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法庭获悉，受害女性曾要求这位时尚大佬停止，但他即便在她开始哭泣时也并未罢手。服饰公司 Superdry 的联合创始人 James Holder 被裁定在 Gloucestershire 的 Cheltenham 镇一次深夜外出后强奸一名女性罪名成立。Gloucester crown court 获悉，54 岁的 Holder 原本应与一名男性友人乘出租车回到他位于 Cotswolds 的豪宅。然而，两人却上了受害者的出租车并前往她的公寓，这位时尚大佬在那里强奸了她。继续阅读...

• 在 Iran-U.S. 冲突威胁全球供应之际，油价飙升，但受 Visa 和 Starbucks 于 2026 年 4 月 29 日发布的强劲财报推动，U.S. stocks 表现出韧性，维持在纪录高位附近。 • S&P 500 指数微跌 0.1%，Dow 下跌 286 点（0.6%），Nasdaq 上涨 0.1%；Visa 首席执行官 Ryan McInerney 称消费支出具有韧性，其股价跳涨 8.3%；Starbucks 因 North America 地区单次消费额增加而上涨 8.6%。 • Federal Reserve 官员暗示 2026 年不会降息，由于能源价格带来的通胀压力，这几乎消除了投资者的降息押注，甚至倾向于加息；债券市场出现震荡。

尽管有迹象显示受伊朗战争对燃料价格的影响通胀正在上升，但官方仍做出了不改变利率的决定。英格兰银行将英国利率维持在3.75%不变，尽管有迹象表明受伊朗战争的影响，通胀已开始加速。在周四中午结束的最新利率设定会议后，该行货币政策委员会 (MPC) 投票决定维持借贷成本不变。继续阅读...

消费者洞察追踪显示，85% 的人对食品价格感到担忧，且大多数人认为经济将恶化。根据周四发布的 Which? 报告，随着消费者采取极端措施应对不断上涨的成本，300 万 UK 家庭正被迫省掉一餐。Middle East 冲突及随之而来的石油和原材料价格飙升，已导致企业准备提价，从而给家庭财务状况带来更大压力并打击了消费者信心。继续阅读...

• 美联储周三投票决定将基准联邦基金利率维持在 3.5% 至 3.75% 不变，理由是对伊朗战争期间通货膨胀上升的担忧。 • 这标志着在 2025 年 9 月、10 月和 12 月连续三次下调 25 个基点后，美联储继续暂停利率调整。 • 美联储主席 Jerome Powell 计划于东部时间下午 2:30 举行新闻发布会讨论该决定，这可能是他作为美联储主席最后一次利率公告。

• Matthew Pennycook 表示，必须缓慢地结束该制度，以避免影响住房供应并造成法律陷阱。 • 住房大臣表示，英格兰和威尔士禁止新租赁产权房产的禁令在该国下次大选之前不太可能生效，同时他为政府逐步拆除该制度的尝试进行了辩护。 • Matthew Pennycook 表示，尽管 2024 年通过了禁止新房屋采用租赁产权的法令，且政府打算很快针对新公寓通过相关禁令，但要完全结束这一长期承诺的制度仍需数年时间才能“启动”。

• 红场年度活动将在二十年来首次不出现装甲车或导弹系统。Europe live – 最新更新 • 由于担心乌克兰无人机的远程攻击，俄罗斯将于 5 月 9 日在莫斯科举行规模缩减的胜利日阅兵，且近二十年来首次不展出军事装备。 • 国防部援引“当前作战情况”，表示在纪念苏联战胜纳粹德国的阅兵式期间，将没有装甲车或导弹系统驶过红场。阅读更多...

Commons speaker to grant application by Tories for vote on investigation into whether PM misled MPs, say sourcesUK politics live – latest updatesKeir Starmer will face a vote on whether to launch an investigation into claims he misled the Commons over his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington.Sources have told the Guardian that the speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, is expected to allow a debate on Tuesday on potentially referring the prime minister to the privileges committee. Continue reading...

• VisionWave Holdings (NASDAQ: VWAV) closed a $20 million senior loan in late February and subsequently completed a $60 million–valued acquisition of AI video intelligence intellectual property, strengthening its technology portfolio. • The acquisition adds significant video AI capabilities to VisionWave's platform and positions the company for expanded market presence in computer vision applications. • These transactions demonstrate continued investor confidence in AI video technology sectors and emerging opportunities in automated visual intelligence.

More than 50% of voters at first AGM under new leadership oppose plans to scrap climate reportingBP’s board has suffered a triple climate rebellion in its first shareholder meeting since appointing new leadership to steer the embattled oil company.More than 50% of shareholders voting at the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) came out against its plans to scrap its existing climate reporting, and its resolution to replace in-person annual shareholder meetings – a lightning rod for climate protest in recent years – with online-only events. Continue reading...

The findings land before supreme court hearing on Trump bid to end protections for Syrians and HaitiansTemporary protected status (TPS) holders, who have historically been protected from deportation due to safety concerns in their home countries, contribute around $29bn every year to the US economy, according to a new report published this week.The findings from this report, which comes from FWD.us, have emerged one week before the supreme court is set to hear arguments challenging the Trump administration’s attempts to strip TPS status from Syrians and Haitians. It also comes nearly one week since the House passed legislation to protect Haitian immigrants, whose protected status is at risk. Continue reading...

Brussels will relax state aid rules to allow member countries to offer ‘targeted and temporary’ supportEurope live – latest updatesThe EU will cut electricity taxes and provide consumers with fresh incentives to ditch fuel-burning cars and boilers, the European Commission has announced, as the Iran war energy crisis speeds a shift to a clean economy.The plan, which foresees tweaking rules so that electricity is taxed less than oil and gas, aims to bring down bills while encouraging the move away from polluting devices that prolong reliance on foreign fuels. Continue reading...

Human rights groups have warned that the collective prosecutions violate due process and block defendants from accessing legal counselA Salvadoran court on Tuesday began a collective trial of 486 alleged gang members, in one of the biggest mass trials under president Nayib Bukele’s crackdown on gang violence through controversial emergency powers.Prosecutors say the charges against alleged members of the Mara Salvatrucha gang, or MS-13, span more than 47,000 crimes committed between 2012 and 2022, including a weekend that was El Salvador’s bloodiest since its civil war. Continue reading...

Sacked civil servant acknowledges ‘debate’ about release of documents after question about alleged ‘cover-up’Olly Robbins responded to a question about an alleged “cover-up” on Tuesday by confirming that government officials had considered withholding Peter Mandelson’s secretive vetting documents from parliament.Robbins, who was sacked by Keir Starmer as the Foreign Office’s top civil servant last week, appeared to confirm a report in the Guardian that senior officials were debating whether to withhold from parliament sensitive documents that revealed the vetting agency did not believe Mandelson should get clearance. Continue reading...

Government looks to rush through laws allowing pavement ‘charging gullies’ to help boost EV take-up and cut dependence on fossil fuelsUK to appeal against tax ruling cutting VAT on public EV chargers to 5%Households without off-street parking could soon be able to charge their electric vehicles from home under new government plans to help households cut their need for expensive fossil fuels.The government has promised to pass legislation this summer that will allow motorists to run power cables through a charging “gully” built into the pavement outside their home without the need for planning permission. Continue reading...

• US stocks demonstrated resilience amid Iran geopolitical tensions and high energy prices, with the S&P 500 up nearly 2% year-to-date by April 14, just 1% below its January 27 all-time high. • The index's maximum drawdown stayed under 10%, cushioned by forward earnings estimates growing at a 17% annual rate despite a 20% drop in P/E ratios. • S&P 500 profit margins hit new highs around 15% in early April, driven by broad fundamentals including AI and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act effects, not just energy sector gains.

Silvia Salis, the leftwing mayor of Genoa and former Olympian, is described as ‘a breath of fresh air’ and potential unifierIt has been a turbulent month in Italian politics.A failed referendum on a judicial overhaul pierced prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s aura of invincibility, triggering government resignations and leaving her scrambling to restore credibility. At the same time, her once special relationship with Donald Trump has frayed after the US president publicly scolded her this week for criticising his broadside against Pope Leo and for not supporting the US-Israeli war on Iran. Continue reading...

Exiled leader to revive push for change amid US backing of Delcy Rodríguez and delays to democratic transitionVenezuela’s opposition leader, María Corina Machado, will seek to revive her push for political change with a rally in Madrid on Saturday, having found herself sidelined by Donald Trump after the abduction of the president Nicolás Maduro.“Venezuela will be free,” the Nobel peace prize winner insisted in an interview on the eve of this weekend’s demonstration in the Puerta del Sol square, which is expected to draw tens of thousands of protesters. Continue reading...

Voters broadly split along generational lines as pro-Russian former president leads in pollsAnna Bodakova’s days tend to be rather hectic at the moment. Hopping between meeting voters on the street, political debates and recording videos for social media, the 23-year-old is standing to become an MP in Bulgaria’s general election.Last year she was among the many young Bulgarians who participated in countrywide mass protests over the government’s economic policies and perceived failure to tackle corruption. Those protests ultimately resulted in the resignation of the prime minister, Rosen Zhelyazkov, and his cabinet in December. Continue reading...

• Netflix reported earnings that missed analyst estimates, yet broader market indices maintained record highs as investor focus remained on Iran ceasefire developments and energy market normalization. • The streaming giant's earnings disappointment was overshadowed by positive sentiment around geopolitical deescalation and reduced energy price pressures benefiting the wider market. • Market participants are weighing mixed corporate earnings results against macro-level improvements in global risk sentiment and supply chain stability.

Lasting peace depends on resolving a border dispute dating back to 2000 and dealing with Hezbollah’s weaponsMiddle East crisis – live updatesIsrael’s security cabinet first heard about the ceasefire with Lebanon from a social media post by Donald Trump. Hezbollah first heard about the ceasefire from the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon. Each side shot off as many bombs, drones and rockets as they could before the ceasefire – imposed from above – came into effect.Despite the US president claiming it is the 10th war he has ended, the situation on the ground in Lebanon looks anything but stable. Continue reading...

Thieves believed to have escaped into sewers after holding staff and customers in Crédit Agricole branch for two hoursArmed robbers held 25 people hostage at a bank in Naples for two hours on Thursday, before fleeing through a tunnel.The three thieves entered a branch of Crédit Agricole in the southern Italian city at about 11.30am, taking hostage of staff and customers, who were freed by police a couple of hours later. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Opinions split on ‘unprecedented’ release of files, despite demand for ‘all papers’ related to ex-US ambassador’s appointmentSenior government officials have been considering whether to withhold from parliament sensitive documents that show Peter Mandelson had failed security vetting before he assumed the role of US ambassador, the Guardian can reveal.Any such decision could amount to an extraordinary breach of a parliamentary vote which ordered the release of “all papers” relevant to Mandelson’s appointment. Continue reading...

New meeting to come after rare direct talks between the countries mediated by US; Netanyahu earlier says Israel about to ‘overwhelm’ part of southern LebanonUS and Iran in indirect talks to extend two-week ceasefireHello and welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East.Donald Trump says the leaders of Israel and Lebanon will hold talks on Thursday, after the countries’ first face-to-face diplomatic negotiations in decades.Pakistan’s army chief met with Iran’s foreign minister in Tehran on Wednesday in the latest diplomatic move to ease Middle East tensions and arrange a second round of US-Iran negotiations. Trump said earlier that the war was “very close to over”.Leavitt said a second round of US-Iran talks would “very likely” take place in Islamabad again and that Pakistan was “the only mediator” in the discussions.Major Wall Street stock indices extended an upward climb on optimism about a US-Iran agreement.Israel’s security cabinet met to discuss a ceasefire after the Israel-Lebanon talks mediated by the US in Washington on Tuesday. But the Israeli military continues to strike the country, with Netanyahu saying Israel was about to “overwhelm” the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, calling it a Hezbollah stronghold.Four Lebanese rescue workers were killed in consecutive Israeli strikes in the southern Lebanon village of Mayfadoun on Wednesday, paramedic groups said. Six others were wounded.The US military’s Middle East command Centcom said it stopped 10 vessels from sailing out of Iranian ports during the first 48 hours of the US naval blockade. But ship tracking data indicated at least three ships sailing from Iranian ports crossed the strait of Hormuz, though some vessels taking the route later turned back.The finance ministers of 11 countries including the UK and Japan called for “coordinated emergency support” from the IMF and World Bank to help countries hit by disruptions from the Middle East war. Continue reading...

Analysis by IFS shows George Osborne’s mortgage schemes launched in 2013 had little effect on social mobilityHigher-income households were the biggest beneficiaries of George Osborne’s Help to Buy mortgage schemes, introduced in the 2010s, according to an analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) thinktank.Launched by the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition government in 2013, Help to Buy involved two separate schemes aimed at making home ownership more achievable in a period of rapid house price growth. Continue reading...

Weakened economic activity, soaring fuel prices and rising inflation have created a horror scenario, RBA deputy governor saysFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAndrew Hauser, the Reserve Bank of Australia’s deputy governor, says the “stagflationary shock” from the Iran war is a “central banker’s nightmare”, as confidence among Australian households crashed to its lowest level in years.Speaking at an event in New York on Tuesday morning AEST, Hauser said the RBA was “judging the balance” between the damage to the economy from “a big income shock” associated with soaring fuel prices, versus a sharp rise in inflation. Continue reading...

Incentives to absorb surplus wind and solar energy could help balance the grid and lower billsThe UK needs more North Sea gas, not greater reliance on US imports | Nils PratleyHouseholds will be called on to boost their consumption of Great Britain’s record renewable energy this summer to help balance the power grid and lower energy bills.Under the new plans, people could be encouraged to run dishwashers and washing machines or charge up their electric vehicles when there is more wind and solar power than the electricity grid needs. Continue reading...