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If Russian president Vladimir Putin completely shuts off the gas taps to Europe, what are the risks of the lights going out — or the heating turning off — in the UK? To listen to public statements from the government you could be forgiven for thinking the odds are exceptionally low: the UK has no

Andrii Melnyk, Ukraine’s outgoing ambassador to Berlin, sometimes went too far. Like the time he told Chancellor Olaf Scholz to “stop being such a prima donna”. Or when he told a leftwing politician to “shut your gob”. But in Melnyk’s view the end always justified the means. “I think I’ve shaken people awake,” he told

This week, the Conservative leadership contest caravan moves from parliament to the membership in the country. Ballots are expected to land on the doormats of 150,000 Tory party members in the next few days, while the finalists Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak will go head to head in another televised debate on Sky News on

Rishi Sunak sought to burnish his tax cutting credentials in the race to be the next UK prime minister with a new pledge to slash income tax in the next parliament. The former chancellor, who is facing foreign secretary Liz Truss in the Conservative party leadership contest, announced on Sunday he would cut the basic

Property tycoon Christian Candy has sold his luxury estate just west of London for about £125mn, one of the biggest housing deals this year, according to people briefed on the transaction. Christian and his brother Nick Candy made their names selling expensive apartments in London to the super-wealthy in the years after the 2008 financial

About three-quarters of colleges in England are unable to recruit the staff needed to teach technical and digital subjects, according to new research, threatening government efforts to plug the national skills gap. Some 85 per cent of institutions surveyed by the Association of Colleges (AOC), the further education sector body, reported shortages in construction courses,

England’s women’s football team have won their first major trophy after beating Germany 2-1 in extra time in the sellout Euro 2022 final. The teams went into half-time level at 0-0 after an even first 45 minutes that saw a handful of half chances. But just after the hour mark, substitute Ella Toone latched on

European governments have eased back on efforts to curb trade in Russian oil, delaying a plan to shut Moscow out of the vital Lloyd’s of London maritime insurance market and allowing some international shipments amid fears of rising crude prices and tighter global energy supplies. The EU announced a worldwide ban on the provision of

Companies in England are heading for an “iceberg” next spring with business rates set to rise by up to £3bn because of soaring inflation, industry groups have warned. They said those businesses that gain from an upcoming revaluation could see those benefits eroded as a result, while those that lose out will see their losses

When the pandemic began, most analysts predicted that commercial real estate would be one of the hardest hit industries. The exodus from urban centres and the collapse of high street retailers left property companies reeling. Another cloud hung over office real estate, as staff switched to working from home and anchor tenants threatened to move

The writer is co-chief of KKR’s Americas Private Equity business and founder of Ownership Works My story used to be a familiar one. I’m a first-generation college graduate from a hardworking, blue-collar family. My parents scrimped and saved and made a small real estate investment. While we lived day to day on my Dad’s construction

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged residents of the country’s easternmost Donetsk region to leave the province as Russia continues its offensive to conquer the area. In a regular nightly video address to the nation, Zelenskyy said hundreds of thousands of people were still living in the industrial heartland where “the fiercest fighting” was taking

Sri Lanka’s new president said that securing an IMF loan would take until at least September after weeks of protests and political turmoil sparked by the country’s economic crisis. Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took over as president this month after protesters forced his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country, said in a speech that finalising

China has escalated its threats over Nancy Pelosi’s potential visit to Taiwan this week and conducted naval exercises across the region, just hours before the US House Speaker was expected to arrive in East Asia. Pelosi’s office announced that a Congressional delegation headed by the Speaker had departed on Sunday for Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea

Matt Raynor is stressed. The 53-year-old chair of Raynor Foods has recently approved a £1,200 signing-on bonus for sandwich makers; tonight he will work a six-hour picking and packing shift at the company’s Essex plant because of staff shortages. “It’s been the worst two-and-a-half years of my life, with the disruption, the chaos,” he says.

When Steve Bannon described Brazil’s 2022 presidential election as the “most important of all time in South America”, the former Trump adviser had at his side a man as close as anyone to Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro — his son Eduardo. Introduced by Bannon at an event in South Dakota last year as the “third

Solidarity is often hailed in EU circles as a value underpinning the bloc. In its preamble, the treaty of the EU states that its members will strive to deepen the bond among themselves. But the wrangling over how to organise in case Russia cuts off gas supplies shows solidarity is not a given. The moment

UG Investment, one of the oldest hedge funds specialising in Chinese markets, is planning to open its first office outside greater China to step up investment in south-east Asia in a move that would help it guard against the risks from any conflict between China and Taiwan. The fund, which manages assets of about $4bn,

Joe Biden has tested positive again for Covid-19, three days after announcing he was negative and resuming his in-person White House activities. The US president’s doctor, Kevin O’Connor, said Biden’s case was an example of “rebound” positivity, which sometimes occurs in patients who have taken Pfizer’s Covid-19 antiviral drug. “The president has experienced no re-emergence

Foreign investors have pulled funds out of emerging markets for five straight months in the longest streak of withdrawals on record, highlighting how recession fears and rising interest rates are shaking developing economies. Cross-border outflows by international investors in EM stocks and domestic bonds reached $10.5bn this month according to provisional data compiled by the

Zambia’s official creditors led by China have agreed to provide debt relief to the southern African nation, paving the way for an IMF bailout and setting a precedent for how Beijing could work with other lenders to tackle the threat of a wave of defaults across emerging markets. A committee of creditors co-chaired by China