Month: March 2025

A US oil tanker that was hit by a container ship in the North Sea is to be towed to the north-east of England after more than 200,000 barrels of jet fuel are removed over the weekend, a maritime company has said. The Solong collided with the anchored tanker Stena Immaculate about 12 miles off […]

JD Vance told troops in Greenland that the US has to gain control of the Arctic island to stop the threat of China and Russia as he doubled down on criticising Denmark, which he said “have not done a good job”. Under increasingly strained relations between the White House and Greenland and Denmark, the US […]

Millions of people worldwide with severe back pain may be able to get relief from a new drug that uses antibiotics rather than painkillers to tackle the condition. Doctors who have tested the drug said it could be “a gamechanger” for the one in four people whose lower back pain is caused by an infection […]

Donald Trump described a long-awaited call with the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, as “extremely productive” amid a trade war between the two nations launched by the US president. The Friday morning call, requested by the White House, marks the first time the two leaders have spoken since Carney became prime minister on 14 March. […]

Thames Water’s chief financial officer has quit his £1.3m-a-year job, the cash-strapped water company has announced. Alastair Cochran, who had also recently served as interim chief executive at Thames, will leave his role within days. His departure comes at a critical time for the UK’s largest water company amid close scrutiny of its fragile finances. […]

The fashion group Boohoo is to forge ahead with a plan to change its name to Debenhams, despite Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group voting to block formalisation of the move amid a stinging battle between the two retailers. Boohoo said earlier this month it wanted to rename itself Debenhams, the department store brand it bought out […]

US puts European alliances at risk by threatening to annex Greenland, senior Danish lawmaker says Back to Greenland, Rasmus Jarlov, chair of Denmark’s defence committee, appeared on CNN last night, offering his take on the US plans for Greenland. In stark comments, he said: “We can’t do it. We cannot hand over 57,000 of our […]

The energy regulator for Great Britain plans to crack down on suppliers that bungle smart meter installations after millions of the devices have been left to go into “dumb” mode, where they stop automatically transmitting readings. Ofgem said households that request a smart meter should have one fitted within six weeks, and if the installation […]

Starmer says he is ‘disappointed’ that Sentencing Council won’t change its guidelines Keir Starmer has said that he is “disappointed” at the Sentencing Council’s refusal to agree to the government’s request to withdraw the guidelines that have led to claims it is promoting “two-tier” justice. (See 11.44am.) Asked about the Sentencing Council’s letter this morning, […]

Retail sales in Great Britain rose last month amid a sharp increase in consumers spending at department stores, hardware shops and clothes outlets. Reflecting a stronger economic backdrop than feared, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed sales volumes rose by 1% on the month, although spending at supermarkets fell after a bumper […]