President Donald Trump has called off efforts to arrange a meeting with President Xi Jinping after China tightened export controls on rare earth minerals this week. ‘Some very strange things are happening in China!’ Trump wrote on Truth Social. ‘They are becoming very hostile, and sending letters to Countries throughout the World, that they want to impose Export Controls on each and every element of production having to do with Rare Earths, and virtually anything else...
Now that Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire and hostage deal, the White House is shifting focus to its next diplomatic goal: expanding the landmark Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and several Arab states. ‘There’s a lot of positive momentum that will pick up,’ a senior administration official told reporters Thursday evening after the deal was signed. ‘Hopefully this will lead to much better sentiment and the opportunity to expand the...
Google may be required to overhaul the way its search engine operates in the UK after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) confirmed it has granted the tech giant “strategic market status” (SMS) under the country’s new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA). The landmark decision, announced on Friday, gives the CMA sweeping new powers to impose legally binding rules on Google’s search and advertising businesses — which together account for over 90% of...
Publicly, the White House says the latest strikes in the Caribbean are aimed at cartel infrastructure. Privately, some analysts suspect the campaign is calibrated to do something else: weaken longtime U.S. foe Nicolás Maduro’s grip on power. President Donald Trump is ramping up pressure on the Venezuelan regime, striking four boats in the Caribbean Sea linked to drug trafficking networks tied to Caracas over the past month. Alongside those strikes, the U.S. has repositioned three...
The UK risks losing ground in the global race to harness artificial intelligence, with small businesses in particular falling behind their American counterparts, according to Debbie Weinstein, President of Google Europe. Weinstein, who previously led Google’s UK and Ireland operations, said that while Britain remains an innovation hub, its small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are slower to adopt AI — a gap that could limit productivity growth and wider economic gains. “The biggest gap in...
Royal Mail and TikTok Shop have announced a new partnership aimed at powering the next wave of growth for British small businesses and online sellers. The collaboration, effective 9 October 2025, will see Royal Mail become TikTok Shop’s primary UK delivery partner, connecting one of Britain’s most trusted logistics networks with one of the world’s fastest-growing digital commerce platforms. The move will give more than 200,000 UK-based TikTok Shop sellers access to Royal Mail’s full...
The Senate is set to leave town on Friday until early next week as neither side is ready to give in the ongoing government shutdown stalemate. Lawmakers voted deep into the night on Thursday on the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, which advanced on a largely bipartisan vote. But the $925 billion package, which authorizes funding for the Pentagon, was effectively the last hurrah for the week in the upper chamber. While there was discussion...
Senate Republicans are taking a hands-off approach to threats from White House budget chief Russ Vought, arguing that his pressure on Senate Democrats to reopen the government, for now, is warranted. Away from the gridlock on Capitol Hill, Vought, who is the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), has made moves to pressure Senate Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to reopen the government. Before the shutdown started earlier...
The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill (CSRB), announced in the King’s Speech in July 2024, is expected to be introduced this month. The Bill is designed to build upon the existing Network and Information Systems Regulations to mitigate against increasingly dangerous cyber threats. Through expanded and strengthened regulations and compliance mechanisms, the bill will mark a significant moment of change in UK policy. With that in mind, here is your go-to guide to understanding the...
Jack Fertility, an Oxford-based men’s healthtech startup, has raised more than £500,000 in pre-seed funding to launch Snip Check, the UK’s first home-to-lab postal vasectomy test kit, and accelerate development of its broader range of male reproductive health solutions. The round was led by Fuel Ventures, with participation from Microsoft angels, Alma Angels, The Beam Network, Moonstone Venture Capital, FemTech Lab, Founders Factory’s Reckitt Benckiser Accelerator, and the Oxford Seed Fund. Co-founded by Nick Shipley...
