Prime minister says tariffs will be ‘a challenge’ but UK is better placed with 10% rate than EU at 20%
Keir Starmer has told heads of business in Downing Street that “clearly there will be an economic impact” from US tariffs but that ministers would respond with “cool and calm heads”.
The prime minister gathered senior business figures in No 10 after Donald Trump announced he would introduce 10% blanket tariffs on imports from the UK, and 25% on car imports.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Former staff tell Guardian Australia some HIV patients have since required acute mental health care, as hospital also loses specialist pain and eating disorder support staff
The resignation of psychiatrists from Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred hospital has led to the closure of an HIV psychiatry clinic with 200 patients, as well as a loss of specialist psychiatrist services for patients in the pain clinic and the most unwell eating disorder patients.
Minutes from a Royal Prince Alfred (RPA) and Balmain hospital medical staff council on 10 February, seen by Guardian Australia, also contain slides from a presentation about psychiatrist resignations that state “there is no HIV psychiatry clinic”.
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Continue reading...ABC chair backs public broadcaster after Peter Dutton’s comments warning it would need to demonstrate ‘excellence’
The chair of Australia’s public broadcaster says he has “no doubt” a Coalition government would initiate a review of the ABC, but that the organisation has nothing to apologise for in its quest for “excellence” and “efficiency”.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt within the event of Mr [Peter] Dutton acceding to office that there would be a very early call for an efficiency and, apparently, an excellency review for what the ABC does. Game on,” Kim Williams said during a speech at the Melbourne Press Club on Thursday.
Continue reading...Police say David Mobbs was in ‘last stages of his life’ with motor neurone disease and had been in and out of hospital before his death
A pensioner has been charged with murder after being accused of administering a lethal dose of prescription medication to her terminally ill partner.
Kylie Ellina Truswell-Mobbs, 50, was arrested more than a year after the death of David Ronald Mobbs, 56, at Alexandra Hills, in Brisbane’s south-east, in December 2023.
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Continue reading...Lead signatory of letter to Church Times says it is ‘moral and Christian imperative’ to ensure dignified retirement
Church of England vicars are demanding an increase in pensions amid claims that many face an impoverished old age, with some forced to rely on food banks or move in with adult children.
Almost 2,000 C of E clergy have joined an action group on Facebook in the past few weeks and 700 signed a letter to the Church Times calling for “urgent and decisive action”.
Continue reading...In today’s newsletter: Israel’s offensive has resulted in thousands of casualties and severe restrictions on aid, and signals a potential long-term territorial and political shift
Good morning. On Tuesday, Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, announced a major expansion of attacks on Gaza and the “capture of large areas that will be added to the security zones of the state of Israel”.
The announcement followed a night of airstrikes on Khan Younis and Rafah in southern Gaza, which officials said had killed at least 21 people, including a pregnant woman. The intensification of Israel’s offensive comes after more than two weeks of airstrikes and ground operations that have, according to Gaza’s health ministry, killed more than 900 people. Unicef has said that at least 322 of those killed since the renewed attacks have been children.
UK economy | Donald Trump has hit the UK with tariffs of 10% on exports to the US as he ignited a global trade war. Other tariffs include 20% on the EU and 34% on China. Downing Street had been expecting 20% but Keir Starmer’s conciliation towards the Trump administration appeared to have paid off.
Immigration | An investigation has been launched after a racist message was reportedly “blasted out” on portable radios used by Home Office contractors at an asylum processing centre. The deeply offensive broadcast – “fuck off you [N-word]s, go back to where you came from” – was reportedly heard at the Manston processing site for small boat arrivals in Kent.
Health | Doctors have reported a rise in the number of patients with Victorian diseases such as scabies, as the Royal College of Physicians urged the government to do more to fight poverty.
UK news | A third former South Yorkshire police officer has been arrested as part of an investigation into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham. The ex-constable, aged in his 50s, was arrested on Monday on suspicion of raping a teenage girl in the town in 2004.
Education | The fate of boys “is a defining issue of our time”, according to the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, as she calls for more men to become teachers to combat “toxic” behaviours.
Continue reading...Israeli prime minister begins four-day trip after Hungarian counterpart says court ruling would ‘have no effect’
Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to begin a four-day official visit to Hungary on Thursday, marking the first time the Israeli prime minister has stepped foot on European soil since the international criminal court issued an arrest warrant for him over allegations of war crimes in Gaza.
Hours after the ICC announced the warrants in November, Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, made it clear he would defy the court to host Netanyahu, telling reporters that he would “guarantee” the ICC’s ruling would “have no effect in Hungary”.
Continue reading...Nasdaq futures tumbled 3.3% and in after-hours trade as $760bn was wiped from the market value of ‘Magnificent Seven’ technology leaders
Stocks dived and investors scrambled to the safety of bonds, gold and the yen on Thursday as Donald Trump unveiled a bigger-than-expected wall of tariffs around the world’s largest economy, upending trade and supply chains.
The technology sector was pummelled as manufacturing hubs in China and Taiwan faced new tariffs above 30%. In total, China now faces an eye-watering 54% in tariffs on its exports to the US.
Continue reading...Myanmar, which is reeling from a huge earthquake and civil war, faces 44% rate amid suspicions that the underlying target is China
Developing nations in South-east Asia, including war-torn and earthquake-hit Myanmar, and several African nations are among the trading partners facing the highest tariffs set by US President Donald Trump.
Upending decades of US trade policy and threatening to unleash a global trade war, Trump on Wednesday announced a raft of tariffs he said were designed to stop the US economy from being “cheated”.
Continue reading...The US president has announced new taxes on imports to the US starting at a baseline of 10% – here is the front-page reaction in Britain
Donald Trump’s tariff “day of liberation” arrived with the US president imposing markups on imports while accusing other nations, including allies, of “looting, pillaging, raping and plundering” the US.
The UK got off relatively lightly with the basic 10%. Here is how major British newspapers see it.
Continue reading...Animals affected by domoic acid are known to exhibit erratic behavior and poisonings are becoming frequent
A teenager was attacked by a sea lion in southern California, raising concerns that a recent increase in algae-induced poisonings among marine mammals could have elicited the erratic behavior.
Phoebe Beltran initially feared it was a shark when she was bitten repeatedly during a 1000-yard swim test for the Junior Lifeguards cadet program in Long Beach on 30 March. Relatives onshore saw the sea lion pop its head out of the water before it swam away, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Continue reading...Resolution that would block tariffs passes 51-48 in Senate, in vote that shows Republican unease over president’s plans
Several Republican senators joined Democrats to pass a resolution that would block Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada, a rare rebuke of the president’s trade policy just hours after he announced plans for sweeping import taxes on some of the country’s largest trading partners.
In a 51-48 vote, four Republicans – Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and both Kentucky senators, the former majority leader Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul – defied Trump’s pressure campaign and supported the measure. Democrats used a procedural maneuver to force a vote on the resolution, which would terminate the national emergency on fentanyl Trump is using to justify tariffs on Canada.
Continue reading...Automotive industry and prime minister Mark Carney note that 25% tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum and automobiles will still come into effect within hours
Canada’s exemption from Donald Trump’s global tariffs was “like dodging a bullet into the path of a tank”, say business leaders as other levies are poised to hit key industries that drive the country’s economy.
In a theatrical unveiling of tariffs on countries with “unfair” practices on Wednesday afternoon, Canada was noticeably absent, alongside trade ally Mexico.
Continue reading...There were charts and scores, as if The Price Is Right had come to Washington. The big prize? A global trade war
It was Jeopardy!, or The Price Is Right, come to Washington.
On an unseasonably chilly day in the White House Rose Garden, Donald Trump stood with a giant chart listing which reciprocal tariffs he would impose on China, the European Union, the United Kingdom and other hapless contestants.
Continue reading...Pacific country this week declared state of emergency over power cuts that have caused huge disruption to businesses and daily life
Samoa is in the grip of an “energy crisis” prime minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa said this week, as she declared a state of emergency over power outages that have swept the country for weeks, causing huge disruption to businesses and daily life.
The government is scrambling to provide relief to affected businesses and households, with temporary power generation units due to arrive next week.
Continue reading...More health-conscious young people take total to 11.5m memberships, report finds, as experts cite social aspect alongside fitness
Record numbers of Britons are going to the gym, as the desire of many gen Zers to socialise while getting fit instead of drinking in the pub drives an unprecedented surge in membership, a report shows.
In all, 11.5 million people aged 16 and over– a new high – now belong to a gym in the UK, a rise of 1.6 million from 2022. It means one in six people have taken out a membership.
Continue reading...Survey finds vast majority of doctors are concerned at impact of health inequalities on their patients
Doctors have reported a rise in the number of patients with Victorian diseases such as scabies, as the Royal College of Physicians urged the government to do more to fight poverty.
The survey of 882 doctors found 89% were concerned about the impact of health inequalities on their patients, while 72% had seen more patients in the past three months with illnesses related to poor-quality housing, air pollution and access to transport.
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