“Political stability is essential right now,” said Sanae Takaichi. TOKYO — Japan’s parliament elected ultraconservative Sanae Takaichi as the country’s first female prime minister Tuesday, a day after her struggling party struck a coalition deal with a new partner expected to pull her governing bloc further to the right. Takaichi replaces Shigeru Ishiba, ending a … Read more
The leader of Reform UK’s flagship local authority has told her fellow councillors that she launched a hunt for the “cowards” who leaked a recorded meeting in which she said those who disagreed with decisions would have to “fucking suck it up”. Bitter divisions among Reform members of Kent county council, one of 10 controlled … Read more
Polling finds majority consider £1bn funding for Aids, TB and malaria vaccines a UK success story Pressure is mounting on Keir Starmer not to cut the UK’s contribution to the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria after polling found 62% of Britons believe the government should maintain or increase its support. The prime … Read more
Post-summer bounce in activity fails to materialise as buyers and sellers, in the south especially, opt to ‘wait and see’ The UK’s housing market is showing signs of slowing down amid speculation that Rachel Reeves could announce tax increases on property in next month’s budget. In a sign of growing caution among house hunters, figures … Read more
Exclusive: Housing secretary and capital’s mayor face calls from within party for rethink on homebuilding plans Labour MPs are urging ministers and the London mayor to drop controversial plans to reduce affordable housing quotas in the capital in order to boost homebuilding. MPs have said they are concerned about the proposals being drawn up by … Read more
Plans to secure loan with Russian funds ‘moving to happy resolution’, says Polish foreign minister European leaders, including in the UK, are increasingly confident a proposal to lend Ukraine €140bn (£122bn) secured on frozen Russian central bank deposits can be agreed by the end of the year, in a move deemed critical for Kyiv to … Read more
Discount retailer looks for successor for Mike Schmidt, who is stepping down as chief financial officer The discount retailer B&M has ousted its finance chief after reporting a £7m accounts blunder that will cut its annual earnings – its second profit warning within two weeks. The company told investors it looking for a successor to … Read more
Women’s health academics at UCL call for national education programme to combat misinformation and unregulated advice Millions of women are being exploited by a “menopause gold rush” as companies, celebrities and influencers take advantage of a “dearth” of reliable information on the issue, experts have said. Healthcare companies and content creators saw menopause as a … Read more
The president’s one-man-show approach to policy has sidelined Congress, agencies — and a whole K Street culture. Intel Corp. looked like a winner in the Washington lobbying game at the start of 2025. The federal government was set to funnel more than $10 billion to the American microchip giant, thanks to a long influence campaign … Read more
The White House feels as confident about the shutdown on day 19 as it was on day one– in part because congressional Republicans have, for the most part, remained largely in line. “There’s no discussions at all at the rank-and-file level, and what is there even for Republicans to be skittish about?” said a Senate … Read more