New mortgages up by £800 a year amid ‘Trumpflation’ from Iran war

Carmaker reduces office-based roles and will not fill vacancies ‘to ensure long-term competitiveness of business’Bentley is to cut 275 jobs in the UK as the carmaker faces a “challenging global market environment”.The luxury brand, owned by Germany’s Volkswagen, is preparing to launch its first all-electric model but acknowledged it had some work to do to convince consumers to switch away from internal combustion engine vehicles. Continue reading...

Étienne Davignon is charged with participation in war crimes in relation to killing of then PM Patrice LumumbaA former Belgian diplomat , 93, should stand trial over alleged complicity in the 1961 murder of Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of what was then the newly independent Congolese state, a Brussels court has ruled.Étienne Davignon, the only person still alive among 10 Belgians the Lumumba family accuses of involvement in the killing, is charged with participation in war crimes. Continue reading...

Snow, tornadoes and fierce winds disrupt flights and leave homes and businesses in multiple states in the darkSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxHalf a million US homes and businesses were without power on Tuesday morning after a potent storm system brought a mix of snow, strong winds, cold temperatures and rainfall to areas from the Midwest to the east coast.As of Tuesday morning, there were about 107,000 power outages reported in Michigan, according to poweroutage.us. In New York, there were 68,000 power outages; 65,000 were registered in Pennsylvania and 50,000 in Massachusetts. Continue reading...

Charges follow discovery of body of Masood Masjoody, who was a critic of the Tehran regime and the exiled shahTwo people have been charged with the murder of an Iranian activist in Canada, in a case which has intensified fears over transnational repression of critics of the regime in Tehran.Masood Masjoody, a former university maths teacher, went missing in early February in the city of Burnaby, British Columbia. He had been critical of Iran’s theocratic regime and the exiled family of the former shah. Continue reading...

Conservationists hope Murray Watt’s review of national marine parks will ‘right the wrongs’ of previous downgrade of protectionSign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter hereThe federal environment minister, Murray Watt, has pledged to put an extra half a million square kilometres of Australia’s ocean out of reach of fishers and drillers in a step conservationists hope will “right the wrongs” of an Abbott-era downgrade of marine protection.Watt confirmed last year Australia would put 30% of its ocean estate under a high level of protection that bans extractive industries as part of an international agreement to protect 30% of the planet’s oceans. Continue reading...

Parties pledge to improve communication in England and Wales following fallout since Lancashire disappearancePolice and the media have backed a “reset” in relations between officers and journalists, after a prolonged period of distrust since the handling of the Nicola Bulley case in 2023.Bulley’s disappearance in Lancashire led to significant fallout between the police and the press, with media outlets saying a lack of access and information allowed incorrect assertions and conspiracy theories about the case to gain ground. Continue reading...

One of the best-paid executives in Hollywood has already made $113m after selling shares in WBD this monthBusiness live – latest updatesDavid Zaslav, the chief executive of Warner Bros Discovery, is in line for a $700m (£525m) payday from the $110bn sale of the Hollywood studio to Paramount Skydance.Zaslav could receive $34.2m in cash severance payments, $115.8m in vested stock and $517.2m in unvested share awards once the deal is complete, according to a filing from Warner Bros Discovery on Monday. Continue reading...

Jonathan Powell thought Tehran’s ‘surprising’ offer on its nuclear programme could prevent rush to war Middle East crisis – live updatesBritain’s national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, attended the final talks between the US and Iran and judged that the offer made by Tehran on its nuclear programme was significant enough to prevent a rush to war, the Guardian can reveal.Powell thought that progress had been made in Geneva and that the deal proposed by Iran was “surprising”, according to sources. Continue reading...

White House will take a financial loss to make it easier for Americans to walk away from citizenship starting in AprilThe Trump administration has agreed to take a financial loss in order to make it easier for Americans to walk away from their US citizenship.In April, the cost to formally renounce citizenship will plunge from $2,350 to just $450, below the actual cost to the government of processing the requests – but fulfilling a years-long promise to reverse an unpopular fee adopted in 2015. Continue reading...

Falling costs and government incentives made solar an attractive option for many, which has reduced need for gasAfter prices of liquefied natural gas surged to record highs following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, millions of people in Pakistan were repeatedly left without electricity. An intense heatwave and gas shortages amid record-breaking prices resulted in power cuts across the country.But people soon started to realise there was an alternative. The falling costs of solar panels and generous government incentives to feed excess power back to the grid made rooftop solar an attractive option. Continue reading...

Exclusive: actor’s Papa Salt gin to get oyster-free version after venues says it is ‘not worth the risk’ Margot Robbie said she “couldn’t wait” to see the artisan gin brand she had created stocked in her London local. But the willingness of the capital’s venues to fulfil her dream has been seriously compromised by three words on the side of the bottle – “warning: contains molluscs”.The Wuthering Heights star has had to change the recipe of her spirit after top London bars and restaurants rejected it due to allergen concerns, the Guardian can reveal. Continue reading...