Billions of pounds in potential tariff savings from the UK’s landmark trade deal with India could be put at risk unless the Government rethinks plans to cut export support staff, MPs have warned, raising concerns that British businesses may struggle to turn the agreement into real-world growth. In a report published on Wednesday, the Business and Trade Committee said deep reductions to trade support roles within government could undermine the effectiveness of the UK–India Comprehensive...
More than one in five UK small and medium-sized enterprises say international trade tariff disputes remain the single biggest challenge facing their business, as global tensions continue to drive up costs and disrupt supply chains. New research from Paragon Bank, based on a survey of 1,000 SMEs, found that 21 per cent now view tariff wars as their most significant current concern — ahead of labour shortages, inflation and domestic regulatory pressures. The findings come...
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday he would join President Donald Trump’s new Board of Peace, after previously criticizing the makeup of its executive committee. Netanyahu confirmed that he would join the newly established Board of Peace, which the Trump administration says will supervise the next phase of the Gaza peace plan. The Israeli prime minister’s announcement comes after he initially pushed back on Trump’s proposal, following the inclusion of Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan...
UK inflation rose for the first time in five months over the Christmas period, driven by higher tobacco prices following tax rises announced by the chancellor and a sharp increase in airfares, according to official figures. Data published on Wednesday by the Office for National Statistics showed that consumer price inflation climbed to 3.4 per cent in December, up from 3.2 per cent in November and above economists’ expectations. It marked the first increase in...
Michigan’s Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she believes America is ready for a woman president, pushing back on recent comments by former first lady Michelle Obama, who said U.S. voters were not ready to elect a woman to the White House. In an interview with NPR released on Tuesday, Whitmer said she has ‘love’ for the former first lady and ‘the last thing I want to do is disagree with her,’ but that she has...
Air Force One was forced to return to Joint Base Andrews shortly after takeoff Tuesday evening with President Donald Trump aboard, the White House said. The crew experienced a ‘minor electrical issue’ after takeoff at 10:20 p.m. and returned ‘out of an abundance of caution,’ according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. Trump was en route to Davos, Switzerland, to attend the World Economic Forum. Air Force One landed at Joint Base Andrews at...
Gunfire echoed through Tehran Tuesday as heavily armed militias were deployed across the Iranian capital, transforming some districts into fortified zones under intense security. Video footage showed bursts of automatic weapons after dark as government buildings, state media sites and major intersections were reportedly placed under guard, with armored pickups and masked fighters patrolling the streets in Toyotas. The trucks were mounted with heavy machine guns and were moving in convoys with weapons firing into...
Israel is watching Iran and is sending a blunt warning to the regime, which is facing international pressure over growing protests. ‘We are in high readiness,’ Israeli United Nations Ambassador Danny Danon told reporters. ‘We are ready with our defense capability, and we’re ready with our offensive capabilities… We would advise Iran not to test our capabilities.’ Danon also said that Israel was aware of where Iran is keeping its ballistic missiles, something Tehran used...
President Donald Trump fueled fresh uncertainty Tuesday, offering a terse ‘you’ll find out’ when asked at the White House how far he would go to get Greenland. Trump dismissed concerns that Greenlanders do not want to join the U.S. and that a move to seize the island would undermine the NATO alliance. In recent weeks, Trump has zeroed in on Greenland, the world’s largest island and a strategic outpost in the Arctic. The remote, semi-autonomous...
President Donald Trump has suggested his proposed ‘Board of Peace’ in Gaza could replace the U.N., underscoring what one national security analyst has described as a revision of the ‘existing international order.’ Asked Tuesday whether he envisioned the new body supplanting the U.N., Trump replied, ‘It might.’ Speaking at a White House press conference, the president also told reporters the U.N. has consistently failed to fulfill its mission. ‘The UN just hasn’t been very helpful....
