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Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage couldn’t get elected member of UK parliament, so he became a member of European Parliament. He also couldn’t get knighted by the Queen of England, so he naturally opted for the next best thing: Being knighted by a young girl with a plastic sword on Russia-funded television network RT. You can watch the heartwarming ceremony here: The ceremony didn’t stop with the plastic sword, […]

A storming start for risk assets has defined the first two months of 2017, with heightened optimism on Wall Street pushing the FTSE All-World equity index into record territory. Whether the rally can be sustained in March depends on the outcome of several key events. Here is a rundown of what looms for investors during the month. US jobs data and the Federal Reserve The bullish sentiment […]

By Francesco Guarascio and Alastair Macdonald | BRUSSELS BRUSSELS European Union leaders have been told to be ready for a Brexit summit at the end of the first week of April, EU sources said on Wednesday, although the final date will depend on British Prime Minister Theresa May. A summit of the other 27 national leaders to respond to May’s formal notification of Britain’s departure appears in […]

VILNIUS German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Wednesday there had hardly been any progress in implementing the Minsk peace agreement for eastern Ukraine, which meant no lifting of sanctions against Russia was in sight. Speaking during a joint news conference with Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius, Gabriel also said he opposed any move to return the European Union to being just a single market. EU chief […]

By Ben Stupples The chairman of the EU’s Panama Papers inquiry has slammed the U.K. Treasury’s refusal to meet with investigators, raising concern over Britain’s commitment to the high-level investigation. It was “most disappointing and regrettable that no one at the political level at HM Treasury was able or willing to meet” during the trip to London last week from the European Parliament’s Panama Papers inquiry committee, […]

Big reforms to rules for UK initial public offerings have been proposed by the market regulator to give investors better and earlier information, as the watchdog seeks to keep Britain “open for business” after Brexit. The Financial Conduct Authority said on Wednesday that information about a company planning an IPO should be made available sooner, and to a wider range of analysts and investors. The FCA warned that […]

UK government The UK government has outlined plans for a post-Brexit digital strategy to move technology to the heart of the country. On Wednesday, the government announced the launch of the Digital Strategy, which promises to place “skills, infrastructure and innovation” at the forefront to support “Britain’s world-leading digital economy.” The government claims over four million free digital skills training courses will be created through the scheme. […]

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LONDON British Prime Minister Theresa May, who is not known for her self-indulgence, has revealed she will be giving up crisps in the run-up to Easter — a period called Lent when many Christians fast or give up luxuries. Lent, which begins on Wednesday, commemorates the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert preparing for his ministry. May, a vicar’s daughter, is a regular church goer. […]

By Michelle Nichols | UNITED NATIONS UNITED NATIONS Russia on Tuesday cast its seventh veto to protect the Syrian government from United Nations Security Council action, blocking a bid by Western powers to impose sanctions over accusations of chemical weapons attacks during the six-year Syrian conflict. China backed Russia and cast its sixth veto on Syria. Russia had said the vote on the resolution, drafted by France, […]

The American ambassador, Nikki R. Haley, accused Russia of putting “its friends in the Assad regime” before global security. Continue reading the main story “It’s a sad day for the Security Council when member states make excuses for other members killing their own people,” she said in the council chambers after the vote. The resolution, proposed by Britain and France months ago and endorsed by the United […]

By Tom Miles and John Irish | GENEVA GENEVA Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said on Tuesday that a U.N. Security Council resolution put forward by Western powers to punish Syria’s government over its alleged use of chemical weapons would harm peace talks in Geneva. The resolution, which comes amid U.N.-led peace talks between the warring Syrian parties, seeks to ban the supply of helicopters to […]

By Thomas Escritt | AMSTERDAM AMSTERDAM Since the evening in 2004 when policemen arrived unannounced to escort him and his wife to safety, Geert Wilders has lived in safe houses under 24-hour guard to protect him from Islamist militants who threatened to kill him. Film-maker Theo van Gogh had been shot, stabbed and nearly beheaded by a militant Islamist earlier that day, and Wilders, another prominent critic […]

28 February 2017 Dubai, UAE – Gulfood 2017, the 22nd edition of the world’s largest food and beverage trade platform, has rubberstamped its standing as a true industry weathervane and innovation laboratory. Right across the 1,000,000 square foot show, which runs until Thursday 2 March at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), up to 90,000 food professionals from 150 countries are absorbing tens of thousands of products being […]

Kim Smith was not given terms and conditions when her employer offered her a fitness tracker last year. The 27-year-old, who holds a junior position in a big media company, entered data such as how much water she drank and her weight on the GPS-enabled device. The number of steps she — and her colleagues who joined the programme — took each day were recorded on a […]

LONDON The “sheer intransigence” of the British government over Brexit could lead to a second Scottish independence referendum, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Tuesday, warning time was running out for the country to change course. Writing in the Times newspaper, Sturgeon said Britain’s vote to leave the European Union had changed the landscape since Scotland last held a referendum on its independence, voting by a 10-point […]

Early last year Olivier Leprêtre signed a new lease on a €2.7m fishing boat. Then the UK voted to leave the EU — and the trawlerman from Boulogne-sur-Mer on the other side of the Channel is already regretting his decision. “If I’d known Brexit would happen, I never would have signed,” he says, gesturing towards the British coastline just 50km away. “It could crush us.” His fears […]

The near collapse of the €29bn merger between the London Stock Exchange Group and Deutsche Börse was precipitated by the LSE’s decision to aggressively reject concessions demanded by Brussels without warning or consulting its German partner. Both exchanges took turns apportioning blame to EU authorities and obstinate rivals on Monday, making clear the deal once touted as creating a European champion to challenge their larger US rivals […]

French government debt has capped its best run since the aftermath of Britain’s vote for Brexit, underlining the rapid shift in investor sentiment towards the country’s presidential election which now looms over financial markets. The yield on the 10-year French bond dropped to its lowest in a month, as money managers and traders continued to take succour after centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron received the backing of potential […]

LONDON Britain’s inquiry into historical child sex abuse, dogged by problems since it was launched three years ago and leading to the resignation of three chairmen, finally began holding its first public hearings on Monday. The inquiry, one of its largest and most expensive ever undertaken, was set up in July 2014 by now-Prime Minister Theresa May in her former role as interior minister after a series […]

LONDON The threat of a new Scottish independence referendum is creating unnecessary uncertainty and division, a government spokesman said on Monday, responding to media reports that Scottish nationalists were preparing to demand one. “The question is not whether there could be a second referendum, it is whether there should be one – and the clear answer to that is no,” the spokesman said. “The decision to remain […]

LONDON/FRANKFURT The London Stock Exchange (LSE.L) has all but ended a planned merger with Deutsche Boerse (DB1Gn.DE) to create Europe’s biggest stock exchange by ruling out meeting a European antitrust demand, saying it has strong prospects alone. In a bid to create a European trading powerhouse that would better compete against U.S. rivals making inroads on their home turf, the two exchanges struck a 29 billion euro […]

By Stephanie Nebehay and John Irish | GENEVA GENEVA Syrian activists called on Sunday for the Assad government to engage in serious talks on political transition and for the United Nations to strengthen the fragile ceasefire as violence engulfed parts of the country. U.N. mediator Staffan de Mistura said a militant attack in Homs on Saturday was a deliberate attempt to wreck the Geneva peace talks, while […]

By Eric Auchard | BARCELONA BARCELONA Nokia (NOKIA.HE) sees demand for higher speed 4G network equipment starting to recover this year, led by Japan, the company’s chief executive Rajeev Suri said on Sunday as he announced a series of contracts with telecom operators. Speaking at a news conference ahead of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Suri also predicted a new wave of industry consolidation among telecom […]

LONDON Islamic State militants are planning “indiscriminate attacks on innocent civilians” in Britain on a scale similar to those staged by the Irish Republican Army 40 years ago, the head of the country’s new terrorism watchdog said. In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph published on Sunday, Max Hill, the lawyer tasked with overseeing British laws on terrorism, said the militants were targeting cities and posed “an […]

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