CATEGORIES

Direct Line to cut hundreds of jobs to help profitability

Direct Line is to axe about 550 jobs as part of a cost-cutting drive.

Bitcoin price tops $84,000 for first time amid Trump fervour

The price of bitcoin has risen above $84,000 for the first time as it benefited from traders' hopes that Donald Trump will favour cryptocurrencies when he returns to the White House.

NatWest buys back £1bn of its shares from UK government

NatWest has bought back shares worth £1bn from the government, as the bailed-out bank's privatisation continues after a plan to offer a chunk of the stock to retail investors was abandoned.

German paper trade bosses say no risk of shortage for election

Paper industry bosses in Germany hit back yesterday at claims by the national electoral commission that a lack of paper might hinder the timing of the country's early elections.

Haiti names new prime minister amid mounting security crisis

Haiti's transitional presidential council appointed the entrepreneur and former senate candidate Alix Didier Fils-Aimé as the new prime minister yesterday, according to the country's official gazette.

Seven men in migration hub in Albania to be moved to Italy, judges rule

Italian judges yesterday ordered seven men detained in a migration hub in Albania to be transferred to Italy in another blow to a controversial deal between the far-right Rome government and Tirana aimed at curbing the arrival of asylum seekers.

Porn link leaves toy firm wickedly embarrassed

The toy company Mattel says it is taking \"immediate action\" after mistakenly printing a pornographic website address on the packaging for dolls released to tie in with the forthcoming film Wicked.

Actor alleges Rebel Wilson made up sexual abuse accusation

A young Australian actor at the centre of a multimillion-dollar defamation case in the US alleges in documents filed to the Los Angeles superior court that Rebel Wilson made up lies about her, and bullied and harassed her on the set of The Deb.

Student bike rides in China that sparked social media craze are halted by police

A night-time cycling trend that started with four Chinese students riding 30 miles for dumplings turned into a reported 100,000 people on Friday, jamming roads, overwhelming a small city and drawing the attention of authorities.

Macron to attend France-Israel football match in Paris as a gesture of 'fraternity'

Emmanuel Macron will attend the France-Israel football match at the Stade de France on Thursday in a gesture of \"fraternity and solidarity\", after attacks on Jewish supporters in Amsterdam last week.

Amsterdam Anti-Arab slogans and attacks on Jewish fans

Violence in Amsterdam around a Europa League football match between Ajax and Israel's Maccabi Tel Aviv last week sparked global horror.

ICC Prosecutor to face external inquiry into misconduct claims

The chief prosecutor of the international criminal court (ICC) will face an external investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct, its governing body said yesterday.

Ceasefire Talks with Hezbollah in 'progress'

Israel's foreign minister has said that \"certain progress\" had been made on ceasefire talks in Lebanon, where Israel has been fighting Hezbollah for more than 13 months.

Aid into Gaza hits 11-month low despite US ultimatum to Israel

The amount of aid reaching Gaza has dropped to the lowest level since December, official Israeli figures show, despite the US having issued a 30-day ultimatum last month threatening sanctions if there was no increase in humanitarian supplies reaching the territory.

Shake-up of bathing rules will expand water testing

Bathing waters in England and Wales could be tested all year round in a government shake-up to water pollution rules.

Asthma linked to memory problems in children - study

Children who have asthma can suffer memory problems, according to research in the United States that is the first to link the two conditions.

European crime network forging Warhol and Banksy is uncovered

Italian police have dismantled a Europe-wide forgery network suspected of producing sophisticated replicas of works by some of the most famous artists, including Banksy, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol and Gustav Klimt.

Simon and Garfunkel build a bridge over troubled friendship

Art Garfunkel has described a recent tearful reunion with Paul Simon, in which they moved past old enmities.

Hybrid working the 'new normal' for 28% of employees, says ONS

Workers with degree-level education are 10 times more likely to have a hybrid working arrangement than those with no qualifications, according to official figures that suggest a societal divide has formed since the first Covid lockdowns.

TV drama changed attitude to Post Office payouts - Badenoch

The Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, has told an inquiry it is \"extremely disappointing\" that it took the ITV drama about the Post Office scandal to get the government to accelerate compensation payments for wrongfully prosecuted branch owner-operators.

Beneath Kemi's Kevlar coating lies her Achilles heel: the person she most dislikes is herself

Look on the bright side. Kemi Badenoch lasted two and a half hours in the witness stand at the Post Office inquiry without losing it.

Covid denier jailed over posts inciting violence

A Covid denier who suggested \"whacking\" Prof Chris Whitty with a rounders bat has been jailed for five years after being convicted of encouraging terrorism.

Ex-medical officer feared for children, novichok inquiry hears

The former chief medical officer for England claimed she had a \"strong recollection\" of advising the public not to pick up objects they found near the scene of the novichok attack on the Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal, despite there being no record of her making such a statement.

Charity dropped from Scottish plan to help sex workers over 'occult' claim

The Scottish government's strategy to support women working in the sex industry has been cast into disarray after it was forced to ditch a proposed partnership with a charity whose founder has suggested most sex workers have had exposure to \"occult\" activities, citing yoga as one example.

CPS yet to make decision on charges over Deepcut deaths

Prosecutors have spent 18 months considering whether to charge a former army instructor at Deepcut barracks where five recruits died more than 20 years ago.

Mayor offers apology for letting Knox film be made in Perugia

The mayor of Perugia, where the British student Meredith Kercher was murdered, has apologised for allowing a controversial TV series co-produced by Amanda Knox to be filmed in the Italian city.

Background Archbishop facing tough questions on John Smyth

Calls for the archbishop of Canterbury to resign over \"failures and omissions\" regarding the sadistic abuser John Smyth have not come out of the blue.

Firms given foreign carer licences after breaching labour laws

Nearly 200 care providers have been given government licences to bring foreign nurses to the UK despite having previously violated labour laws, according to a study that highlights widespread employment problems in the social care sector.

Woman, 87, died after being blown over by helicopter, inquest told

An 87-year-old woman suffered fatal head injuries when she was blown over by a search and rescue helicopter as it landed at a hospital, an inquest heard yesterday.

'Fiction' Kremlin dismisses reports of Putin call

The Kremlin has denied reports that Vladimir Putin spoke to the US president-elect, Donald Trump, calling the media reports \"pure fiction\".