Bite

While Charles and Camilla were on a three-line whip, MPs watched the excruciating discomfort of civil servants We don’t often get to see senior civil servants out and about in the wild. They are kept away from the public gaze, sat behind a desk trying to persuade their ministers not to do something too catastrophic to their government department. Quite why they have been been made a knight or a dame just for doing their jobs is one of life’s mysteries. The rest of us have to make do with the occasional email from the boss. But in the last week, two top civil servants have been reluctantly made to give evidence on Keir Starmer’s decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as US ambassador before the foreign affairs select committee and very instructive it has been, too. Not least to see how much they dislike any extra attention from the public. Their obvious discomfort at being held to account was excruciating to watch. Continue reading...

Shares in Domino’s Pizza, KFC operator Collins Foods and multi-brand food franchise owner Retail Food Group have all suffered double-digit fallsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastOnce a symbol of cheap eating, fast food is transforming into a luxury many can no longer afford due to resurgent living costs.This shift is reflected on the ASX, where major pizza, fried chicken and doughnut outlets are seeing significant price drops, raising the question: are consumers so downbeat that they are even giving up on fast food? Continue reading...

Financial markets are betting the Reserve Bank will hike interest rates for a third straight meeting next Tuesday•Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastInflation jumped to 4.6% in the year to March, from 3.7% the month before, in what experts say is the start of an Iran war-linked fuel shock that will ripple through the economy over coming months.Financial markets are betting the Reserve Bank will hike interest rates for a third straight meeting next Tuesday, as officials struggle to manage the “nightmare scenario” of containing inflation even as growth is expected to slow sharply. Continue reading...

• CDC data indicates 71 per 100,000 emergency room visits for tick bites in the most recent week, highest in Northeast followed by Midwest, Southeast, West, and South Central. • Rising tick activity signals increased Lyme disease and other vector-borne risks as warmer weather extends season. • Public health experts warn of prevention needs amid Northeast ER surge.

Consumer spending on travel is down for the first time in five years while card spending edges up in MarchUK consumers have cut back on travel spending for the first time in five years, as they worry about the rising cost of living amid the Iran war.Overall consumer card spending increased 0.9% year on year in March, down from February’s 1%, according to data from Barclays. Continue reading...

Chris Kempczinski’s taste test was mocked online, to which he said his mother had taught him: ‘Don’t talk with your mouth full’The chief executive officer of McDonald’s recently blamed etiquette guidance from his mother for a February on-camera taste test that made him a target for ridicule – and summarily recorded another video of him eating one of the fast-food giant’s offerings in a manner potential consumers found awkward.Chris Kempczinski suggested to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) earlier in April that he was simply heeding maternal advice to never talk with his mouth full when he took the humorously small bite at the center of a viral video which depicted him discussing and sampling the new Big Arch burger from McDonald’s. 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...

Oliver Tokic-Bensley, 16, says he had been in the water mere minutes when a shark bit his footGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA teenage surfer bitten by a shark at a South Australian beach has described how he “flicked it off” and “legged it back to shore”.Oliver Tokic-Bensley, 16, was bitten on his foot while surfing on Good Friday near his family beach house at Middleton, 80km south of Adelaide. Continue reading...

The US is recklessly spreading economic havoc among global friends and foes while suffering little harm itselfTo shield ordinary Indians from the war in Iran, the government in Delhi redirected supplies of liquefied gas to Indian families, for which it is the main cooking fuel, limiting supplies to the plastics industry. The Nepalese government rationed gas and the Philippines trimmed the government workweek to four days. Bangladesh closed universities and rationed fuel.They have been hardest hit by Iran’s closure of the strait of Hormuz. Economies in Asia import over a third of the energy they consume, on average. Korea imports four-fifths; Japan nine-tenths; Thailand 55%. Most of this comes from the Gulf. About 80% of oil and oil products transiting through the strait in 2025 was destined for Asia, according to the International Energy Agency. But traffic through its waters has collapsed by 90%. Continue reading...

PM Sanae Takaichi says about 80m barrels of stockpiled oil to be provided to refiners – equivalent to 45 days of domestic demand • Middle East crisis – live updatesJapan will begin the biggest-ever release of oil from its strategic reserves this week, the prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has said, as the country braces for possible shortages caused by the US-Israel war on Iran.The government last week approved the release of 15 days’ worth of private-sector reserves, amid concern that the conflict in the Middle East will continue to hinder the flow of tanker traffic along the strait of Hormuz. Continue reading...

The price of popular branded eggs has risen by over 40% in some cases while some have also shrunk in sizeShoppers are shelling out for smaller eggs again this Easter as shrinkflation takes another bite out of the favourite seasonal treat.The price of popular branded chocolate eggs has risen by more than 40% in some cases while some have also shrunk in size, according to research by the consumer champion Which?. Continue reading...