38 minutes ago UK politics live: Badenoch refuses to commit to reversing rise in employers’ national insurance in speech at CBI

Tory leader says she will not ‘comment on every bit of micro-policy’Q: Are you feeling the pressure? There is a petition signed by 2 million people calling for another election.Starmer says he is not surprised that people who did not support Labour in the first place want the election to be re-run. But that is not how the system worked.I’m not surprised, quite frankly, that as we’re doing the tough stuff, there are plenty of people who say, ‘Well, I’m impacted.’I think anybody who’s turned around an organisation or a business will tell you, and they’re right, if you’re really going to turn something around, you have to do the hard yards upfront. Don’t look at a tough decision and then leave it for a year or two.So we’re doing the tough stuff. But in the budget, which is probably the tou...

Politics

39 minutes ago UK politics live: McVitie’s boss says it’s hard to understand why businesses would invest in Britain

CBI chief Rain Newton-Smith said that business had been caught ‘off-guard’ by national insurance hikes

Economics

42 minutes ago Kate Middleton's Aspinal of London bag slashed by 20% in early Black Friday deal

The designer's sale has seen some bags lowered to half price and Reporter Laura McKenna happens to own two of them.

Politics

44 minutes ago Michael Caine divides opinion after sharing political petition: ‘This doesn’t surprise me’

The 91-year-old British actor, who has often voted Conservative, is not a fan of Keir Starmer

Politics

46 minutes ago Trump’s defense pick Pete Hegseth faces scrutiny over sexual assault claims and attacks on UN and Nato – US politics live

Hegseth comments on the Geneva conventions and new sexual misconduct allegations raise questions over suitability to lead PentagonTrump Pentagon pick urges US to ignore Geneva conventionsIn the last three days president-elect Donald Trump finished up making his major cabinet announcements.If you missed them, here is a quick roundup.Trump chose Brooke Rollins, president of the America First Policy Institute, to be agriculture secretary.Trump named Scott Bessent, a longtime hedge-fund investor who taught at Yale University for several years, to serve as Treasury secretary.Trump picked Russ Vought to lead the Office of Management and Budget. Vought was OMB chief during Trump’s previous term in office and has been deeply involved in Project 2025 in recent years.Trump announced Sebastian Gor...

Events

46 minutes ago Britain and France are 'not ruling out' sending troops to Ukraine as part of European coalition to support war effort amid fears Trump could pull US military aid to Kyiv, French report claims

Discussions on sending troops from Western armies and private defence companies have been 'reactivated', Le Monde reports, after Macron faced opposition over the suggestion.

Events

57 minutes ago Fury over Labour peer telling ministers to keep religious views out of assisted dying debate as MPs gear up for crunch vote on Friday

Charlie Falconer, an ally of Sir Keir Starmer , hit out after Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she would vote against proposed legislation on Friday.

Politics

61 minutes ago I'm glad we got a deal at Cop29 – but western nations stood in the way of a much better one | Mukhtar Babayev

My negotiating team tried in vain to push up support for the global south. Lessons must be learned before the next summit in BrazilMukhtar Babayev is president of the Cop29 UN climate change conferenceChina was willing to offer more in climate finance, says Cop29 presidentNine years after the Paris agreement, and after 11 months of multilateral diplomacy and two weeks of the most intense negotiations at Cop29 in Baku, we have a deal. Under the terms of the Baku breakthrough, the world’s industrialised nations will provide $300bn (£240bn), which, combined with resources from multilateral lending institutions and the private sector will reach $1.3tn in climate financing this year. Cop29 also finalised, after years of failed attempts, a global framework for international carbon markets tra...

Politics

61 minutes ago China was willing to offer more in climate finance, says Cop29 president

Azerbaijan’s Mukhtar Babayev criticises western countries for failing to provide enough money for developing worldMukhtar Babayev: I’m glad we got a deal at Cop29China would have offered more money to the poor world to tackle the climate crisis if western countries had not failed to show leadership, the president of the Cop29 UN climate summit has said.Cop29 ended early on Sunday morning after a marathon final negotiating session in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, with a deal on finance to developing countries that was widely attacked for being inadequate and a betrayal of trust. Continue reading...

Politics

61 minutes ago Mo matcha mo problem? How to get your green tea fix in a global matcha shortage

A surge in demand for the Japanese powdered green tea has led to concerns about a shortage. But there are alternativesGet our weekend culture and lifestyle email It’s “bold, green and attractive”, has boomed in popularity in Australia and on social media, and there are reports of a global shortage. But are we actually running low on matcha – and what are some alternatives to get your green tea hit?Megumi Kanaike, manager of Sydney tea shop Simply Native, says suppliers of the Japanese ground green tea powder have placed limits on orders. She attributes the reported shortage to an “unexpected worldwide boom” in the popularity of a tea that is only harvested once a year in Japan.Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday ...

Politics