Buying

Ministers hope tobacco and vapes bill, which will become law next week, will create a ‘smoke-free generation’A bill banning anyone born after 2008 from buying tobacco in the UK has completed its progress through parliament in a move that ministers hope will create a “smoke-free generation”.Under the tobacco and vapes bill anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 will never be able to be legally sold tobacco across the UK, in an effort to save lives and reduce the burden on the NHS. Continue reading...

Government must ‘come down very hard’ on online trade in knives and weapons, says policing and crime minister Sarah JonesChildren are setting up online businesses selling knives in the same way they trade clothes, the policing and crime minister Sarah Jones has said.Jones heard how children as young as 12 were buying and selling the weapons on the internet and social media at the opening of the new National Knife Crime Centre in Bloomsbury, central London, on Thursday. Continue reading...

Christopher Joell-Deshields was suspended last year, with £7,125 found to have been spent on luxury itemsThe boss of Pride in London, one of the world’s largest LGBTQ+ events, has been sacked after he was accused of buying luxury goods for personal use with vouchers intended for volunteers’ food and drink.Christopher Joell-Deshields, who had been chief executive of Pride in London since 2021, was put under investigation last September and suspended the following month in response to claims of misconduct. Continue reading...

Group cuts costs as shares plunge while it grapples with impact of Iran war on property market Business live – latest updatesOne of Britain’s biggest housebuilders has said it will stop buying new land and hiring new staff, as it grapples with the impact of the Iran war on the property market.Berkeley, a London-focused housebuilder, said it would cut costs as it warned that “geopolitical volatility” and “reduced potential” for interest rate cuts could weigh on the business. Continue reading...

State and federal leaders due to discuss assistance for business sectors but petrol rationing not expected to find backingFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFarmers say the federal government must help them with tax breaks and underwriting fertiliser purchases to survive the fuel crisis, with Monday’s national cabinet expected to discuss more assistance to businesses amid ballooning petrol prices.Federal and state governments have remained tight-lipped about what would be on the meeting’s agenda but state premiers have urged the Albanese government to take a stronger national coordination role in the crisis. Continue reading...

• Elon Musk stated Tesla and SpaceX AI will continue large Nvidia chip purchases even as Tesla advances its AI5 chip, optimized for edge compute in Optimus and Robotaxi. • Tesla's Terafab AI chip manufacturing facility is set to launch within seven days from March 14, potentially by March 21. • Musk praised Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, noting AI5's efficiency in half-reticle format could halve fab needs, with AI6 potentially matching dual AI5.

Admission came during questioning at Senate intelligence committee worldwide threats hearingThe Federal Bureau of Investigation has started buying location data on Americans, FBI director Kash Patel said under oath at the Senate intelligence committee worldwide threats hearing on Wednesday.Patel’s admission came in response to a question from the senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat who is a longtime opponent of the warrantless surveillance of Americans. Wyden told Patel that his predecessor, Christopher Wray, testified in 2023 that the FBI did not at that time purchase location data derived from internet advertising, although he acknowledged that it had done so in the past. Continue reading...

Independent retailers are struggling to get fuel from the majors and say farmers have only responded to soaring prices and lack of availabilityGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastRural fuel distributor Paul McCallum hopes the worst is over.At the start of the month, as fuel prices surged after the US and Israel bombed Iran, farmers started bringing their diesel orders forward, requesting “a boisterous but not over the top” 1.5m litres from his company Inland Petroleum. Continue reading...

Energy minister says country’s fuel supply has yet to be affected by war, following meeting with suppliers and retailersFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastChris Bowen has insisted the country’s fuel supply is yet to be affected by the war in the Middle East while criticising a rush to buy jerry cans to fill up with petrol as “un-Australian”.The energy minister made the comments after an emergency meeting with major fuel suppliers and retailers, that was convened by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to demand explanations for the recent surge in petrol prices. Continue reading...

NRMA says record-high fuel may be here to stay in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane after prices soared early in the Middle East conflictFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastDozens of service stations across Australia have run out of petrol as distributors struggle to keep up with customers panic-buying as the conflict in the Middle East continues to disrupt prices.The NRMA has warned regulators “missed” the chance to stop price hikes, as booming wholesale demand pushes fuel prices to a “permanent high” on the east coast. Continue reading...