Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin “has already begun” World War III, in an interview with British broadcaster BBC. Speaking in Kyiv over the weekend ahead of the fourth anniversary of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine on Tuesday, Zelensky said that his view of the conflict was different from that of US President Donald Trum...
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin “has already begun” World War III, in an interview with British broadcaster BBC. Speaking in Kyiv over the weekend ahead of the fourth anniversary of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine on Tuesday, Zelensky said that his view of the conflict was different from that of US President Donald Trump. “We have different views regarding a third world war,” Zelensky said in the interview, translated...
Hong Kong’s civil service chief has defended the decision to open up recruitment externally for the role of food and environmental hygiene director, saying the move aims to attract experts who can take the lead in using technology to enforce laws. Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan also stressed that anyone hired externally would have no chance to climb the ranks as the next r...
Hong Kong’s civil service chief has defended the decision to open up recruitment externally for the role of food and environmental hygiene director, saying the move aims to attract experts who can take the lead in using technology to enforce laws. Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan also stressed that anyone hired externally would have no chance to climb the ranks as the next role would be permanent secretary, a position which, under regulations, must be held by...
In a research greenhouse in eastern China’s Zhejiang province, the tomatoes looked ordinary, but they carried a surprisingly sweet scent – the aroma of buttered popcorn. It was not the result of accidental crossbreeding but a precise surgical edit in the tomato genome, performed by the CRISPR/Cas9 tool. Two genes responsible for suppressing aromatic compounds were simultaneously silenced. Then the...
In a research greenhouse in eastern China’s Zhejiang province, the tomatoes looked ordinary, but they carried a surprisingly sweet scent – the aroma of buttered popcorn. It was not the result of accidental crossbreeding but a precise surgical edit in the tomato genome, performed by the CRISPR/Cas9 tool. Two genes responsible for suppressing aromatic compounds were simultaneously silenced. Then the tomatoes began to emit the signature scent of premium fragrant rice or fresh buttered...
Insight with Haslinda Amin, a daily news program featuring in-depth, high-profile interviews and analysis to give viewers the complete picture on the stories that matter. The show features prominent leaders spanning the worlds of business, finance, politics and culture. (Source: Bloomberg)
Insight with Haslinda Amin, a daily news program featuring in-depth, high-profile interviews and analysis to give viewers the complete picture on the stories that matter. The show features prominent leaders spanning the worlds of business, finance, politics and culture. (Source: Bloomberg)
Oil stands to rally strongly as war between the US and Iran looks imminent, according to energy market consultancy FGE NexantECA. “I don’t think the US has a choice but to go to war,” FGE NexantECA Chairman Emeritus Fereidun Fesharaki told Bloomberg TV on Monday. “It is very hard for me to see a scenario that they would just avoid this, and turn the ships around and go home,” said Fesharaki, who’s...
Oil stands to rally strongly as war between the US and Iran looks imminent, according to energy market consultancy FGE NexantECA. “I don’t think the US has a choice but to go to war,” FGE NexantECA Chairman Emeritus Fereidun Fesharaki told Bloomberg TV on Monday. “It is very hard for me to see a scenario that they would just avoid this, and turn the ships around and go home,” said Fesharaki, who’s tracked the market for decades. Oil has surged this year as the face-off between Washington and Tehran injected a risk premium into prices, wrong-footing some traders who had bet on losses driven by a global glut. US President Donald Trump — who ordered limited military strikes against the country last year — wants a deal over Iran’s nuclear program, and has presided over a massive military build-up in the region. “If the Iranians accept what the US says, there is no legitimacy left to the regime any more; they have to say ‘no’,” said Fesharaki. “This time will be different because the Iranians can do two things,” he said, listing potential attacks against nearby states Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, as well as a possible bid to block the Strait of Hormuz . Fesharaki outlined a number of scenarios that could disrupt crude flows from the region, saying prices of $90 to $100 a barrel were “within reach,” depending on the severity. Global benchmark Brent was last near $71. The US and Iran are set to resume talks Thursday in Geneva, according to Omani mediators. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he expects to meet US special envoy Steve Witkoff for the discussions, and reiterated that Tehran won’t be pressured by a US military buildup in the region. The talks are “guaranteed to fail simply because of the restrictions, the way the Iranians look at it,” Fesharaki said. Over the longer term, if the Iranian regime were removed, restoring stability could take a year, according to Fesharaki.
Enel SpA plans to deepen its commitments in the US and Europe over the next three years, with a fresh wave of investments in renewable energy projects such as wind power and battery storage. Italy’s largest utility will make about €53 billion ($62.7 billion) in investments through through 2028, according to the a new business plan released Monday. That’s about €10 billion higher than the previous ...
Enel SpA plans to deepen its commitments in the US and Europe over the next three years, with a fresh wave of investments in renewable energy projects such as wind power and battery storage. Italy’s largest utility will make about €53 billion ($62.7 billion) in investments through through 2028, according to the a new business plan released Monday. That’s about €10 billion higher than the previous plan, the company said. The plan confirms a pivot toward mature markets, reported by Bloomberg last week, as Enel seeks to take advantage of a more stable policy and regulatory environment. The Rome-based company has spent heavily in Latin America in recent decades. About half of the planned investments will be in Enel’s Integrated Business, or power generation, sales and distribution. That portion is weighted heavily toward Europe and North America, and includes €20 billion in renewables. The company will deploy more than €26 billion toward grids, primarily targeting Europe. The plan aims to accelerate both greenfield and brownfield renewable projects, expand Enel’s wind portfolio and repowering existing assets to lift capacity and efficiency, it said. A significant portion of the spending will target battery storage. European utilities are recalibrating after years of global expansion, to prioritize regulated networks and contracted clean-power generation in advanced economies. Grid investments are seen as particularly attractive, as operators are allowed to recover costs and earn regulated returns, offering long-term earnings stability amid volatile wholesale power markets. Read More: Enel Approves Start of Up to €1b Buyback Program The strategy comes at a time when policy visibility remains a critical factor for investors. While Europe and the US are viewed as comparatively stable, frameworks can still shift. In Italy, a recent government proposal to remove carbon costs from power bills rattled forward markets, highlighting the sensitivity of utilities’ earnings to regu...
TR-1: Standard form for notification of major holdings NOTIFICATION OF MAJOR HOLDINGS (to be sent to the relevant issuer and to the FCA in Microsoft Word format if possible) i 1a. Identity of the issuer or the underlying issuer of existing shares to which voting rights are attached ii: Mothercare PLC1b. Please indicate if the issuer is a non-UK issuer (please mark with an “X” if appropriate)Non-UK...
TR-1: Standard form for notification of major holdings NOTIFICATION OF MAJOR HOLDINGS (to be sent to the relevant issuer and to the FCA in Microsoft Word format if possible) i 1a. Identity of the issuer or the underlying issuer of existing shares to which voting rights are attached ii: Mothercare PLC1b. Please indicate if the issuer is a non-UK issuer (please mark with an “X” if appropriate)Non-UK issuer 2. Reason for the notification (please mark the appropriate box or boxes with an “X”)An acqu
I’ve been without a hob in my new kitchen for three months after an emergency engineer was forced to disconnect it When Wickes installed my new kitchen, I noticed an odd, worsening smell that I put down to the ongoing works. It was nearly two months later that I realised it was gas. My supplier dispatched an emergency engineer, who discovered a leak in the newly fitted hob and categorised it as an...
I’ve been without a hob in my new kitchen for three months after an emergency engineer was forced to disconnect it When Wickes installed my new kitchen, I noticed an odd, worsening smell that I put down to the ongoing works. It was nearly two months later that I realised it was gas. My supplier dispatched an emergency engineer, who discovered a leak in the newly fitted hob and categorised it as an immediate danger. The gas supply to the hob was disconnected and Wickes sent a replacement, but no one came to install it. Continue reading...
Too many young people go out into the world ill equipped. We’ll change that: we’ll give more rights and support to them and their families Send support for schoolchildren in England to get £4bn overhaul The advent of fully comprehensive education. Raising the school leaving age to 16. The introduction of a national curriculum. Each of these reforms reflected the growing value we placed on educatio...
Too many young people go out into the world ill equipped. We’ll change that: we’ll give more rights and support to them and their families Send support for schoolchildren in England to get £4bn overhaul The advent of fully comprehensive education. Raising the school leaving age to 16. The introduction of a national curriculum. Each of these reforms reflected the growing value we placed on education as a society, and the growing sense that it was critical – not just for individuals, but for the country – that each and every young person was given the best possible chance to succeed. Opportunities to define the future of education don’t come around very often. That is the opportunity we have this week. Bridget Phillipson is secretary of state for education Continue reading...
Vickie Hardin Woods was worried she would lose her identity when she retired. Instead, she came up with a plan that made her feel more creative, connected and valued than ever When Vickie Hardin Woods retired, she knew she needed a plan. “I was worried about losing my carefully crafted identity as a professional. I was looking for something to carry me through that time … What else can I be?” She ...
Vickie Hardin Woods was worried she would lose her identity when she retired. Instead, she came up with a plan that made her feel more creative, connected and valued than ever When Vickie Hardin Woods retired, she knew she needed a plan. “I was worried about losing my carefully crafted identity as a professional. I was looking for something to carry me through that time … What else can I be?” She decided to do – rather than be – something new. Hardin Woods would bake a pie every day for a year, using fresh ingredients local to her home in Salem, Oregon – and she would give each pie away. Continue reading...
Can a radical proposal to get rid of career politicians really be implemented? No Donald Trump, Nigel Farage or Liz Truss; no Zack Polanski, Jacinda Ardern or Volodymyr Zelenskyy either. No political parties and no elections, but instead a random bunch of ordinary people chosen by lottery to run the country for two-year spells, like a sort of turbo-charged jury service except with the jurors holdi...
Can a radical proposal to get rid of career politicians really be implemented? No Donald Trump, Nigel Farage or Liz Truss; no Zack Polanski, Jacinda Ardern or Volodymyr Zelenskyy either. No political parties and no elections, but instead a random bunch of ordinary people chosen by lottery to run the country for two-year spells, like a sort of turbo-charged jury service except with the jurors holding an entire country’s fate in their hands. If you think this idea sounds intriguing and refreshing, you might love Politics Without Politicians, Hélène Landemore’s argument for radically extending citizen power. If you think it sounds like maddening whimsy, ill-suited to the seriousness of the times we are living through – well, we’ll come to that later. But first, to the argument that politics is so broken as to be beyond repair, and that scrapping electoral representation is the best way of fixing it. Continue reading...
A fabled boutique hotel in the Atlas mountains makes a stunning base for hikes to spectacular viewpoints Coming up the footpath from Imlil, Hussein and I step aside to let a laden mule go past and I look back. On the wooded lower slopes of the valley are clusters of tall houses, some plumed with wood smoke. There appears to be a lot of building work going on, some of it to repair the damage caused...
A fabled boutique hotel in the Atlas mountains makes a stunning base for hikes to spectacular viewpoints Coming up the footpath from Imlil, Hussein and I step aside to let a laden mule go past and I look back. On the wooded lower slopes of the valley are clusters of tall houses, some plumed with wood smoke. There appears to be a lot of building work going on, some of it to repair the damage caused by the 2023 earthquake . The sound of a concrete mixer comes cutting through the cool mountain air mixed with birdsong and human voices. Turning back to face south, I can see the Atlas mountains, austere and aloof, a few snow patches on the upper slopes. That’s where we are going, to the top of Toubkal at 4,167 metres, the highest peak in North Africa. Hussein has been a guide in this beautiful Moroccan valley all his adult life. “Most people here work in tourism now,” he says, waving a greeting to a muleteer who is passing us. The man is clutching the tail of his animal to steady himself up the steep track. “Twenty years ago everyone grew walnuts and subsistence food,” Hussein says. “Now we’ve still got walnuts, but we’ve also planted apple trees as a cash crop. It leaves time for the tourist work.” Continue reading...
Gabriela Domínguez Ruvalcaba’s meditative documentary follows the traditional daily rituals of Mexico’s Tzotzil women and their deep connection with nature A poetic calm subsumes Gabriela Domínguez Ruvalcaba’s languid documentary, shot among the mossy hills of Chiapas in Mexico. Here dwells the indigenous Tzotzil community which has kept a pastoral way of life against the march of time. Apart from...
Gabriela Domínguez Ruvalcaba’s meditative documentary follows the traditional daily rituals of Mexico’s Tzotzil women and their deep connection with nature A poetic calm subsumes Gabriela Domínguez Ruvalcaba’s languid documentary, shot among the mossy hills of Chiapas in Mexico. Here dwells the indigenous Tzotzil community which has kept a pastoral way of life against the march of time. Apart from the odd forest ranger and passerby, Ruvalcaba’s film focuses almost entirely on the Tzotzil women. Together, they tend herds of sheep which they still shear by hand, and use traditional tools for spinning yarns and natural dye for fabrics. Stunning to behold, these traditional practices not only keep cultural heritage alive but also introduce an element of artistry into every day rituals. The women are often pictured in wide shots that take in the majestic landscape that surrounds them, furthering the deep relationship between the Tsotsil community and their environment in which natural resources are treated with care and respect. At the same time, Chiapas is far from an idyll. One woman says that, although they are now treated by nonindigenous people with more respect, discrimination still exists. Another speaks of gender inequality within her community and how her father prevented her from accessing education. Continue reading...