North Korea: Kim Jong-un in China for ‘unannounced state visit’
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is believed to be in Beijing on an unannounced trip, in what would be his first foreign state visit since taking power in 2011, according to [...]
March 2018
Gambling Commission considers ban on credit card betting
The Gambling Commission is considering banning people from using their credit cards to place bets. The regulator said on Monday gambling on credit cards “increases the risk that consumers will gamble more than they can afford” and it would “consider prohibiting or restricting the use of credit cards” in order [...]
Police operation in Rio favela leaves at least eight people dead
A police operation in a Rio favela has left at least eight people dead amid allegations that some of the victims were innocent residents executed in a revenge mission after a police officer was killed there this week. Police said they were attacked by drug [...]
Fears mount for House of Fraser as it holds funding crisis talks
House of Fraser has held emergency funding talks with specialist lenders amid mounting fears for its future as retailers battle increasingly torrid trading conditions on the high [...]
Don’t mock the ‘hapless’ Brexiters – they are still pulling all the strings
It’s easy to laugh at Britain’s unpopular populists. Ukip is dead. Farage has been reduced to being a minor radio personality in Britain and a down-the-bill warm-up act in Trump country. As for the supposedly serious Brexiters, the Observer’s revelations will surely discredit the Vote Leave crew, assuming they [...]
US imposes sanctions on China, stoking fears of trade war
As the Trump administration slapped trade sanctions on China, including restrictions on investment and tariffs on $50bn worth of products, fears of a trade war [...]
Trump reveals $60bn of fresh tariffs on China as EU wins reprieve
Financial markets have taken fright after Donald Trump fired the latest shots in an escalating trade war between the world’s two biggest economies by announcing $60bn (£42.5bn) of further tariffs on [...]
Opinion The poison in politics runs deeper than dodgy data
During the 2016 presidential elections Bill Clinton believed his wife’s team had failed to learn one of the lessons of Brexit: working people felt alienated and there was an anti-establishment mood in the air. But his suggestions were politely acknowledged and then discreetly shelved by the number-crunchers in [...]
Bubbling up: why ‘craft’ sparkling water is being toasted by soft drink lovers
It’s getting to the point where buying a plastic bottle of still water marks you out as some kind of environmental vandal. But sparkling water? Somehow that’s different. That says you have good taste and care about “clean” drinking. Sparkling water in a can? You’re obviously health-conscious, fashionable and [...]
EU leaders accused of not protecting citizens’ rights in Brexit deal
Campaigners for the rights of British nationals and EU citizens after Brexit have criticised Donald Tusk and said the deal about to be signed in Brussels leaves them with a bleak [...]