HMV has put its UK expansion on hold and is to open stores in Ireland and Belgium instead, because of rising wage costs announced in last autumn’s budget that begin next month. Phil Halliday, the managing director of the entertainment retailer, said it had hoped to open up to 10 more stores in the UK … Read more
The European Central Bank has cut interest rates across the 20-member eurozone for the second time this year to bolster economic activity, as Europe braces for Donald Trump to impose damaging tariffs on EU exports to the US. The Frankfurt-based rate setter cut its benchmark deposit rate by a quarter of a percentage point to … Read more
Israel’s military surveillance agency has used a vast collection of intercepted Palestinian communications to build a powerful artificial intelligence tool similar to ChatGPT that it hopes will transform its spying capabilities, an investigation by the Guardian can reveal. The joint investigation with Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and Hebrew-language outlet Local Call has found Unit 8200 … Read more
For the second time in 25 years, a lone figure takes to the stage, an oversized maple leaf flag rippling on a screen behind him as he approaches the microphone. His hair is perhaps a little greyer but the message remains the same: Canada will not cower to the United States. “They mistake our modesty … Read more
A woman has pleaded guilty to killing a newborn baby whose body was discovered in woodland in Warrington in 1998. The baby, subsequently named Callum, was found dead in a bin bag near Gulliver’s World theme park in Warrington on 14 March 1998 by a dog walker in a wooded area off Camp Road. Joanne … Read more
Good morning. China’s ministry of foreign affairs has warned that China will “fight to the end” against the US in a “tariff war, trade war or any other war”, in a stark escalation of rhetoric. The comments were made in response to Donald Trump introducing an extra 10% tariff on Chinese goods, taking the total … Read more
Hamas has accused Donald Trump of seeking to undermine the shaky pause in hostilities in Gaza with his latest intervention in the region: a new and fierce ultimatum telling the group to release all hostages. The militant Islamist organisation said Trump’s threats constituted support for attempts by the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to back … Read more
Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Opening summary … Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. I’m Tom Ambrose and will be bringing you all the latest news lines over the next few hours. We start with the news that president Donald Trump is expected … Read more
Good morning. Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, has been accused by a Labour peer and prominent KC of “Trumpism”. Perhaps that is not surprising. But, in an interview on the Today programme this morning, Helena Kennedy suggested that the accusation also applied to her Labour colleague, the justice secretary Shabana Mahmood. This is the … Read more
A member of the House of Lords offered to secure meetings with ministers for a potential commercial client who wanted to lobby the government, the Guardian can reveal. Richard Dannatt, a former head of the British army, was secretly filmed telling undercover reporters he could make introductions within the government and that he would “make … Read more