Former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte arrested in Manila after ICC warrant | Philippines

The former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has been taken into custody after the international criminal court issued a warrant for his arrest for his so-called “war on drugs”. The president’s office said Duterte was arrested on Tuesday morning at Manila airport after flying back from Hong Kong. “Early in the morning, Interpol Manila received the … Read more

Trump vows to take ‘hundreds of billions’ in tariffs as Australia’s hopes of getting exemption fades | Australian foreign policy

Australia’s chances of escaping America’s global steel and aluminium tariffs appear all but extinguished, with the US president reconfirming his commitment to a comprehensive tariff regime he argues will be “the greatest thing we’ve ever done as a country”. “We’re going to take in hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs, and we’re going to … Read more

RFK Jr directs FDA to revise ‘self-affirm’ rule to improve food ingredient safety | US politics

The US secretary of health and human services, Robert F Kennedy Jr, has directed the Food and Drug Administration to revise safety rules to help eliminate a provision that allows companies to self-affirm that food ingredients are safe. The move would increase transparency for consumers as well as the FDA’s oversight of food ingredients considered … Read more

Valentine’s Day proves a gift for UK retailers, as consumers hold back on big-ticket items | Retail industry

An increase in Valentine’s Day gift-buying brought relief for retailers last month amid February’s “grey days”, as consumers held back from spending on big-ticket items, according to industry figures. Jewellery purchases linked to Valentine’s Day were one of the highlights of an otherwise lacklustre month when sales inched ahead, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said. … Read more

Tories announce policy to deport all foreign nationals with criminal convictions | Immigration and asylum

All foreign nationals in the UK who receive a criminal conviction would be deported under a new Conservative party policy. The Tory plan would introduce an amendment to the government’s borders bill that would remove the current threshold, in which foreign criminals are only removed after being handed a prison sentence of one year. The … Read more

Michael Gove ‘wanted to circumvent watchdog’ to push through Dyson bid, Covid inquiry told | Covid inquiry

A health watchdog claimed that Michael Gove wanted to “circumvent” the regulatory process to push through a bid by James Dyson to supply NHS ventilators during the pandemic, the UK Covid-19 inquiry heard. Gove, who was the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (CDL), denied seeking to pressure the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency … Read more

US stocks register heavy falls as White House tries to talk up Trump tariffs | US economy

The US stock market continued to drop on Monday as the White House denied that Donald Trump’s trade policies were causing lasting chaos within the economy. The S&P 500 fell 2.7%, the Dow Jones dropped 2%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 4% as investors sold shares in the so-called “magnificent seven” – Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, … Read more