26 h. ago UK sent Israel thousands of military items despite export ban, study finds

Trade data analysis shows British firms have exported items including munitions since suspension of key licencesUK firms have exported thousands of military items including munitions to Israel despite the government suspending key arms export licences to the country in September, new analysis of trade data shows. The research also raises questions over whether the UK continued to sell F-35 parts directly to Israel in breach of an undertaking only to sell them to the US manufacturers Lockheed Martin as a way of ensuring the fighter jet’s global supply chain was not disrupted, something the government said was essential for national security and Nato. The findings have led the former Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell to call for a full investigation, adding it was a resigning matter if the foreign secretary, David Lammy, was shown to have misled parliament in breach of the ministerial code when he told MPs in September that much of what the UK sends to Israel was “defensive in n...

Events

56 h. ago The Guardian view on Trump’s shock therapy: warehouse and transport workers are the first victims of a class war | Editorial

Behind the slogans and tariffs lies a calculated strategy – fuelled by elite interests, eroding labour rights and stoking global recessionThe White House, eager to win a trade war it barely understands, has yanked the emergency brake on China-US trade without checking who’s inside the vehicle. Donald Trump’s early April trade decree has taken a month to hit the economy – that’s how long Chinese containers need to reach Los Angeles. And on cue, US pacific ports registered a 45% drop in container bookings this week from China. When warehouses fall quiet and trucks idle in California, the silence will creep eastward. Unemployment will surely tick upwards.Even if Washington reverses course by the end of May, and Beijing plays nice, the best-case scenario is delayed damage. Some goods are being rerouted to avoid charges, but you can’t reboot global logistics overnight. This isn’t strategic decoupling – it’s economic self-harm. By the time the Trump administration notices, it will be too ...

Events

6 d. ago Lazarus Lake, the ‘Leonardo da Vinci of pain’ behind the world’s cruelest race

In an extract from his new book, Jared Beasley introduces the eccentric figure behind the Barkley Marathons, where runners are terrified and tested in equal measureFor over a century, Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary was the end of the line. Built in the shape of a Greek cross, the pale limestone structure had housed the worst of the worst – murderers, madmen, monsters – its bulk hunched beneath a crown of scarred mountains the guards called the fifth wall.Now it sits empty – cracking and molding and dying. But each spring around April Fool’s, on a cold, crisp day like today, a retired accountant appears at its gate. He carries a book with an ominous title and plants it against the back wall. Then sometime between midnight and noon the next day, he lights a cigarette, and the world’s most grueling footrace begins. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Holidaymakers warned of 10 food items you can no longer bring back from France

France is a favourite holiday hotspot for UK holidaymakers particularly if you have a motorhome but you need to be aware of a new government ban on food exports

Events

7 d. ago Asian shares rise after gains on Wall Street as corporate profits pile higher

Shares are mixed in Asia after U.S. stocks rose again as companies reported stronger-than-expected profits

Economics

8 d. ago Asian American veterans share emotional stories 50 years after Vietnam war: ‘Looking like the enemy’

In one video, a former marine describes how a sergeant hit him on his first night in Vietnam because he assumed he was Vietnamese

Events

8 d. ago Asian American veterans share emotional stories 50 years after Vietnam War

Five decades after the end of the U.S.-led war in Vietnam, Asian American and Pacific Islander veterans are reflecting on the life-changing ordeal that was at time made more complicated by their race

Events

8 d. ago Asian shares advance after a quiet day on Wall St, despite tough talk on tariffs

Asian shares are mostly higher after U.S. stocks drifted to a mixed, quiet finish ahead of a busy week of corporate earnings and economic data

Politics

9 d. ago Asian shares inch higher as uncertainty over US tariffs persists

Asian markets have inched higher as investors wait to see what comes of negotiations over U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs

Politics

2 w. ago Asian shares jump on hopes tariff war may subside and Trump won't fire Federal Reserve chief

Asian shares are mostly higher, with markets showing relief after President Donald Trump indicated he won’t dismiss the head of the U.S. Federal Reserve

Events

2 w. ago Asian shares trade mixed amid investor worries after Wall Street tumble

Asian shares are trading mixed amid global skepticism about U.S. investments and President Donald Trump’s trade war

Economics

2 w. ago Asian markets are mixed as US tech companies are due to release earnings

Asian shares are mixed following the Easter weekend holiday, with some markets still closed

Economics

2 w. ago Asian markets are mostly higher as Wall Street is stuck in trade war doldrums

Asian shares are mostly higher after a bumpy ride on Wall Street

Events

2 w. ago Asian shares mark moderate gains in the face of anxiety over Trump's trade war

Asian shares are mostly higher despite continued fretting over President Donald Trump’s trade war, with all eyes on the negotiations that just began between the administration and Japan

Politics

3 w. ago US stocks drop after Nvidia warns over hit from controls on China exports

London’s FTSE was retreating during the day, but made headway later in the afternoon following gains from mining and energy stocks.

Events

3 w. ago Tech stocks sink after Nvidia reveals hit from US curbs on sales to China

Chipmaker leads declines as Wall Street sell-off reignites

Events

3 w. ago Nvidia hit with $5.5bn charge after promising half a trillion US investment

The world’s biggest chipmaker and AI leader is set to invest heavily in the States across the coming years

Economics

3 w. ago Nvidia expects to take $5.5bn hit as US tightens AI chip export rules to China

Shares plunge as firm says H20 chip, designed for Chinese market to comply with controls, will now need special licenceNvidia has said it expects a $5.5bn (£4.1bn) hit after Donald Trump’s administration barred the chip designer from selling crucial artificial intelligence chips in China, sending shares in one of the US’s most valuable companies plunging in after-hours trading.The company said in an official filing late on Tuesday that its H20 AI chip, which was designed specifically for the Chinese market to comply with export controls, would now require a special licence to sell there for the “indefinite future”. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Asian shares sell off as US curbs on Nvidia chip sales to China fuel trade fears; UK inflation slows to 2.6% – business live

Gold surges nearly 2% to new record high; UK food inflation slows and fuel prices fall while clothes prices riseFinancial markets are betting on an interest rate cut from the Bank of England meeting at its May meeting, estimating an 86% probability.They have fully priced in three quarter-point rate reductions this year.A sharp pickup in inflation from April is all but guaranteed. Ofgem’s 6.4% increase to its price cap, after a large fall last year, means we expect the energy component will add 0.7ppts to CPI inflation in April. A significant increase in water bills means the contribution from the core goods category is also set to rise. In addition, we expect businesses to pass on some of the increase in labour costs caused by the recent rises in employers’ National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and the National Living Wage onto consumers. Inflation is likely to peak in the autumn, before starting to cool as the contribution from the energy category fades.The MPC has lowered Bank R...

Economics

3 w. ago Asian shares fall after a quiet day on Wall St, but Nvidia hit by US ban on exporting AI chip

Markets are mostly lower in Asia after a rare quiet day for financial markets worldwide

Events