business 
A divided US supreme court has rejected the Trump administration’s request to continue freezing nearly $2bn in foreign aid, marking a setback for the White House and the tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has been tasked with slashing the size of the US government and its spending. In a 5-4 decision released on Wednesday, Chief … Read more
The EU’s ambassador to China has urged Beijing to stop building coal-fired power plants, saying that its rapid approval of new projects was increasingly at odds with its green ambitions. Speaking at an EU-hosted event in Beijing, Jorge Toledo said the war in Ukraine had underlined the need for energy security, but that the EU … Read more
The Barclays chair Nigel Higgins’s assurances that Jes Staley had “no particular relationship” with Jeffrey Epstein, days after the child sex offender’s death in 2019, convinced the City regulator that there was no reason to investigate the bank’s chief executive, a court has heard. Jonathan Davidson, a former director of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), … Read more
Beavers have been legally released for the first time into England’s rivers. Conservationists are celebrating, as they say the large rodents will help heal broken ecosystems and bring wildlife back to wetland habitats. When did beavers last live wild in the UK at scale and why did they become extinct? The Eurasian beaver is native … Read more
Israel’s internal security agency, Shin Bet, has said Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies were among the underlying causes of the devastating 7 October 2023 attack in which Hamas and other militants killed 1,200 Israelis. In its report on the 7 October attack, Shin Bet acknowledged its own responsibility, admitting it was aware of warning signs that Hamas … Read more
An Oregon legislator has moved to ban the use of leaded fuel at a racetrack in Portland, following community outcry and a Guardian investigation. Leaded fuel has been banned for use in regular automobiles for decades, due to the toxic and irreversible impact of lead on the human brain and body as particles are emitted … Read more
Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino has accused his US counterpart Donald Trump of “lying” about Washington taking back the Panama canal. “Once again, President Trump is lying. The Panama Canal is not in the process of recovery,” Mulino wrote on X. “I reject, on behalf of Panama and all Panamanians, this new affront to the … Read more
Donald Trump is weighing plans to water down sweeping US tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, according to a senior official, one day after an economic strike on the US’s two biggest trading partners sparked warnings of price increases and disruption. The US president extended his aggressive trade strategy at midnight on Tuesday by … Read more
The Co-op has admitted to more than 100 breaches of a rule that prevents supermarkets blocking rivals from opening competing shops nearby. The UK competition watchdog said the substantial number of breaches by the mutual, which has nearly 2,400 stores, represented “a significant failure of compliance for a business of Co-op’s size”. The Co-op, which … Read more
Cavill Mall – that unashamedly garish stretch of fast-food joints, fashion outlets and assorted tourist traps in central Surfers Paradise – should have been pumping this week. Thousands of people had flown in to see US rock band Green Day last night, and the Gold Coast Suns were due to host the opening game of … Read more