6 hours ago December 2024 benefit and pension payment dates: what to expect this month

With inflation rising and household bills hitting all-time highs, here is an overview of the financial support available to many this December

Economics

7 hours ago Barclays fined £40m for ‘reckless’ Qatari deals during 2008 financial crash

The bank had been due to challenge the case brought by the Financial Conduct Authority in court this week.

Economics

16 hours ago As Cop29 wraps up and the climate crisis gathers pace, Australia’s dash for gas is confounding | Bill Hare

Nearly all observers believe Chris Bowen is strongly committed to action. Most agree that can’t be said for his partyCop29 in Baku has concluded but its outcome is disappointing – in many dimensions. Its decisions on finance – agreeing that the developed world would provide US$300bn a year by 2035 – come nowhere close to what’s needed. Ultimately, it may even be poisonous because of its lack of ambition and muddled scope – it does not even cover loss and damage.Baku saw little sense of urgency or increased climate action, despite the universal message from scientific studies, including the Climate Action Tracker. Our global update this year found that in the last three years there’s been virtually no improvement in either action on the ground, nor ambition to take action in the future. ...

Society

18 hours ago Cop29 climate deal worth £240BILLION is finally struck but excludes China

Developed countries including the UK, US and EU nations agreed to pay $300billion (£239billion) a year - up from the $100billion they pay now.

Economics

19 hours ago Vladimir Putin's new law wipes out £76k of debt for every Russian fighting in Ukraine

Russian president Vladimir Putin has introduced a new law which would wipe out the debts of young conscripts singing up to fight in Ukraine, with the one-year contract cancelling debts of up to £76k

Economics

21 hours ago World's luckiest man who won $2bn on lottery makes 'the worst financial mistakes'

Edwin Castro, 31, became the world's richest lottery winner when he bagged a record-breaking $2.04billion Powerball jackpot – but financial experts claim he's making some rookie errors

Economics

25 hours ago Middle East crisis live: Israeli airstrike on Lebanon kills at least one Lebanese soldier and injures 18 others

Lebanese military says strike took place in southwestern Lebanon on coastal road between Tyre and Naqoura while Israeli military says strike is under reviewSpeaking at the news conference in Beirut, Josep Borell also urged Lebanese leaders to pick a president to end a two-year power vacuum in the country, and he pledged €200m (£166m) in support for Lebanon’s armed forces.The EU’s outgoing foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has called for pressure to be exerted on both the Israeli government and on Hezbollah to accept a US ceasefire proposal. Continue reading...

Events

25 hours ago Cop29 climate finance deal criticised as ‘travesty of justice’ and ‘stage

Some countries say deal should not have been done and is ‘abysmally poor’ compared with what is neededThe climate finance deal agreed at Cop29 is a “travesty of justice” that should not have been adopted, some countries’ negotiators have said.The climate conference came to a dramatic close early on Sunday morning when negotiators struck an agreement to triple the flow of climate finance to poorer countries. Continue reading...

Society

25 hours ago Zelenskyy fears Ukraine is ‘testing ground’ for Russian weapons amid rise in Shahed strikes

Kremlin has fired 500 drones over the border in the past week and set up two factories to make ‘hundreds a week’Ukraine’s president said the country had been targeted by nearly 500 drones in the past week as well as more than 20 missiles and complained that Russia is using the country as “a testing ground” for its munitions.Though Russia’s first ever use of the Oreshnik intermediate range ballistic missile on Dnipro on Thursday captured global attention, on Sunday Volodymyr Zelenskyy highlighted the increased level of Shahed drone attacks. Continue reading...

Events

25 hours ago Cop29 finance deal 'a death sentence' and 'woefully inadequate', activists say

The 300 billion dollar (£239.5 billion) agreement, which is designed to help combat the impacts of global warming, was announced at the Cop29 conference in Baku, Azerbaijan

Economics