Author: James Carter

The president says Russia has agreed to deliver millions of tonnes of diesel, a move that sits uneasily with sanctions legislation he signed last month and comes weeks before the midterm elections. President Donald Trump announced on Friday that Russia will supply large quantities of diesel fuel following a discussion with Vladimir Putin. Writing on Truth Social, he said the deal begins with more than 300,000 tonnes, with further shipments to follow in November and beyond. The announcement comes as American diesel prices reach $6.28 a gallon, according to AAA. It also comes as a new law imposing tariffs on…

Q Manivannan, who was elected to Holyrood while holding a temporary student visa, says the new permission means Scotland remains home. Opposition parties argue it still falls short of the full parliamentary term. Green MSP Q Manivannan has been granted a graduate visa by the Home Office, allowing them to remain in the UK for a further three years. Mr Manivannan, 30, was elected for Edinburgh and Lothians East in May while holding only a temporary student visa. The MSP was later the subject of criticism over remarks about rape in a video that spread widely online. The Conservatives and…

Vivien Lichtenstein says the party leader should stand down after missing the conference vote, as former leader Caroline Lucas criticises a lack of leadership. Vivien Lichtenstein, leader of the Jewish Greens, has called on Zack Polanski to resign as Green Party leader over a new policy equating Zionism with racism. The policy was adopted at the party’s conference in Brighton, in a debate and vote that Mr Polanski did not attend. He was campaigning in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, where he finished second to Labour. Caroline Lucas, the party’s former leader and first MP, has also criticised his…

Carlsberg Britvic has proposed shutting the nearly 200-year-old site next summer, blaming a steep fall in cask ale sales, while the Campaign for Real Ale has called the plan “an absolute disgrace”. Carlsberg Britvic has announced proposals to close Marston’s Brewery in Burton upon Trent, along with its primary logistics operation on the same site, putting about 310 jobs at risk. The closure is pencilled in for summer 2027 but is not yet final. The company cited “structural category decline and a need to create greater long-term value”. The brewery was established in 1834. The company’s case In a statement…

Prosecutors have added allegations of abuse against more than a dozen Americans held in Venezuela to the existing drugs and weapons case against the former president, who was seized in a US raid in January. Former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro has been charged with torture and other offences in a newly unsealed indictment in US federal court. According to the Department of Justice, the allegations concern the torture and mistreatment of more than a dozen US citizens who were detained in Venezuela while he was in power. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been held in the United States…

The Conservative leader told her party’s conference that a Tory government would take the family home out of inheritance tax entirely, whatever its value, as she set out a vision of lower taxes and home ownership. Kemi Badenoch has pledged that a Conservative government would exempt the family home from inheritance tax, regardless of its value. Speaking at the party’s conference in Birmingham on Wednesday, she said couples would also be able to pass on a further £1m in assets tax-free. The policy is expected to cost around £6bn a year once fully in place, and the party says it…

Ministry of Defence documents show a large share of the money earmarked for military accommodation has been pushed back, as armed forces campaigners warn that thousands of families face years more of poor conditions. The Government has postponed £800m of planned renovations to military housing until at least 2029, according to a letter from a senior Ministry of Defence (MoD) official that was first reported by The Times. The money formed part of a £9.2bn programme to repair roughly 40,000 service homes. Campaigners say the delay means personnel and their families will continue to live with mould, damp, faulty boilers…

Senior executives at the fashion retailer sat down with the animal rights group following a confrontation at a New York Fashion Week show, but campaigners say the talks produced nothing to change their approach. H&M executives met representatives of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) on 25 September without agreeing to stop using wool. The video call was arranged after a protest at a COS runway show in Manhattan, where a demonstrator was physically restrained. PETA’s senior director of strategy, Anne Brainard, described the discussion as a “big disappointment” and said the group would continue to target the…

The US secretary of state used a speech at the foot of the Acropolis to argue that rising military budgets signal a generational shift across the continent, while urging allies not to let strained relations damage the transatlantic partnership. US secretary of state Marco Rubio has said rising defence budgets across Europe show the continent “can awaken from its long slumber”. Speaking in Greece, he pointed to the pledge made last year by the UK and other Nato members to raise defence spending to 5% of economic output by 2035. He acknowledged that “passions” had strained ties between Washington and…

Boots is set to change hands again after Canadian investment firm Wittington Investments agreed a £6.7bn deal to acquire the pharmacy and beauty chain from its current owners. Wittington Investments, which is controlled by the Weston family, has agreed to take over Boots’ 1,800 stores across the UK and Ireland, along with Boots Opticians and No7 Beauty Company. The transaction, which includes the retailer’s acquired debt, is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory approval and other conditions. More than 51,000 employees work across Boots and its associated brands in the two countries. Weston family…