The owner of Royal Mail has said it received a fillip from parcel deliveries over Christmas, putting it on track to return to annual profit, as its £3.6bn takeover by the Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský nears completion. International Distribution Services (IDS) said Royal Mail delivered more than 99% of items sent on or before the…
The former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams and 400 others interned during the Northern Ireland Troubles would be in line for compensation from the British government if Labour’s plan to ditch controversial laws dealing with the period goes ahead, it has been claimed. Jonathan Caine, a former government adviser to three Northern Ireland secretaries, has…
December’s unexpected decline in the inflation rate, to 2.5%, is a fillip for the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, opening the way for an interest rate cut next month. While much of the bond market sell-off in recent days has been driven by global concerns, part of it related to fears that the UK was sliding towards…
Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature ‘A crisis that impacts the nation’: LA mayor talks up recovery of city Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass, has cautioned residents that the emergency isn’t over yet, but she wants them to start thinking about recovery and rebuilding if possible. “While…
UK inflation unexpectedly fell in December, handing some breathing space to the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, after a week of turbulence in financial markets. With the government under pressure on the economy, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the consumer prices index eased to 2.5%, below a reading of 2.6% in November, meaning prices…
Climate science deniers are lining up a political offensive in Britain after a US lobby group opened a UK branch which is already working with Nigel Farage. The Reform UK leader was the guest of honour at the launch of Heartland UK/Europe, which is to be headed by a former leader of Ukip and climate…
Queensland’s health system is in need of urgent reform after years of systemic breakdowns across infrastructure, cybersecurity and patient care, a new audit has revealed. The Queensland Audit office’s latest report highlights a sector facing critical challenges with mounting costs, worsening wait times and underwhelming performance on preventable hospital admissions. The backlog of hospital maintenance…
The Labor MP Josh Burns says there are “clearly gaps in our legal framework” and has called on political parties “not to squabble over discrimination”, after Australia’s special envoy on antisemitism called for urgent action to address a spate of recent incidents she said were “terrorising Australia’s Jewish community”. Jillian Segal on Wednesday urged the…
The celebrated hip-hop producer Madlib has confirmed the loss of his extensive record collection and much of his recording equipment along with his home in the wildfires that have swept across California and killed at least 25 people. The influential musician, who has worked with some of the most prominent names in rap including Kanye…
Preston Martin figured the retro blue Volkswagen van he slept in for a year during college was a goner, given that he had parked it in a Malibu neighborhood just before the Palisades fire ripped through, reducing homes and cars to rubble and charred metal. So the surfboard maker was stunned to find that the…
