Close Brothers shares surge after UK bank says it can ‘comfortably absorb’ cost of car finance compensation

Australian federal police say they are working with tiny nation to respond to threat of online scam centresTimor-Leste is vulnerable to “infiltration by foreign organized crime”, the country’s president, José Ramos-Horta, has warned.His comments come as Australian federal police confirmed to the Guardian the force is providing support to local law enforcement in Timor-Leste, including a December 2025 visit from the agency’s digital forensic and cyber experts. Continue reading...

The prime minister clearly believed that Trump’s threat of mass bombings of bridges and power plants crossed a new lineGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAnthony Albanese has adopted a careful and deliberate strategy for dealing with Donald Trump since his return to the White House in early 2025: don’t buy-in, don’t bite back.The approach is a calculation that there is little to be gained from responding to Trump’s every Truth Social post, lest it distract the government, provoke the president or, heaven forbid, threaten the Aukus pact. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Taskforce led by former Treasury official Anthea Long will advise on cost-cutting options for $52bn programGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLabor has quietly established a razor gang to drive budget savings in the national disability insurance scheme, as it works to further rein in costs ahead of next month’s federal budget.An NDIS Sustainability Taskforce was established within the health department earlier this year, with instructions from the federal government and national cabinet to advise on cost-cutting options for the $52bn program. Continue reading...

As Iran and US agree fragile ceasefire, Israel’s conflict has turned out to be a bust and, say opponents, ‘a political disaster’Middle East crisis – live updatesIn a war where there have been no winners, Israel’s prime minister looks set to be the biggest loser entering a fragile and vague ceasefire with Iran.After years of Benjamin Netanyahu’s threats against Iran, his stunts at the UN’s general assembly, the dodgy dossiers endlessly wafted under the noses of the world’s media, and diplomatic pressure on successive US presidents to agree to a war against Iran, Israel’s conflict has turned out to be a bust. Continue reading...

With former ministers and party heavyweights ​b​eing dragged into court, the country is once again confronting the unresolved legacy of political ​g​raft and ​shady backroom deals• Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereEaster will not have been a particularly celebratory time for Spain’s two biggest political parties. In a quirk of judicial fate, both the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers’ party (PSOE) and the conservative People’s party (PP) are bracing themselves after two high-profile trials involving former senior figures from each party began in Madrid this week.Though vastly different, both cases have the potential to seriously dent each party’s claims of having zero-tolerance for corruption as voters in Andalucía, Spain’s most populous autonomous community, prepare for next month’s regional election. That will be followed by a general election next year. Continue reading...

Delta, United and JetBlue hiked rates even as Delta announced $1bn pre-tax profit in quarter ending JuneMiddle East crisis – live updatesSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Several major US airlines have raised their baggage fees in recent days, blaming ongoing volatility in oil markets caused by the US-Israeli war in Iran that has almost doubled jet fuel prices.On Tuesday, Delta followed the lead of United Airlines and JetBlue, which announced last week that they were hiking baggage prices because of the ongoing war. Continue reading...

Figures gathered from children’s services and health trusts show 31 deaths were suicides, including six in under-18sMore than 50 young asylum seekers in the UK have died in the past decade, the majority by suicide, according to data compiled for the first time.Of 54 deaths of children and young people who claimed asylum between 2015 and 2024 in the care system, 31 were due to suicide, with seven homicides and eight fatal accidents. Only six deaths were due to health issues with two causes of death unknown, and 44 of the 54 have occurred since 2020. Continue reading...

Defense secretary spoke to reporters in first press briefing since Trump announced ceasefire deal after 40 days of warAfter 40 days and 40 nights of war, Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary, on Wednesday pointed to divine providence while telling reporters that Iran’s weapons factories had been reduced to rubble, its military rendered ineffective for years and its supreme leader left wounded and disfigured, all for a temporary ceasefire.“Iran begged for this ceasefire, and we all know it,” Hegseth said Wednesday morning at the Pentagon’s first press briefing since Donald Trump announced a two-week pause in hostilities Tuesday night. “Operation Epic Fury decimated Iran’s military and rendered it combat ineffective for years to come.” Continue reading...

Exclusive: Sources believe AI tech company’s engineers have been granted access to directory of up to 1.5m staff UK politics live – latest updatesHealth service staff have expressed alarm that engineers working for controversial tech company Palantir have been given NHS email accounts.Employees using NHS.net email accounts have access to a directory with the contact details of up 1.5 million staff. Sources believe Palantir staff were granted the same access. Continue reading...

Oxford team’s technology picked up danger signs with 86% accuracy in study of 72,000 patients in EnglandOxford scientists have developed a simple AI tool that can predict the risk of heart failure five years before it develops.More than 60 million people worldwide have the condition in which the heart cannot pump blood around the body as well as it should. Spotting cases before they develop into heart failure would be a big step forward, experts say. Doctors could prepare better for and manage the condition at an earlier stage or even prevent it entirely. Continue reading...

Jason Tarry sees salary increase by 21% in year to January, while fewer people are employed at John Lewis and Waitrose storesThe boss of the group that owns John Lewis and Waitrose was handed a 21% increase in basic pay last year to £1.2m while the retailer cut 3,300 jobs.Jason Tarry, who became chair of the John Lewis Partnership (JLP) in September 2024, saw his annual salary increase by a fifth to £1.2m in the year to January, from £990,000. Continue reading...

Estimated 2,000 ships, including oil and gas tankers and cruise liners, remain trapped in the Persian Gulf since start of warThere will be no “mass exodus” of ships through the strait of Hormuz, according to shipping analysts, despite the agreement of a two-week conditional ceasefire between the US and Iran and provisions for a temporary reopening of the crucial maritime channel.The ceasefire agreement “doesn’t change the situation in the sense that Iran is still in control,” said Richard Meade, the editor-in-chief at maritime data provider Lloyd’s List Intelligence. “It still requires ships to essentially seek permission, and that’s the key. That means that nothing has changed – no permission, no transit.” Continue reading...