Starmer-Xi meeting live: UK prime minister says he wants ‘more sophisticated’ relationship with China
Starmer tells Xi Jinping during Beijing meeting that it has been ‘too long’ since a British PM has visited China.Full report: Xi says he hopes China and UK can ‘rise above differences’For more context on today’s Starmer-Xi meeting, China is the world’s second-biggest economy and Britain’s third-largest trading partner – to which it exports £45bn of goods and services a year – so it is no surprise the UK has turned to Beijing in its search for economic reliability.As the Guardian’s political editor Pippa Crerar reported earlier today, the UK does not rank among the top 10 of China’s trading partners but the Beijing leadership has spied a political opportunity to improve links with one of Washington’s closest allies at a time of deep uncertainty in the transatlantic alliance. Continue reading...
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Santander closing further 44 branches as it gears up for £2.6bn takeover of TSB
Closure of one in eight sites puts almost 300 branch-based workers’ jobs at risk• Business live – latest updatesSantander is closing another 44 of its UK bank branches, putting nearly 300 jobs at risk as it gears up for its £2.6bn takeover of rival TSB.The Spanish-owned lender said the closures were due to a rise in digital banking after a push to get more customers using mobile and online services across the country.Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland (28 April)Boston, Lincolnshire (28 April)Evesham, Worcestershire (28 April)Mold, Clwyd (28 April)Ramsgate, Kent (28 April)Woking, Surrey (28 April)Bangor, County Down (29 April)Bridgwater, Somerset (29 April)Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire (29 April)Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire (29 April)Newbury, Berkshire (29 April)Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire (29 April)Tonbridge, Kent (29 April)Bishop Auckland, County Durham (5 May)Gosport, Hampshire (5 May)Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire (5 May)Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire (5 May)Pontefract, West Yorkshire (5 May)Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire (5 May)Glengormley, County Antrim (6 May)Leyland, Lancashire (6 May)Mansfield, Nottinghamshire (6 May)Merthyr Tydfil, Mid Glamorgan (6 May)Northallerton, North Yorkshire (6 May)Ringwood, Hampshire (6 May)Andover, Hampshire 12 May)Bridgend, Mid Glamorgan (12 May)Enniskillen, County Fermanagh (12 May)Macclesfield, Cheshire (12 May)Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire (12 May)Cwmbran, Gwent (13 May)Golders Green, north London (13 May)Heswall, Merseyside (13 May)Redditch, Worcestershire (13 May)Stranraer, Wigtownshire (13 May)Newton Abbot, Devon (19 May)Stafford, Staffordshire (19 May)Banbridge, County Down (19 May)Liskeard, Cornwall (20 May)Shirley, West Midlands (20 May)Leighton Buzzard, BedfordshireOrmskirk, LancashireWhitehaven, CumbriaWilmslow, Cheshire Continue reading...
Universal basic income could be used to soften hit from AI job losses in UK, minister says
Lord Stockwood says people in government ‘definitely’ talking about idea as technology disrupts industries• Business live – latest updatesThe UK could introduce a universal basic income (UBI) to protect workers in industries that are being disrupted by AI, the investment minister Jason Stockwood has said.“Bumpy” changes to society caused by the introduction of the technology would mean there would have to be “some sort of concessionary arrangement with jobs that go immediately”, Lord Stockwood said. Continue reading...
Watch: CCTV captures moment mayor hit in rocket launcher attack in the Philippines
A mayor in the Philippines has survived a rocket launcher attack on his vehicle in broad daylight.
Watch: CCTV captures moment mayor hit in rocket launcher attack in the Philippines
A mayor in the Philippines has survived a rocket launcher attack on his vehicle in broad daylight.
Russia ‘trying to bomb and freeze’ Ukrainians to submission, EU’s foreign policy chief warns – Europe live
Kaja Kallas also played down the idea of ‘a European army’ saying that it remained to be a domain for national authoritiesin BrusselsSeparately, the EU is expected to list Iran’s revolutionary guard as a terrorist organisation, in a sign of deepening international condemnation of the regime’s brutal repression of protesters. Continue reading...
Gunfire and blasts heard at airport in Niger with planes hit – reports
Source says two aircraft on ground ‘destroyed’ although authorities yet to comment on situationGunfire and loud blasts have been heard at the main airport in the Nigerien capital of Niamey according to Reuters news agency and an independent source.The apparent explosions were reported just after midnight, a witness told Reuters. The airport is next to Base Aérienne 101, a military base previously used by American and then Russian troops. Continue reading...
Netanyahu Vows to Cut Israel’s Reliance on U.S. Military Aid
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed some soldiers’ deaths in the Gaza war on a lack of ammunition caused by a pause in American weapon deliveries during President Biden’s term.
Senegal and Morocco fined and players banned after African Cup final chaos
Africa's soccer body issued fines worth more than $1 million and banned Senegal's coach and Senegalese and Morocco players Wednesday following a shambolic African Cup soccer final this month.
Border agents involved in fatal shooting of Alex Pretti placed on leave
As Trump and the Minneapolis Mayor spar over social media on immigration law enforcement, the US continues to be roiled by the killing of nurse Alex Pretti.