Top World News

Apr 2, 2025 - World

Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese says ‘no one has got a better deal’ but adds ‘that doesn’t mean it’s a good thing’Election 2025 live updates: Australia federal election campaignPolls tracker; election guide; full federal election coverageAnywhere but Canberra; interactive electorates guideListen to the first episode of our new narrative podcast series: GinaGet our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia has been hit with a 10% tariff on all imports to the US as part of a global tariff regime imposed by the US president, Donald Trump.In his “liberation day” speech, the president held up a board listing countries and their rates of tariffs. It claimed Australia imposed a 10% tariff on US goods, “including currency manipulation and other trade barriers”.Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter Continue reading...

Apr 2, 2025 - World

Trump pledged to liberate the nation from higher prices, and is betting tariffs won’t raise them too high, for too longFor weeks, Donald Trump and his aides sought to brand Wednesday as “liberation day” in America. Many in the US could be forgiven for wondering what exactly they’ve just been liberated from.After much hype, the president unveiled his plan for a new era in global trade: a blanket 10% tariff on goods imported into the US starting Saturday, and higher “reciprocal” tariffs (of up to 49%) on countries taxing US exports starting next Wednesday. Continue reading...

Apr 2, 2025 - World

Chancellor says autumn budget enabled £25bn of extra investment into NHS and shorter waiting lists Rachel Reeves has defended the £40bn in tax increases in autumn’s budget as businesses brace for their impact, saying NHS waiting lists would now be higher if she had not taken action.Employers are set for a £25bn increase in national insurance contributions (NICs), which comes into force on 6 April, at the same time as consumers are being hit by a slew of increases in bills for everything from utilities to car tax. Continue reading...

Apr 2, 2025 - World

Pacific country this week declared state of emergency over power cuts that have caused huge disruption to businesses and daily lifeSamoa is in the grip of an “energy crisis” prime minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa said this week, as she declared a state of emergency over power outages that have swept the country for weeks, causing huge disruption to businesses and daily life.The government is scrambling to provide relief to affected businesses and households, with temporary power generation units due to arrive next week. Continue reading...

Apr 2, 2025 - World

More health-conscious young people take total to 11.5m memberships, report finds, as experts cite social aspect alongside fitnessRecord numbers of Britons are going to the gym, as the desire of many gen Zers to socialise while getting fit instead of drinking in the pub drives an unprecedented surge in membership, a report shows.In all, 11.5 million people aged 16 and over– a new high – now belong to a gym in the UK, a rise of 1.6 million from 2022. It means one in six people have taken out a membership. Continue reading...