens Detected in UK Ham
Study finds Wiltshire ham products sold by retailers such as Tesco and M&S contain highest level of nitrites. Ham and bacon sold by supermarkets including Tesco, and Marks and Spencer still contain cancer-causing chemicals almost 10 years after the World Health Organization warned about the dangers of their use in...
Bank of England poised to cut interest rates
The Bank of England is poised to cut interest rates on Thursday despite a growing divide between its policymakers over the dangers to the economy from high inflation and rising unemployment. In a development that will ease pressure on households and businesses, City forecasters expect the central bank to announce...
Ireland presses Haiti over orphanage kidnapping
An Irish missionary and three-year-old child are among eight people taken by gunmen who stormed the place. Ireland’s foreign ministry has called on Haitian authorities to ensure “everything is done” to secure the release of a group of people, including an Irish missionary and a three-year-old child, taken by gunmen...
FBI report disproves Trump’s claim of a Biden-era out-of-control crime wave
When Donald Trump fought for and won the 2024 presidential election, his victory was built partly on the false assertion that Democrats were responsible for an out-of-control crime wave in the US, with murders and rapes at record highs. Figures released by the FBI on Tuesday, however, confirm that the...
Man who lit cigarette from French war memorial flame faces legal action
A French minister has said she is taking legal action against an unidentified man who was filmed lighting a cigarette from a memorial flame at a major Paris war monument. The video of a man stooping to light a cigarette from the fire at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier...