40 m. ago Deutsche Bank boss calls for ‘fundamental reforms’ from next government, as German business confidence stagnates – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as euro rallies and DAX and MDAX indices rise in early tradingGerman election live: Merz says priority is to make Europe independent from US on defence as coalition talks to beginShares in some European weapons makers are rising in early trading too.German tank maker Rheinmetall jumped 3% at the start of trading, while in London BAE Systems are up 1.7%.‘’A dose of more certainty has been injected into European politics, with the Germany’s Conservatives winning the elections. It comes at a crucial time for the continent. Three years on from the invasion of Ukraine, high stakes deal making between the US and Russia continues, Ukraine is out in the cold and the outcome will have huge implications for security in Europe.There is a dawning realisation that European nations will have to pull together and present a more united deterrent force, and Friedrich Merz, the CDU leader, is reading from that script. He has pledged to relax...

Economics

42 m. ago Why hens have become an unlikely ally in restoring olive groves

Retired hens have found a new calling: fertilising olive groves in Cyprus.

Politics

49 m. ago Campaign for Scottish bowls champion to be recognised by prestigious award

Harriet Cross has called on the BBC to recognise the achievements of Jason Banks

Events

53 m. ago ‘Manic screwball energy’: why The Paper is my feelgood movie

The Paper, Ron Howard’s underappreciated 1994 comedy drama, is latest in our series in which writers highlight their favourite comfort filmsI can’t claim to like many Ron Howard films. And probably few of his devoted fans count The Paper, the director’s 1994 comedy-drama about a day in the life of a New York tabloid, among their favourites. It is, at best, a three-star film, which received mixed reviews and has faded from memory – but it’s also a perfect mid-range movie featuring adults. The much-lamented genre of not very serious but not stupid, well-crafted films in the non-spandex-or-franchise cinematic universe.This, to me, is the essence of a feelgood film: it’s a crisp 112 minutes, it doesn’t strain for awards or grandeur, it has drama and humour, and fine actors you recognise. Perhaps previously it would have simply been called middlebrow. Sometimes that’s just what you need. Continue reading...

Politics

55 m. ago Incendiary device explodes outside Russian consulate in Marseille

No injuries reported after incident on Monday, which marks third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of UkraineRussia-Ukraine war – latest news updatesAn incendiary device exploded outside the Russian consulate in Marseille early on Monday, authorities said, on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. No injuries were reported.A second device was thrown but did not explode, and a bomb disposal expert was called to the scene. Continue reading...

Politics

92 m. ago Justin Bieber shuts down fears about his health after fan speculation

Representative called rumours ‘exhausting and painful’

Politics

1 hour ago Starmer braces for stormy showdown with Trump as he puts on united front with Zelensky in call to mark 3rd anniversary of Russian invasion

As he braces for a potentially stormy showdown with Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday, Keir Starmer will join a group call and confirm fresh sanctions against Putin's cronies.

Events

1 hour ago UN ‘gravely concerned by rising violence’ in West Bank; Gaza ceasefire in doubt as first phase nears end – Middle East crisis live

Israeli tanks in West Bank for first time in more than two decades amid tensions over ceasefire agreement with HamasThe UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, has been speaking at the UN human rights council in Geneva.“I am gravely concerned by the rising violence in the occupied West Bank by Israeli settlers and other violations, as well as calls for annexation,” Guterres said, as he urged for the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel to remain intact.The ministry of foreign affairs and expatriates warns of the Israeli occupation army’s deployment of heavy tanks around Jenin, viewing it as a prelude to expanding its crimes against the Palestinian people – particularly in the northern West Bank and its refugee camps. This escalation comes as Israeli ‘defence’ minister Israel Katz boasts that the Israeli occupation army will prevent displaced Palestinians from returning to their homes and has ordered an extended military presence in the area. Israeli occupation forces have al...

Events

1 hour ago Trump reveals what he really thinks about outraged reaction to Elon Musk's email asking federal workers to account for their time

Trump called for Musk to be more aggressive in his cost-cutting crusade and posted a meme on social media mocking federal employees who "cried about Trump and Elon."

Politics

1 hour ago In brief: My Favourite Mistake; Homeseeking; The Meteorites: Encounters With Outer Space and Deep Time – review

Marian Keyes’s engaging tale of fresh starts and old flames; a kaleidoscopic family drama spanning six decades; and an absorbing study of ancient rocks from spaceMarian KeyesPenguin, £9.99, pp624 (paperback) Continue reading...

Politics

1 hour ago The Baldwins review – Alec’s dreadful reality show is a new low for TV

This fly-on-the-wall series about the actor’s family in the lead up to the Rust trial feels in extremely poor taste. It’s entirely unnecessary television that makes the actor and his wife look dreadfulI think there are two options here that will allow ourselves to continue our lives without collapsing into total despair. The first is that a secret cell of revolutionary communists has successfully infiltrated the commissioning corridors of the Discovery channel and created its new reality show The Baldwins as a weapon to bring down western capitalism. It stars Alec and Hilaria Baldwin, their seven children and eight pets as they negotiate their chaotic family life split between their Manhattan apartment and East Hampton summer home, with two nannies and a lot of talk about love and “choosing to grow” through problems. Within 20 minutes or so I expect most of us will be prepared to man the barricades.The second is that The Baldwins is actually a covert addition to the Tina Fey univers...

Culture

2 h. ago Badenoch calls for investigation into BBC show featuring Hamas official’s son

The Conservative leader has written to the public broadcaster calling for a probe into the commissioning of Gaza: How to Survive A Warzone.

Politics

2 h. ago New call for £100 monthly winter heating payment for people over 60

An online petition proposes the £100 payment should be made monthly between October and January.

Economics

2 h. ago Fairer access to mortgages and pensions for entrepreneurs could boost UK economy

The Federation of Small Businesses called for the mortgage application process to be simplified for self-employed people, among other measures

Economics

2 h. ago Germany: Merz calls for European ‘independence’ from US after Conservatives win election – Europe live

Donald Trump has made it clear he is ‘fairly indifferent to Europe’s fate’, says CDU leader who plans to form a coalition by EasterGerman election 2025: results in fullGuten Morgen aus Berlin,In November 2019, Freidrich Merz joined a conference of German students at Harvard.From our point of view it can get going very, very quickly. We should hold the first talks this week already, in the coming days.My impression is that there are many people in the SPD who also see that we can and should do something together, and then we will find compromises. Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago Theory & Practice by Michelle de Kretser review – shame, desire and the ghost of Virginia Woolf

A vivid outback tale, an anguished 80s love triangle and real life are cleverly held in play in the Australian novelist’s inventive memoir-novel-essay hybridThis book starts as an evocative, shifting novel of time and place: a young man travelling in Switzerland, distracted by thoughts of a beautiful music teacher he met in London, recalls how, in his Australian childhood, he was evacuated to live with his grandparents at a sheep station in New South Wales in the second world war. There follows a brief story of how the boy that he was pocketed an emerald ring owned by his grandmother and chucked it away in the nearby woods. The shame did not end there. A young Aboriginal maid was blamed for the theft, and he did not have the courage to step in to save her from dismissal.Just as you are losing yourself in this immersive little story, however, its author, Michelle de Kretser, steps in to inform you that “at this point, the novel I was writing stalled”. She goes on to explain how that ...

Politics

2 h. ago When my sister died, it wasn’t just her own childhood memories that disappeared. Mine did too | Jason Hazeley

Millie had fantastic recall, unlike mine. Now there are parts of my past – and myself – that I’ll never be able to rememberI was midway through Kathryn Mannix’s With the End in Mind when it happened. It’s a comforting book – the author is a palliative care consultant – that describes the basics of a good death: a diminuendo. The mind fades. The breath slows. Inevitably, gently, life stops.And then I got the call: my sister Millie had died. Her death, at the age of 47, was sudden and unexpected. She was my only sibling – four years younger than me. I put the book down. I’ll probably never finish it.Jason Hazeley is a comedy writer who is partly responsible for TV untellectual Philomena Cunk Continue reading...

Events

3 h. ago Germany’s Friedrich Merz takes swipe at Trump and calls for ‘independence from the USA’

Germany’s likely next chancellor has also questioned whether NATO will continue to exist

Politics

3 h. ago Hero yoga teacher reveals desperate attempts to save children from Southport attacker despite being stabbed five times

Speaking publicly for the first time since the massacre Leanne Lucas described helping young girls flee to safety and calling 999 as child killer Axel Rudakubana chased after them.

Society

3 h. ago Donald Trump's government facing 'massive collapse' in just 30 days

Donald Trump has sparked controversy early into his second term after calling for the annexation of multiple countries and territories as well as his comments regarding Ukraine

Politics