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As World Bank and IMF chiefs gather in Washington the Iran war is driving up energy prices, fuelling inflation and making voters impatientThe world's finance ministers and central bank governors gather in Washington this week for the half-yearly meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, with the global economy in a perilous spot.Not since the foundation of the Bretton Woods institutions late in the second world war have global conflicts triggered this much economic turbulence. The volatile 1970s come close. But the US-Israeli war on Iran, coming so soon after the Covid pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, take the prize. Continue reading......

The firm says it withheld an AI model on cybersecurity grounds but sceptics say this was hype to lure investmentThis week, the AI company Anthropic said it had created an AI model so powerful that, out of a sense of overwhelming responsibility, it was not going to release it to the public.The US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, summoned the heads of major banks for a chat about the model, Mythos. The Reform UK MP Danny Kruger wrote a letter to the government urging it to “engage with AI firm Anthropic whose new frontier model Claude Mythos could present catastrophic cybersecurity risks to the UK”. X went wild. Continue reading......

Fraudsters send emails claiming storage is full or nearly full, then trick people into clicking on links that can expose bank and personal detailsFor a while you've been getting messages from Apple saying “your iCloud storage is full”. They say you have exceeded your storage plan, so documents are no longer being backed up, and photos you take aren't being uploaded.You have been resisting Apple's efforts to get you to pay a minimum of 99p a month for more storage. But it seems that you can't keep putting off the inevitable: you have received an email which says your iCloud account has been blockedand your photos and videos will be deleted very soon. To keep them you need to upgrade immediately, it says. Continue reading......

Estate agents say rising mortgage costs have created a mood of fear, with Canterbury among the cities being hitHave you lost a mortgage deal or seen your rate rise?On a warm, spring morning in Canterbury, the cobbled streets are buzzing with activity and the white Tudor houses gleam in the sun.It is a scene that seems far removed from events in the Middle East, but the conflict is undermining business and consumer confidence – rattling the city's housing market just as the spring selling season began. Continue reading......

Exclusive: US state is targeting corporate heavyweights in the UK with subsidies and incentives Y'all Street: Bullish Dallas aims to steal New York's crownThe US state of Texas is putting UK businesses in its crosshairs with the launch this month of a dedicated London office to lure jobs and investment to the low-tax Lone Star State.Texas recently secured approval for the new site, adding to a growing list of international offices from which it can try to draw corporate heavyweights across its borders. Continue reading......

Described as the 'must-have' home accessory of 2026, sales of 'posh' matchboxes are up 121% at SelfridgesGoodbye Swan Vesta, hello Cartier. Matchboxes are the latest home accessory to get a luxury makeover – and some of the price tags are striking.At the upmarket department store chain Selfridges, sales of posh matchboxes are up 121% year-on-year and it said they were “the must-have home accessory for 2026”. The store has more than doubled its range to meet demand, selling over 100 styles at prices ranging from £5 to more than £230. Continue reading......

Industry experts say booking of controversial US rapper was calculated risk that has implications for all festivalsThe fallout over Wireless announcing Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) as its 2026 headliner was both swift and considerable.Last Sunday, major sponsors of the three-day festival, including Pepsi and Diageo, began to withdraw their involvement in the face of a significant backlash to Ye's shocking pronouncements on the Jewish community and the Holocaust. UK Jewish groups threatened to protest if the shows went ahead. Keir Starmer called the decision to book the rapper who wrote a song titled Heil Hitler “deeply concerning”. Continue reading......

From catwalk versions to online vintage finds, the workwear staple is being recast as a marker of laidback coolIn many wardrobes, the thick, checked shirt is usually found among the gardening clothes, or it might be worn as an extra layer on a bitterly cold day. But, in 2026, for the first time since the 90s, it's becoming a bona fide fashion item.Flannel shirts have recently been worn by fashion editors and stylists on the front row, by the models Adwoa Aboah and Emily Ratajkowski and the Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola. Brands including Marni, Chloé and Chanel had versions in their recent shows. And more significantly, this week comes the much anticipated new series of the Gen Z drama Euphoria, stills from which show Jacob Elordi's character, Nate Jacobs, wearing a Bottega Veneta “flannel” shirt made of leather. Originally from the spring/summer 2023 collection, and worn by Kate Moss on the catwalk, it costs £4,600 in the shops. Continue reading......

Conservative leader promises biggest peacetime rearmament effort in UK history if her party is re-electedThe Conservatives would reinstate the two-child benefit cap and use the savings for a wide-ranging spending splurge on defence in what Kemi Badenoch said would be “the biggest peacetime programme of rearmament in our country's history”.Speaking at a defence conference in London, the Tory leader criticised the government for Britain's “lack of readiness” for war, which has been exposed by recent world events. Continue reading......

Unite Here co-president demands improvement in working conditions and urges Fifa to keep ICE away from matchesA hospitality union that represents about 2,000 workers at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles has threatened to strike during the World Cup if Fifa leaders do not heed their concerns about working conditions and the presence of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE).This summer, SoFi Stadium will be thrust into the national spotlight as it hosts eight World Cup matches. Between June and July, Los Angeles is estimated to see 150,000 more out-of-town visitors than typical for the time period. Continue reading......

Fraudulent music streams have long been a scourge for the industry, but experts say generative AI has supercharged itJason Moran, a renowned jazz composer and pianist, got a strange call from a friend last month. The friend, bassist Burniss Earl Travis, was curious about Moran's new record that he saw on the music streaming service Spotify.“It has your name on it,” Travis told him. “But I don't think it's you.” Continue reading......

Jimmy's Corner, opened by former boxer Jimmy Glenn in 1971, is a vestige of an older New York – and its loyal patrons are fighting to protect itOn Friday morning, David Gladman was looking at tables in the back of Jimmy's Corner, the Times Square dive bar that has served up beers for more than 50 years.The table tops are covered with photographs, some dating back to the 70s, with yellowing laminate over the top. Gladman used the torch on his phone to scour the pictures. Continue reading......

Britain's standing in the world was never the same after its assault on Egypt in 1956. Now the US risks repeating history in the Middle EastMiddle East crisis – live updatesDonald Trump's addiction to framing every event in the most apocalyptic terms is what allows conservative commentators such as Mark Levin to praise him as “a once-in-a-century president”.But Trump cannot play out his entire presidency on a reckless high wire without eventually falling off – potentially taking America with him into a steep decline into the unknown. Continue reading......

Could I turn £10 into £1,000? I thought I could but was undone by the harsh reality and lost a little bit of my soul along the wayWelcome to How I Beat The Bookies: My Gambling Journey. Yes, my extreme methods can work for you. But only in the usual way. Which is to appear very briefly to work and then not to work at all.First it is necessary to address the latest blow to English football's otherwise watertight economy. People often talk about playing the world's tiniest violin, a way of expressing sarcastic sympathy for bogus suffering, usually accompanied by a finger-and-thumb gesture that suggests, incorrectly, this is the size of the world's tiniest violin. Continue reading......

For the super-rich with cash to burn, all those Rolexes and rare Labubus may not fill the void. But for me, a little goes a long wayWhen wages have stalled for nearly 20 years and I recently came face to face with a tube of toothpaste that was nearly £7 in my local Sainsbury's, the idea that money can't buy happiness seems almost offensive. It ultimately comes from a blinkered concept of what money can do. Sure, if you only use your money to buy things, the happiness it provides will be shallow and fleeting.Having said that, I refuse to believe there's a single person out there overpaying on rent who wouldn't be happier if they owned a house outright. Loosely speaking, yes, Rolexes and rare Labubus have nothing on, say, spending quality time with the people you love. But sadly, the latter costs money, too. Free time is part of a growing number of basic human needs that have become more or less commodified, and under whatever wacky stage of capitalism we're currently at, more money equals more time t...

Current and former government employees say they're facing a tough job market over a year on from sweeping cutsMaggie was faced with a tough choice in February 2025: quit her job at the US office of personnel management or be unceremoniously fired.Though she was a few months pregnant at the time, Maggie was offered one of the buyouts that were offered to tens of thousands of federal government employees by the office of personnel management. Continue reading......

Iran war drives demand for solar panels, heat pumps and EVs, with energy bills expected to rise 18% from JulyBritish households are turning to green home energy upgrades in record numbers to try to keep bills down as the Iran crisis sends global oil and gas prices soaring, data from leading energy suppliers suggests.Figures show demand for solar panels, electric vehicles and heat pumps in Great Britain has leapt since the war began on 28 February, as households brace for a sharp increase in monthly payments when the next energy price cap takes effect in the summer. Continue reading......

A Guardian investigation reveals how the prediction market can shape news – and how it rules on 'the truth'“Horekunden” was rapidly losing patience.His frustration was with the Institute for the Study of War, a US thinktank which produces a daily map of the frontline in Ukraine. Continue reading......

Neill says 'one of the most beautiful and remote places in the world' will be permanently changed if Bendigo-Ophir wins fast-track approvalThe grapevines in Sam Neill's vineyard in Central Otago – a picturesque region known for its undulating hills and wines – are pregnant with pinot noir grapes, almost ripe for picking as autumn arrives.“My family has been here for over 150 years. I'm connected to this land like nowhere else on earth,” the 78-year-old actor and winemaker says. “It's perfect for wine. It's great for tourism. And it's one of the most beautiful and strange, remote places in the world.” Continue reading......

Temporary limit in England and Wales won't stop many facing higher charges from autumn due to jump in inflation from Iran warGovernment caps some student loan interest at 6%Some students and graduates are likely to pay slightly less interest on their student loans than expected as a result of action taken by the government this week.But while many higher earners will benefit from the news that interest will be capped at 6% for the 2026-27 academic year, many others are likely to have more interest added to their student loan from this autumn than is being applied at the moment. For that, they can blame Donald Trump. Continue reading......