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Passengers face risk of cancellations due to fuel shortages – and long airport queues due to EU entry-exit systemWhat are your rights if your holiday flight is cancelled?Holidaymakers have faced numerous stresses in recent years when planning and budgeting for the sacred summer holiday. Holiday flights to Europe have kept growing despite a pandemic, a cost of living crisis and long airport queues, but summer 2026 threatens to bring fresh anxieties.Legacies of Brexit mean longer border checks for Britons and most non-EU nationals to get into much of Europe, and the US-Israel war on Iran has prompted fears that airlines may not have enough fuel for every scheduled flight. Continue reading......

Iran war and EU's new entry-exit system could lead to travel misery this summer, but there are ways to mitigate itCan Europe avoid a summer of travel chaos?The war in the Middle East has prompted fears that potential shortages of jet fuel could result in flight cancellations this summer and warnings that holidays could be severely disrupted.Airports have said jet fuel could run short within three weeks as a result of supply problems after the strait of Hormuz was effectively closed when war broke out at the end of February. Continue reading......

Gina Rinehart, who's been called Australia's 'female Donald Trump', has long fought claims from the family of her father's business partner – as well as her own childrenFull Story podcast: How Gina Rinehart lost hundreds of millions of dollars in courtAustralia's richest person is reeling after a landmark court decision found her company must pay royalties worth hundreds of millions of dollars to a rival mining dynasty.Gina Rinehart, a multibillionaire with political connections in both the White House and the Australian parliament, has been described by members of the US conservative movement as “a female Donald Trump”. The 72-year-old, who inherited her father's iron ore empire in Australia's Pilbara region, has fought multiple claims against the family company Hancock Prospecting that were first launched in 2010. Continue reading......

Chancellor aims to curb rising household bills as she consults on reforms to weaken link between gas and electricity pricesRachel Reeves is poised to raise the government's windfall tax on low-carbon electricity generators to help to limit UK household energy bills, the Guardian understands.The chancellor is ready to hike the levy introduced in 2022 to target the excess profits made by the owners of older renewable energy and nuclear plants as electricity market prices soared after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading......

Exclusive: The club, owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac, received the grant without a contract or final state aid assessment in placeWrexham AFC, the football club part-owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac, was given a £3.8m government grant without a contract or a finished state aid assessment in place, raising questions over whether the award was lawful.The club has received £18m in taxpayer-funded grants – far more than any other in the UK – to help to redevelop its stadium, the Racecourse Ground (Y Cae Ras in Welsh). Continue reading......

Brent crude drops and markets rise amid hopes Donald Trump will succeed in reaching deal with TehranBusiness live – latest updatesOil and gas prices fell sharply on Friday after Iran said the strait of Hormuz would open to commercial shipping, potentially clearing the way for tankers holding millions of barrels of oil and gas to reach the global market.Iran's foreign minister said vessels would be free to transit the strait of Hormuz for the duration of the 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, struck on Thursday. Continue reading......

But Labour's 'halfway house' approach risks losing support from progressives and 'red wall' voters, experts sayUK politics live – latest updatesSupport for rejoining the EU rather than simply rejoining the single market is growing among British voters, with more than 80% of Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green party supporters favouring this option, according to research mapping voter attitudes 10 years after the Brexit referendum.Labour's “muted” approach to the issue means it risks losing support among progressive voters and in “red wall” constituencies, experts have said as part of research by Best for Britain. Continue reading......

Autotrader says average EV cost is £785 cheaper, in an important milestone in the move away from fossil fuelsBusiness live – latest updatesThe price of new battery electric cars has fallen below petrol cars in the UK for the first time ever, according to the car sales website Autotrader, in a significant milestone in Britain's transition away from fossil fuels.The average price of a new electric car listed on the website was £42,620, compared with £43,405 for a new petrol model – making the former £785 cheaper based on advertised prices after discounts. Continue reading......

Saudi's PIF undergoing 'value realization' of plan'The [Iran] war would add more pressure to priorities'Saudi Arabia has abandoned its aspirations to host the 2035 Rugby World Cup as a result of the Public Investment Fund's new financial strategy.The sports minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki al-Faisal, confirmed Saudi's interest in bidding for the tournament last year, but the Guardian has learned that the kingdom has not submitted an expression of interest to World Rugby and has no plans to do so before the bidding process closes in October. The president of Asia Rugby, Qais al-Dhalai, also talked up a joint Middle East bid from Saudi, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates last year, but that has not materialised either. Continue reading......

Store opened in 1971 in Seattle's Pike Place Market joins growing unionization campaign across the coffee chainWorkers at the historic first Starbucks store are seeking to unionize as the coffee retail giant and its union appear stalemated over their first contract.The first Starbucks store opened in 1971 in Seattle's Pike Place Market, and the store serves as a tourist site in Seattle. Continue reading......

Adult video platform to sell minority stake to increase stability after death of its founder Leonid RadvinskyBusiness live – latest updatesOnlyFans, the UK adult video platform, is in talks to sell a minority stake to a US investor that will value the business at more than $3bn (£2.2bn).The London-based company is in advanced talks to sell a stake of less than 20% to the San Francisco-based investment firm Architect Capital, according to the Financial Times. Sources familiar with the process confirmed the talks to the Guardian. Continue reading......

Scott O'Neil rejects claims LIV is close to collapse'Structural changes' afoot, chief executive saysLIV Golf chief executive Scott O'Neil admitted the nascent golf league's finances are “managed very tightly” and said structural changes are on the way that would probably mean they need to raise money, but he remained adamant the league will not fold.He was interviewed by LIV employees during the TV broadcast of the first round of the rebel tour's Mexico City leg, a day after reports that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund was to cut its funding for the league it helped launch in 2022. Continue reading......

Firms owned by media tycoon launched action against regulator in 2022 after lottery licence awarded elsewhereThe media tycoon Richard Desmond has lost his claim for up to £1.3bn in damages from the Gambling Commission, ending a bitter dispute over the regulator's decision not to award him the 10-year licence to run the national lottery.Companies owned by the former proprietor of the Daily Express and Channel 5 launched action against the regulator in 2022, starting a tortuous legal process that saw Desmond's costs estimated to have reached £55m already by May last year. Continue reading......

With prices at the vets soaring by more than 60% since 2016, tests such as MRI scans for dogs can exceed £3,500Why does my vet charge more than a private hospital for humans? I've been quoted £1,500 for an MRI scan for my dog. When I looked at how much it would cost for a person to have the same type of scan privately, it was about £700.As technology improves, the treatments and diagnostics available for pets are getting closer to what is on offer for human patients. While we used to rely on a vet to assess what was going on inside an animal, they can now recommend hi-tech scans to see exactly what's happening. But progress costs money. Continue reading......

Santa Marta conference born out of frustration at Cop summits, where renewable progress has been stalled by major pollutersEverybody knows fossil fuels cause climate breakdown, but until recently, mention of them was all but erased from the annual UN climate summits. Last year, two weeks of discussions ended without fossil fuels being mentioned in the final outcome.Frustration with those talks led a small developing country with a large fossil fuel sector – Colombia, the largest coal and fourth biggest oil exporter in the Americas – to rewrite the rules. With co-convener the Netherlands, and support from more than 50 countries, Colombia will host a groundbreaking new global conference this month to begin the long-awaited “transition away from fossil fuels”. Continue reading......

Release of new Claude model, so far limited to US firms, will expand to British institutions in coming daysBritish banks will be given access in the next week to a powerful AI tool that was deemed too dangerous to be released to the public, as a series of senior finance figures warned over its impact.Anthropic, which has so far limited the release of the new model to a small clutch of primarily US businesses, including Amazon, Apple and Microsoft, said it would expand that to UK financial institutions in the coming days. Continue reading......

George Robertson has joined Reform and the Tories in making the case. Look welfare recipients in the face and say thatThe benefits budget is now a magic money tree. Whenever Conservatives or Faragists make wild promises – tax cuts, more police, more punishment, more bonuses for marriage – and are asked how they would pay, the answer is always “welfare”. The sums are enormous. “Only the Conservatives will cut welfare spending by £23bn and get Britain working again,” the party insists.More unexpected was the klaxon from the Labour peer George Robertson this week, demanding a cut in benefits to finance defence. “We cannot defend Britain with an ever-expanding welfare budget,” said the ex-Nato chief, wanting to pluck this juicy plum to fund defence. Good to see him slapped down sharply by the government: there is no “zero-sum game” between these two budgets, said the chancellor's deputy, James Murray.Guardian Newsroom: Can Labour come back from the brink?On Thursday 30 April, join Gaby ...

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsCuts to overseas aid will worsen shocks to global economy, David Miliband saysGood morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.A jump in the wheat price is adding to concern that the conflict in the Middle East will fuel food inflation this year.Global fertiliser prices have surged during critical planting periods.Fuel prices rose as much as 150% within days in some markets, driving up transport and water costs.Commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz fell by more than 90%, constraining agricultural supply chains.In Somalia, fuel spikes have doubled the cost of water in drought-affected areas.Humanitarian shipments to Sudan are being rerouted via the Cape of Good Hope, adding roughly 6,000 miles and up to three weeks to transit times.The World Food Programme estimates 45 million additional people could be pushed into acute hunger globally.10am BST: Eurozone trade data for February1.3...

Campaigners organise open letter to director demanding 'fair day's wage' for all workers at V&A museumsA row over pay has broken out at the V&A before the opening of its newest site , with thousands of people calling for it to become a living wage employer.On Saturday, V&A East will open its doors in Stratford, east London, showcasing stunning fabrics, photos and black British music. It joins a wider group of V&A museums including its original site in South Kensington, Young V&A in Bethnal Green and V&A Dundee. The V&A describes its latest opening as one of the most significant new museum projects in the UK. Continue reading......

Legally questionable confidentiality clause adopted almost word for word from demands of Microsoft and trade groupsMicrosoft and other US tech companies successfully lobbied the EU to hide the environmental toll of their datacentres, an investigation has found, with demands to block a database of green metrics from public view written almost word for word into EU rules.The secrecy provision, which the European Commission added to its proposal almost verbatim after industry lobbying in 2024, hinders scrutiny of the pollution that individual datacentres emit. It leaves researchers with just national-level summaries of their energy footprints. Continue reading......