FTSE 100 hits record as interest rate hopes push down UK borrowing costs

Nearly every share on index rose after fall in value of pound helped multinationals listed in London

The UK’s blue-chip stock index has hit a record high, as hopes of interest rate cuts this year drove down government borrowing costs.

Almost every share on the FTSE 100 rose on Friday, the fall in the value of the pound bolstering multinationals listed in London and propelling the index above 8,500 points for the first time.

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Robots, drones and uncrewed vessels ‘likely to be default’ in future Royal Navy

UK defence chiefs see no need to recruit extra sailors as maritime force will become hybrid with uncrewed systems

The Royal Navy of the future will be dominated by robots, drones and uncrewed vessels, leading chiefs to conclude there is no need to try to recruit extra sailors as part of the forthcoming defence review.

Adm Sir Ben Key, the first sea lord, believes the navy has to focus on recruitment and retention rather than seeking more personnel numbers because crew sizes are inevitably falling as military technology evolves.

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UK mortgage rules could be eased to increase growth

FCA also aims to change law to try to prevent a repeat of mass compensation schemes for consumers such as PPI

Mortgage rules could be loosened by the City regulator as it comes under government pressure to increase economic growth and home ownership across the UK.

The move to “simplify responsible lending” for property purchases is part of a range of proposals put forward by the Financial Conduct Authority in an attempt to prove that the watchdog is not standing in the way of the Labour cabinet’s “growth mission”.

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Russia and Iran move to strengthen military ties – BBC.com

  1. Russia and Iran move to strengthen military ties  BBC.com
  2. Russia and Iran presidents sign partnership treaty in Moscow  Al Jazeera English
  3. Putin and Iran's president deepen defence ties with 20-year pact  Reuters
  4. Ukraine war briefing: Russia and Iran deepen defence ties as Trump inauguration looms  The Guardian
  5. Russia, Iran to seal partnership treaty days before Trump takes office  Fox News
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Police in London urge public to use different pins for gym and bank cards

Criminals stealing hundreds of pounds by snooping locker codes and using them to access accounts with same pin

Police have urged the public to use different pin codes at the gym after a prolific thief stole hundreds of pounds from a man he snooped on while entering a locker code that he also used for his bank card.

Last September Declan Murphy, 35, secretly watched the victim as he typed in a locker code at a luxury central London gym. After stealing the victim’s phone and bank card from the locker, Murphy then successfully guessed that the four-digit code on the card would be the same as the locker code.

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Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan sentenced to 14 years in prison in corruption case

Former leader and wife found guilty of illegally obtaining lucrative plots of land in deal with property tycoon

Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for corruption, another setback for the beleaguered leader who has already spent over 18 months in jail and is facing more than 100 cases.

Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were found guilty of illegally obtaining lucrative plots of land, worth billions of rupees, through a corrupt deal with a Pakistani property tycoon. Khan was given a 14-year sentence while his wife was given seven years, and Khan was fined 1m Pakistan rupees (£2,900).

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Russia sentences lawyers of late opposition figure Navalny to prison – The Washington Post

  1. Russia sentences lawyers of late opposition figure Navalny to prison  The Washington Post
  2. Russia convicts lawyers for late Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny  CNN
  3. Three Navalny lawyers sentenced to years in Russian penal colony for 'extremist activity'  Reuters
  4. Russia gives Navalny lawyers multi-year sentences for relaying his messages  The Guardian
  5. Russia jails lawyers who acted for late opposition leader Alexei Navalny  BBC.com
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