UK business optimism at 18-month high on hopes for rate hike pause
British companies are their most confident since before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to a survey that also showed they planned to keep on raising prices and staff pay, ...
Palestinian trucker shot dead after killing Israeli soldier in ramming attack
A Palestinian truck driver killed an Israeli soldier in a ramming attack on a checkpoint on the boundary with the occupied West Bank on Thursday, and was shot dead during ...
Wallace confirms resignation as UK defence minister, Grant Schapps to replace him
Former energy minister Grant Shapps replaced Ben Wallace on Thursday as Britain’s defence minister, a promotion for a man relied upon by the government as a good media communicator ...
Spanish football boss’ mother taken to hospital after hunger strike
The mother of the Spanish Football Federation’s beleaguered chief Luis Rubiales who started a hunger strike in support of her son on Monday, was taken to a local hospital ...
Poland charters tankers used for Russian oil to import Arab crude
Polish refiner Orlen has in recent months chartered at least 10 tankers that previously shipped Russian oil to Asia to deliver Arab crude to its refineries in Lithuania and Poland on ...
Fire kills 73 in Johannesburg apartment block (Updated)
73 people were killed overnight when fire raged through a five-storey apartment block in a poor area of Johannesburg, officials said on Thursday, adding that some of the victims may have ...
Finland’s government agrees anti-racism policy to save coalition
Finland’s government, beset by racism controversies since taking office in June, has agreed on a common policy to combat intolerance, party leaders said late on Wednesday, preventing a collapse ...
Qatar Airways upbeat on Brazil, Latin America as it expands routes
Qatar Airways is optimistic about Brazil and the overall Latin American market as part of a global network expansion strategy on the heels of a World Cup-driven surge for its ...
US Senate’s McConnell freezes up for second time in public appearance
Top U.S. Senate Republican Mitch McConnell froze up for more than 30 seconds on Wednesday during a public appearance before he was escorted away, the second such incident in a ...
Gabon officers declare military coup, President Ali Bongo detained
Military officers in oil-producing Gabon said they had seized power on Wednesday, placing President Ali Bongo under house arrest and naming a new leader after the Central African state’s ...
UK inquiry into baby murders by nurse Lucy Letby given legal powers
An inquiry into the murder of seven newborn babies by British nurse Lucy Letby will have legal powers to compel witnesses to give evidence, the government said on Wednesday.
Letby ...
EU’s Borrell urges countries to order more ammunition for Ukraine
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell urged member countries on Wednesday to order more ammunition for Ukraine, as figures showed the bloc is a long way from a March target ...
Nearly half of Australian elite athletes living below poverty line
The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has urged the government to invest more money in sport after a survey of elite athletes found nearly half were living on incomes that placed ...
Archaeologists find ‘mystery’ ducts near biblical Jerusalem relics
An almost three millennia-old network of hewn-rock ducts unearthed in Jerusalem has baffled archaeologists, given the lack of comparable biblical finds, or obvious links to an ancient Jewish temple and ...
UK air traffic control meltdown fault won’t happen again – NATS
The air traffic control glitch which caused thousands of flight cancellations and delays into and out of Britain has been fixed and will not be repeated, the head of NATS, ...
England to rollout world-first seven-minute cancer treatment jab
Britain’s state-run national health service will be the first in the world to offer an injection that treats cancer to hundreds of patients in England which could cut treatment ...
Kremlin says Prigozhin plane may have been downed deliberately
The Kremlin said on Wednesday that investigators were considering the possibility that the plane carrying mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was downed on purpose, the first explicit acknowledgement that he may ...
Two killed in biggest Russian air strike on Ukrainian capital for months
Russia’s largest air strike on Kyiv since spring killed two people early on Wednesday, with the debris of downed missiles falling on buildings, a park and a school, Ukrainian ...
Nigerian police raid alleged gay wedding, arrest 67 people
Nigerian police raided an alleged gay wedding, which is illegal in the country, in the southern city of Warri in Delta state, and arrested 67 people, authorities said in a statement, ...
Gabonese military officers announce they have seized power
A group of senior Gabonese military officers appeared on national television in the early hours of Wednesday and said they had taken power, minutes after the state election body announced ...
Greece wildfire destroys area bigger than New York City
The wildfire burning in northeastern Greece for 11 days has destroyed an area larger than New York City, the European Union-backed Copernicus Climate Change Service said, as firefighters from five countries ...
Ukrainian drones attack Russian air base near Estonia
Ukrainian drones swept across Russia in overnight attacks that damaged military aircraft and disrupted air traffic, Russian officials said early on Wednesday, hours after the funeral service for Russian mercenary ...
Norway oil and gas exploration round attracts bids from 25 companies
Norway’s latest offshore oil and gas exploration licensing round attracted bids from 25 companies, including Shell , ConocoPhillips (COP.N), Aker BP (AKRBP.OL) and Equinor (EQNR.OL), the energy ministry ...
Japan at ‘inflection point’ in 25-year battle with deflation, government says
Japan may be at an inflection point in its 25-year battle with deflation as price and wage rises show signs of broadening, the government said on Tuesday, signalling its conviction ...