Author: Agency Reporter

Nigel Farage’s Reform UK could take upwards of 60 seats from Labour if a general election was held now, alarming polling has found. A survey of over 17,000 voters, commissioned by Hope Not Hate, suggested the hard-right party would win 76 seats – and the number could be far higher. The campaign group said the findings must be viewed as a “wake-up call”. Projections released by Hope Not Hate found Mr Farage’s party could take 60 seats from Labour, 10 from the Tories and one from the Lib Dems. Since the General Election polling has suggested Reform has overt taken the Tories and is closing…

System disperses trillions of dollars in US government spending each year, including social security Elon Musk has vowed to unilaterally cancel hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of government grants after apparently gaining access to review the US Treasury’s vast payments system, a move that prompted the sudden resignation of one of the department’s most senior officials. The world’s richest man, who bankrolled Donald Trump’s re-election campaign and was tasked by the president with running the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency, boasted on his social media site X that he was “rapidly shutting down . . . illegal payments” after a list of grants…

Bloc warns of ‘unnecessary economic disruption’ after US president hits China, Canada and Mexico with trade measures Trump sparked a global trade war this weekend in announcing the measures against three of the US’s largest trading partners after the EU, which has the largest trade deficit with Washington. The Trump administration has so far refrained from imposing tariffs on the EU despite the US president saying on Friday that he would “absolutely” do so. A spokesperson for the EU’s executive said that the bloc’s trade and investment relationship with the US was the biggest in the world, adding: “There is…

China’s movie box office took in record revenue during the Lunar New Year holiday, as sequels to popular Chinese hits drew theatregoers at a time when other types of spending have suffered during a period of relatively sluggish economic growth. Box office revenue for the four days of the week-long holiday starting Jan. 29 topped 5.74 billion yuan ($791.65 million), exceeding the previous high of 5.73 billion yuan in 2021, showed data from box office tracker Beacon. Part of the boom was driven by government handouts as part of an economic stimulus package. Local governments in Beijing, Jiangsu, Hubei, Guangdong…

A study found that burning wood in our homes is one of the most dangerous types of air pollution. Here’s what you need to know Wood burning stoves have become a classic British middle class status symbol. Despite the fact that they cost around £3,000 to buy and install, 1.9 million people in Britain now have one in their homes. In fact, we’re so fond of their glowing embers that an episode of a virtual fireplace was Netflix’s most-watched Christmas show in 2024. But recently a report by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) found that burning wood in our homes is…

Beijing attacks ‘arbitrary’ moves and says it will file WTO lawsuit Beijing has hit out at new 10 per cent tariffs imposed by the US on Chinese exports, saying it will “take necessary countermeasures to defend its rights and interests” as trade tensions between the two powers enter a new phase. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday that China opposed the tariffs, which it said were introduced “under the pretext of the fentanyl issue”. “The US needs to view and solve its own fentanyl issue in an objective and rational way instead of threatening other countries with arbitrary…

US president fires starting gun on trade war with levies of up to 25% on goods imported from trading partners Trump issued an executive order applying additional tariffs of 25 per cent to all imports from Canada and Mexico, with the exception of Canadian oil and energy products, which will face a 10 per cent levy. Canada is by far the biggest foreign oil supplier to the US, accounting for about 60 per cent of its crude imports. Imports from China will face a 10 per cent tariff over and above existing US tariffs. Posting on Truth Social, Trump said…

With chronic renal problems often diagnosed too late, here’s how to stay vigilant and get yourself checked over The UK is facing an unprecedented kidney disease crisis, one which could cost the NHS up to £11 billion per year by 2033 if left unchecked. This is due to the number of patients with chronic kidney disease ending up on dialysis machines, due to one or both kidneys failing, a growing demand which threatens to overwhelm the health service. According to a report from the charity Kidney Research UK, there are currently 30,000 people in the UK who require dialysis, a number which…

Staying active during pregnancy can boost your mood, improve labour and help you recover afterwards. It’s commonly said that pregnant women should lift as little as possible. But for Krissy Cela, a personal trainer, fitness icon and businesswoman with an activewear empire, that simply wasn’t an option. “After I found out I was pregnant, I kept doing what I had been doing for more than a decade at that point, which was strength training five times a week,” Cela says. “The gym had always been my safe haven, where I felt most myself. Having that stripped away from me because…

Foreign minister Mélanie Joly holds meetings in Washington in attempt to avert trade war. Mélanie Joly told the Financial Times the US president’s threat to impose levies of 25 per cent on Canadian imports would hit “real people” if relations between the two countries descended into a trade war. “We ship oil at a discount which is, ultimately, refined in Texas. If it’s not us, it is Venezuela,” Joly said, referring to the heavy grades of oil produced in Venezuela and Canada on which many American refineries depend. “There’s no other option on the table, and this administration doesn’t want…