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公司承認其未能防止在 Algeria 和 Oman 透過使用代理人尋求的公共部門合約中發生賄賂行為 British 國防公司 Ultra Electronics 已承擔其未能防止賄賂的責任，並在 Serious Fraud Office 調查後同意支付 1,500 萬英鎊 處罰是 High Court 週五批准的 deferred prosecution 的一部分，此前一項調查於 2018 年啟動，當時在 Algerian 媒體發布腐敗指控一個月後，該公司向 UK 執法機構自首。繼續閱讀...

• 分析發現自 2019 年以來 real wages 下降了 12%，US 的不平等程度擴大並超過了全球水平 • 根據 Oxfam 和全球最大的工會聯盟 International Trade Union Confederation 的一項新分析，2025 年全球 CEO pay 的增長速度比 worker pay 快 20 倍 • 在經 inflation 調整後，全球 worker pay 在 2019 年至 2025 年間下降了 12%，相當於在該期間內提供了 108 天的 free work

• 獨家報導：他們表示，政府應支持優先發展再生能源的項目，以保護消費者免受持續的價格衝擊 • 訂閱我們的突發新聞電子郵件、下載免費 App 或收聽每日新聞播客 • 包含來自 BP 和 Shell 的高階主管在內的油氣產業前領袖警告 Albanese 政府，若為了應對全球能源危機而優先發展化石燃料，澳洲民眾將面臨持續價格衝擊和更高成本的風險

• 與美國市場相關的跨境支付科技新創公司 Latitude 於本週正式亮相，獲得由 NEA 領投的 800 萬美元種子輪融資，旨在解決緩慢且昂貴的企業匯款問題。 • 該筆資金將支持 Latitude 簡化國際支付的使命，在 B2B 高效轉帳需求日益增長的背景下，將其定位為金融科技領域的挑戰者。 • 其推出正值 2026 年 4 月金融科技浪潮之際，突顯了儘管面對能源價格與 Fed 政策帶來的經濟不確定性，投資者仍對支付科技創新充滿信心。

• 部分地區的電費上漲高達 40%，且公司在 2025 年累計 1,300 萬次切斷客戶電源。 • 一項針對行業財務文件的最新審查顯示，儘管消費者正承受由持續通貨膨脹、伊朗戰爭以及數據中心成長所導致的高額帳單壓力，但美國頂尖公用事業公司的執行長在去年的薪酬仍增長了 16%，平均加薪額達 1,230 萬美元。 • 聯邦數據顯示，自 2021 年以來，部分地區的公用事業帳單漲幅高達 40%；且去年全美範圍內，公用事業公司累計 1,300 萬次切斷客戶電源。

• 根據 American Hospital Association 向 House Ways and Means Committee 提供的證詞，2024 年 Medicare 對醫院的支付不足總額已超過 1,000 億美元。 • 醫院在治療病情更重、病情更複雜且年齡更高的患者群體時，正面對巨大的成本壓力，且醫療服務提供與報銷率之間長期存在不匹配現象。 • 這種財務壓力反映了更廣泛的醫療體系挑戰，因為醫療提供者在面臨政府報銷不足的同時，還必須應對不斷上升的營運成本。

Government’s draft news bargaining incentive scheme includes 2.25% levy on local revenues of digital giantsAnthony Albanese has urged Google, Meta and TikTok to make deals with Australian media outlets to avoid a dedicated 2.25% levy on local revenues, warning digital giants should not be able to exploit the work of journalists to boost profits.Releasing an exposure draft for the government’s news bargaining incentive (NBI) scheme on Tuesday, the prime minister said platforms who sign new deals with publishers to pay for news content would receive offsets of between 150% to 170% from the new levy. Continue reading...

Health secretary’s ‘power grab’ to override Nice comes amid growing concern move may be illegal and benefit big pharmaDozens of MPs are opposing Wes Streeting’s decision to award himself power to dictate what the NHS pays for drugs amid growing concern the move may be illegal.Thirty-one MPs have signed a House of Commons motion voicing their disapproval of the health secretary being handed the power to override the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (Nice) judgment on how much the NHS should spend on individual medicines. Continue reading...

Former Liberal party senator, who was elected to state upper house in March, says flights ‘worth every cent’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastOne Nation’s South Australian leader has paid back Australia’s richest person for private flights he took while campaigning in the state’s recent election.Cory Bernardi confirmed on Saturday that he had reimbursed a “substantial” sum of money to Gina Rinehart’s company S Kidman & Co, to comply with new state laws that prohibit political parties and candidates from receiving electoral donations or gifts from individuals, businesses or unions. Continue reading...

Creator card is designed for people making money through TikTok Live, some of whom have complained of delays in paymentsTikTok and Visa have launched a debit card for content creators in the UK that they say will allow people to quickly access their earnings from the platform.The creator card is designed for the growing numbers of people making money through TikTok Live, a live streaming feature where creators receive virtual gifts from viewers that are later converted into cash. Continue reading...

Removal site in Dunkirk will hold people of 10 nationalities trying to reach UK in small boats under new deal with FrenchUK politics live – latest updatesThe UK will pay for 200 French officers to detain and deport people seeking asylum from some of the world’s most oppressive and war-ravaged regimes under a new UK-France deal to try to reduce Channel crossings.In what is being billed as the first time the French government has agreed to target those heading to the UK in small boats, a removal site in Dunkirk will be used to hold people from 10 countries: Eritrea, Afghanistan, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Iraq, Syria, Vietnam and Yemen. The Home Office said they were the top 10 nationalities who crossed the Channel by small boat last year. Continue reading...

Three-year deal includes funding for a riot squad to ‘disperse’ people trying to board small boatsThe UK government has agreed to pay France another £660m to curb the number of asylum seekers travelling across the Channel, including plans to fund a riot squad to “contain and disperse” people trying to board small boats.Under a three-year deal to be signed on Thursday by the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, 1,100 enforcement, intelligence and military officers – an increase of 40% – will be employed to track down smuggling gangs and people seeking refuge. Continue reading...

Monarch says Elizabeth II would have been troubled by recent events but she believed ‘goodness will always prevail’King Charles has said his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, would have been troubled deeply by current affairs as he paid a heartfelt tribute to her on what would have been her 100th birthday.In a video message to honour the nation’s longest-reigning monarch, he said she had “remained constant, steadfast and wholly devoted to the people she served”. Continue reading...

ONS data for three months to February is not expected to alter Bank of England’s decision on interest ratesUnemployment in the UK unexpectedly fell in the three months to February, according to official figures – but the fallout from the conflict in the Middle East is expected to cause a rise in job cuts.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that the rate of unemployment was 4.9% in the three months to February. This compares with 5.2% in the three months to January, a rate that economists had expected to also see in February. Continue reading...

Trump administration to launch online portal on Monday after supreme court struck down tariff policy earlier this yearDonald Trump said US negotiators will be in Pakistan on Monday, and he again threatened to destroy its power plants and bridges if no deal is reached.Trump did not say who would lead the delegation, but a White House official said it was vice-president JD Vance. Continue reading...

• Stripe completed the acquisition of Wise Exchange, a fintech startup specializing in cross-border payment optimization, for $1.2 billion in stock on April 18, expanding its international payment capabilities. • The acquisition adds Wise Exchange's proprietary currency conversion algorithms and partnerships with 40+ financial institutions across Europe, Asia, and Americas to Stripe's existing platform. • Industry analysts view this acquisition as Stripe's strategic response to intensifying competition from Block, PayPal, and traditional payment networks in the global payments sector.

Deputy leader ran shell companies that reportedly did not pay tax on profits from 2020 to 2022, during which time his firm donated £1.1m to partyRichard Tice allegedly failed to pay almost £100,000 in corporation tax to the benefit of his investment company, which in turn made donations to Reform UK, it has been reported.In response to the report in the Sunday Times, the deputy leader of Reform UK posted a lengthy statement on X, in which he said: “A long career with multiple businesses is bound to feature some errors. Naturally I am always happy to put things right and if numbers need rechecking, of course I will pay what is owed – be that more or less.” Continue reading...

Filings suggest manufacturers’ lending arms have massively underestimated bill from FCA’s £9.1bn redress schemeCarmakers are under pressure to drum up £3bn to cover payouts for motor finance scandal victims after failing to adequately prepare for a UK-wide compensation scheme that is due to begin this summer.Company filings show the lending arms of big vehicle manufacturers including Ford, BMW, Stellantis and Volkswagen may have massively underestimated the final costs of the financial regulator’s £9.1bn redress scheme. Continue reading...

Mikie Sherrill says taxpayers should not carry burdenCosts at World Cup have come under increased scrutinyNew Jersey’s governor, Mikie Sherrill, has hit out at Fifa after reports her state’s transport system will charge $100 for a return ticket to World Cup matches this summer.New Jersey Transit lists the price for a round-trip ticket from New York’s Penn Station to MetLife Stadium, which will host eight World Cup matches this summer, including the final, as $12.90. The new pricing, reported by The Athletic earlier this week, puts the return ticket at more than $100 with no reductions for children, seniors or people with disabilities. NJ Transit told Fox 5 New York that the price has not been finalized. A decision is expected in the coming days. Continue reading...

Heather Hallett hails vaccine scheme but criticises rule that only those meeting 60% disabled threshold can get payoutsThe Covid-19 vaccine programme in the UK was an “extraordinary feat” but the payment scheme for people injured by the jabs must be urgently reformed, the public inquiry on the pandemic has found.In her report, the inquiry chair, Heather Hallett, praised the fact the UK was a world leader in biomedical sciences, which set it in good stead for developing and rolling out vaccines at scale. But she said the government must act urgently to reform the scheme for payments to the “small minority” of people seriously injured by the vaccines, and almost double maximum payouts to at least £200,000 from an upper limit of £120,000 at present. Continue reading...

Landmark ruling finds Wright Prospecting successfully made out its contractual claim to 50% of past and future royalties from Hope Downs iron ore projectGina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting has lost its bid to retain royalties from the mammoth Hope Downs iron ore project and will be forced to pay Wright Prospecting half of its earnings from the project, worth hundreds of millions of dollars.In a landmark ruling in the Western Auestralia supreme court on Wednesday, justice Jennifer Smith said that Wright Prospecting had successfully made out its contractual claim to 50% of past and future royalties paid from the project. Continue reading...

Platform says it will reward original creators as it penalises ‘aggregators’ for flooding timelines with ‘stolen posts’Business live – latest updatesElon Musk’s X has reduced payments to users who post clickbait and recycle news stories as it warned account holders against “flooding the timeline” with low-quality content.Nikita Bier, X’s head of product, wrote on the social media platform that all “aggregators” – users who quickly repackage and repost news from other accounts – had received less money from the creator revenue sharing programme. Continue reading...

Ministers admit carer’s allowance penalties will continue while review of more than 200,000 cases is carried outThousands of unpaid carers will continue to be hit with hefty and potentially unfair benefit repayment demands, it has emerged, as a government initiative gets under way to fix welfare injustices that have drawn comparison to the Post Office scandal.Ministers will on Monday launch an audit of more than 200,000 historical carer’s allowance benefit cases, with an estimated 25,000 carers issued with unlawful overpayments since 2015 likely to see their repayment debts cancelled or reduced as a result. Continue reading...

Report says company did not pay tens of thousands in tax on dividends given to Reform UK deputy leader and trustRichard Tice’s company has been accused of breaking the law by allegedly failing to pay tens of thousands of pounds in tax on dividends that were paid to him and his offshore trust.Reform UK’s multimillionaire deputy leader is alleged to have received at least £91,000 in excess payments as a result, the Sunday Times reported. Dan Neidle of Tax Policy Associates – whose analysis was cited by the newspaper – said that further analysis suggested that the total in tax that should have been paid by Tice’s company was about £120,000. Continue reading...

Deal for resident doctors was in sight when sudden change by ministers forced latest action, says Jack FletcherMinisters killed the chance to end strikes by resident doctors when they suddenly reduced the amount of money they were offering to secure the peace deal, the doctors’ leader claims.Dr Jack Fletcher accused the government of “playing games” and forcing resident doctors to embark on their 15th strike over pay and jobs, which is disrupting the NHS this week. Continue reading...

Finbar Sullivan, who ‘loved movies and making films’, had gone to London park to use new camera, says fatherA film student who was stabbed to death in London’s Primrose Hill was a “beautiful, lovely, outgoing, loving” man, his father has said.Finbar Sullivan, 21, was stabbed in a fight in the north London park in the early evening on Tuesday and was pronounced dead at the scene. 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...

Orla Wates, 19, who died after incident on popular Ha Giang loop, described as ‘beautiful, independent and very funny’The family of a British teenager have paid tribute to their daughter who died after a motorcycle crash on a popular route in Vietnam.The incident occurred on the Ha Giang loop in the country’s north and Orla Wates, 19, died at the Viet Duc University hospital in Hanoi, according to Viet Nam News. Continue reading...