BP boardroom turmoil deepens as ousted chair hits back at ‘lies’ over conduct

Barratt Redrow boss says rising interest rates, higher student debt and squeeze on wages hitting property dreamBusiness live – latest updatesThe boss of Britain’s largest housebuilder has warned that it is the most challenging time to be a first-time buyer since the financial crisis, as the dream of home ownership moves increasingly out of reach for many young people.A combination of rising interest rates, higher levels of student debt and the squeeze on wages is making it “challenging, very, very difficult” for young people to get on the housing ladder, according to David Thomas, the outgoing chief executive of Barratt Redrow. Continue reading...

The $1,000 tax deduction, $250 ‘working Australians tax offset’, and CGT and negative gearing changes will most benefit young people, Treasury secretary saysGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastNinety per cent of young Australians will be better off under the Albanese government’s tax proposals, the Treasury claims, as Labor moves to pass its reforms into law.The government introduced the tax changes to parliament on Thursday before a heated question time in which the opposition leader, Angus Taylor, called Anthony Albanese an “arrogant prick”, while separately the Nationals demanded the government call an early election. Continue reading...

Tribunal decision on Geoffrey Dalton comes as advocacy group releases data showing 30 greyhounds have died at or after Victorian races this yearGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA veteran greyhound trainer whose dog was found to have cocaine in its system at a race has avoided a temporary ban despite the industry regulator calling for one.The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (Vcat) on Thursday decided not to impose tougher penalties on Geoffrey Dalton, who was fined $300 after the dog tested positive for cocaine before a 2024 race. Continue reading...

Parents face anxious wait for updates after blaze tears through Utumishi girls academy in Gilgil, Nakuru countyA fire that ripped through a dormitory at a girls’ school in Kenya overnight has killed at least 15 students, according to police, while dozens more were injured.Gilgil police station said at least 15 girls died at Utumishi girls academy in Gilgil, Nakuru county, about 76 miles north-east of Nairobi, according to a police report seen by Reuters. Continue reading...

Human rights groups and lawyers say policy amounts to ethnic cleansingIsrael’s defence minister has said he is committed to the ethnic cleansing of Gaza through large-scale migration of Palestinians as part of Israel’s long-term plans for the territory.Israel Katz said the government would implement a plan for large numbers of Palestinians to leave Gaza “at the right time and in the right manner”, in a statement on Wednesday marking the targeted killing of Mohammed Odeh, Hamas’s most recent military commander. Continue reading...

EU chief diplomat says ‘not much happening’ in talks as she cautions against focus on personalities rather than strategyBut other foreign ministers appear somewhat divided on the concept of appointing a single EU negotiator for Russia.Austria’s Beate Meinl-Reisinge said it was a necessary step as “the EU should not get ready.”“It’s a trap that Russia wants us to walk into, that we discuss who talks to them, and they are already picking who is suitable, who is not. Let’s not walk into that trap. Negotiations are always a team effort. You have good cops, you have bad cops, you have a strategy [on] how you go to the table, so that is why the substance is much more important.”“This is what Russia does. Because it’s not really gaining ground on the battlefield, what they are doing now is really increasing the terrorist attacks, because you can’t really describe it in other ways, creating fear inside the society. It hasn’t worked for four years, and I don’t think that it’s going to work now.” Continue reading...

Agreement affecting meat, plants and packaging promises to end paperwork ‘hell’ and border delays from 2027Business live – latest updatesBrexit red tape affecting UK food exports to the EU, including fresh sausages and burgers, will be scrapped from mid-2027 in the first confirmed result of Keir Starmer’s “reset” negotiations with Brussels, the government has announced.When the rules come into force, exporters of meat – whether fresh, frozen or processed – will no longer require costly veterinary certificates to prove they meet EU standards. Nor will they need similar documentation for plants or wood packaging material. Businesses selling into Northern Ireland will no longer require health labels. Continue reading...

Government-commissioned report on young people not in employment, education or training to be published by review chair Milburn todayGood morning. For the second day in a row, the Westminster news is dominated by the thoughts of a leading Labour figure from the Tony Blair. But this time it’s an intervention commissioned, and welcomed, by Keir Starmer’s government. Alan Milburn, who has health secretary under Tony Blair, once seen as a future PM, and later chair of the Social Mobility Commisson, was asked last year to lead a review into why the number of young people not in education, employment or training (Neets) is rising. Today he is publishing his first “diagnostic” report, focusing on the causes of the problem. A second report, focusing on policy recommendations, is due in the autumn.As Richard Partington reports, Milburn says Britain risks a 25% rise in the number of Neets, to 1.25 million by the early 2030s, without urgent government action to avoid a “lost generation”.Well, certainly every employer that we spoke to raised these issues as real concerns, the minimum wage. No employer really wants to be paying poverty wages to young people, that’s not what you come across.But there is, particularly in low-margin sectors of the economy, like retail and hospitality, there is no doubt that these changes have had an impact. So that is something the government really needs to think about. If the priority is to create young people’s jobs, then it’s got to create the right conditions for employers to do so.Yes, I am … Every employer that I talk to, they will say the same thing. There’s no doubt that the changes that were made a couple of years ago have had an impact on employers. Continue reading...

Gavan Reynolds cites ‘commercial-in-confidence nature of the contract’ in declining to answer Greens senator’s question in parliamentFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe US private prison company running Australian immigration detention centres was slapped with penalties by the Australian government after allowing a dozen escapes, but the head of the Australian Border Force has declined to reveal the cost of the punishment.Greens senator David Shoebridge was scathing of what he called “a disturbing set of reports” about private prison company MTC and its local subsidiary Secure Journeys, revealed in a Guardian Australia investigation this week. Continue reading...

President’s remarks indicate the two countries remain far apart over initial deal to end warAfter 88 days of near-total internet blackout in Iran, long-delayed messages, images and poems flooded phones and social media feeds at about 5pm on Tuesday, when still-limited connectivity flickered back to life.The first reactions, however, were not celebratory. Many new posts were threaded with scepticism, anxiety and anger.The Israeli military declared a new swathe of southern Lebanon a combat zone and said residents in the area should move north, warning it would act “with great force” against the Iran-backed Hezbollah in the zone. The statement on Wednesday appeared to signal a further escalation after more than 120 strikes hit Lebanon’s south and east on Tuesday, despite a ceasefire.The major Lebanese city of Tyre has come under constant Israeli bombardment, according to local media. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it is hitting Hezbollah targets in the ancient coastal city in southern Lebanon, a day after issuing a warning forcing thousands of people to leave Tyre and surrounding areas. Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported two people were killed in Tyre in an Israeli drone strike on Thursday morning. Continue reading...

Imitation versions of Shakhtar and Zorya in RussiaUkrainian FA urged Uefa to take action last yearUefa is yet to take action against the integration of clubs from illegally occupied parts of Ukraine into Russia’s football system despite being urged to do so by the Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF) last year.Imitation versions of Shakhtar Donetsk and Zorya Luhansk, two of the most successful clubs in Ukraine’s Premier League, have been competing in Russia’s fourth tier since its season began in March. They have joined the Crimea-based sides Rubin Yalta and FC Sevastopol in group 1 of the regionalised Football National League 2B, meaning a quarter of the teams in their division purport to represent areas of occupied Ukraine. Continue reading...