49 m. ago France and Germany avoid recession as eurozone growth accelerates; Taiwan’s GDP boosted by pre

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, including growth figures from across EuropeUK house prices fall but market ‘likely to pick up’ during summerChina manufacturing activity plummets amid Trump tariff warFrance’s economy is likely to “flirt with stagnation” throughout the year, despite the small rebound in GDP in the last quarter, predicts Dutch bank ING.Charlotte de Montpellier, ING’s senior economist for France and Switzerland, explains:The additional customs duties in the US and their direct and indirect impact will delay the French economy’s rebound. We estimate that the direct effect of a permanent 10% import duty in the US on French GDP (via a reduction in exports) will be around -0.1%.Adding to this are the effects of uncertainty, the global economic slowdown and more restrictive fiscal policy, all of which will weigh on French economic activity throughout the year. The cooling in the labour market is likely to limit the recovery in household consumptio...

Politics

51 m. ago Swedish 'war bridge' put to new use to help with Galloway Forest harvesting

The former army bridge has been split into two and installed at Loch Trool and Penningham.

Events

62 m. ago Europe saw stronger growth at start of year, but Trump's tariffs have darkened outlook

Europe’s economy has grown more strongly in the first three months of the year only to see hopes for an ongoing recovery quickly squelched by U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war

Politics

65 m. ago Scientists hope sequencing genome of tiny ‘functionally extinct’ frog could help save it

Corroboree frog belongs to 100m-year-old family of amphibians but is now found only in the puddles and peat bogs of Kosciuszko national parkScientists have sequenced the genome of the critically endangered southern corroboree frog – one of Australia’s most threatened amphibians – in hope that the information could be used to aid its recovery.The striking alpine frog, which has distinctive yellow and black markings, is so threatened by disease and the drying of its habitat due to climate change, that it is considered “functionally extinct”. The species survives in the temporary pools and peat bogs of Kosciuszko national park in New South Wales, with the help of zoo breeding and re-introduction programs. Continue reading...

Politics

66 m. ago Celebrity Big Brother's JoJo Siwa teases UK return and tells co

She admitted to missing one of her Celebrity Big Brother co-stars following her US return - but it wasn't her 'soulmate friend' Chris Hughes

Politics

67 m. ago Vick Hope hints at pregnancy with DJ Calvin Harris in subtle social media post

Vick Hope has hinted on social media that her and husband Calvin Harris may be expecting their first child together as the radio presenter uploaded photos onto social media

Politics

69 m. ago Ghanaian asylum seeker wins right to remain in UK because he is too traumatised by getting Covid to return to his home country

Winfred Kwabla Dogbey was diagnosed with PTSD after he was hospitalised with the virus in 2020, where he suffered an extreme version of the illness with multiple organ failure.

Events

70 m. ago Putin mouthpieces declare 'British blood must be spilled' in terrifying WW3 threat after Kremlin accuses Britain of supplying explosives that killed top general

Vladimir Putin's propagandists have declared that British blood 'must be spilled' in a haunting World War III threat

Events

70 m. ago Inside Taganrog: beatings, electrocution and starvation at prison where Ukrainians were tortured

Russia is holding an estimated 16,000 civilians in arbitrary detention at 180 separate facilities. Taganrog was the most notorious.Some weeks after being detained as she attempted to leave a Russian-occupied part of Ukraine in January 2023, Yelyzaveta Shylyk was given a polygraph test. As her interrogators attached the lie detector’s wires to her, they calmly issued a threat about what would happen if she failed the test: “You’ll go to a place where you’ll regret being born.”That place, she would later find out, had a name: Sizo number 2, a pre-trial detention centre in the southern Russian city of Taganrog. Continue reading...

Events

71 m. ago Excited Rory McIlroy to duel with Bob MacIntyre again as Masters champion licks his lips at Home of Golf return

The newly-crowned Masters champion is ready for The Renaissance and a crack at a second title in East Lothian

Sport

73 m. ago Jenson Button and wife don't ever want to return to UK as emotional statement issued

After the wife of British F1 hero Jenson Button opened up about their heartbreaking ordeal in London, the couple have no interest in ever returning to the UK

Politics

75 m. ago Women set to outperform men in these athletic sports, study finds

Under extreme conditions, women seem to exhibit greater metabolic efficiency, scientists say

Politics

78 m. ago Vietnam celebrates 50th anniversary of end of war: ‘Now it’s time for peace’

About 13,000 people, including troops, militias, veterans, and local citizens take part in parade

Events

79 m. ago Elon Musk is leaving Trump. Or is he? What’s next for DOGE’s ‘authoritarian’ wrecking ball

The world’s wealthiest man is ‘significantly’ stepping back from the White House, but the cost-cutting force isn’t going anywhere, Alex Woodward reports

Politics

81 m. ago Vick Hope continues to tease pregnancy with DJ husband Calvin Harris as she admits there's been 'lots going on lately'

Vick Hope has continued to tease her pregnancy with a new Instagram post.   

Politics

92 m. ago Arsenal can still mount PSG comeback and the route is obvious

Arsenal find themselves behind entering the second leg of their Champions League semi-final, but Mikel Arteta can find joy in Paris through one key area

Politics

92 m. ago Spanish PM calls on private energy firms to help find cause of massive power cut

Pedro Sánchez says changes needed to guarantee ‘supply and future competitiveness’ of electricity after blackout Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has called on private energy operators to help his government establish the cause of Monday’s unprecedented power cut across the Iberian peninsula, and said changes and improvements must be made to guarantee “the supply and future competitiveness” of the country’s electrical system.Spain and Portugal suffered a massive power loss that began just after 12.30pm on Monday and lasted into the night. At least five people are thought to have died in Spain as a result of the blackout, which left people trapped on paralysed trains and in the static lifts of apartment blocks and offices. Continue reading...

Economics

96 m. ago Three astronauts return to Earth after six months on space station

The astronauts, Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze, were launched to the Tiangong space station in October

Technology

99 m. ago Ukraine rescuers battle Kharkiv fires after Russian overnight drone strike

Emergency services tackled huge fires in Kharkiv following overnight Russian drone strikes on Tuesday, 29 April.

Events

1 hour ago Labour Civil war over Net Zero as Tony Blair attacks 'irrational' green power push championed by Ed Miliband

In a thinly veiled swipe at the Energy Secretary, the former Labour prime minister said Western political leaders fear admitting that the current approach 'isn't working'.

Events