Tesla reported a 13% drop in vehicle sales in the first three months of the year, making it the electric vehicle maker’s worst quarter since 2022. It’s another sign that Elon Musk’s once high-flying electric car company is struggling to attract buyers. The drop is likely due to a combination of factors, including Tesla’s ageing lineup, growing competition from rivals, and backlash over Elon Musk’s alignment with right-wing politics. It also serves as a warning that the company’s first-quarter earnings report, due later this month, could disappoint investors. The manufacturing giant reported that it delivered 336,681 cars globally in the…
Author: Fatimah Idera
The boss of Heathrow came under fire for last month’s 18-hour shutdown after an airline representative revealed he had raised concerns about the airport’s resilience days earlier, as lawmakers scrutinised the nationally embarrassing incident. Recall that a blaze at a substation near to the airport caused the closure on March 21, raising questions about the resilience of national infrastructure. The incident left about 300,000 people stranded and cost airlines millions of pounds. Seeking to learn lessons, lawmakers on Wednesday quizzed the chief executive of Heathrow and senior representatives from National Grid, power provider SSE and an airline representative. The boss…
European visitors to Britain will have to purchase an electronic permit in advance for trips from Wednesday, as the UK government follows other countries in seeking to strengthen immigration security by screening people before they cross its borders. The Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme requires all visitors who do not need a visa to enter Britain to purchase pre-travel authorisation online at a cost of 10 pounds (12 euros), rising to 16 pounds from April 9. Irish citizens are excluded. This regime was initially rolled out to non-European nationals last year, including visitors from the United States, Canada and Australia.…
Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip has intensified, with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announcing a broader offensive aimed at seizing more territory and neutralizing militant threats. The announcement followed reports from local hospitals that over 40 people had been killed in overnight airstrikes, with nearly a dozen of the victims identified as children. In a statement released Wednesday, Gallant declared that Israeli forces are expanding their ground campaign to “cleanse” militant elements and take control of large areas within Gaza. These newly seized territories, according to the defense minister, would eventually be incorporated into Israel’s expanded security zones. Although…
UK house prices were flat in March and the market is likely to stay soft after a tax increase on property transactions, mortgage lender Nationwide. The average price of a home was unchanged at £271,316 in March, compared with February’s 0.4% monthly rise, according to Nationwide building society. The annual growth rate stayed at 3.9%, masking big regional variations. In Northern Ireland, annual price growth accelerated to 13.5%, the highest in the region since 2021. Scotland posted a 3.9% annual rise, while Wales was close behind at 3.6%. As of Tuesday, Britain’s government has lowered the price threshold at which…
Britain handed Italian defence company Leonard a 165 million pound ($213 million) contract extension on Tuesday to maintain the Royal Navy’s fleet of 54 Merlin helicopters, a deal which it said would help support 1,000 jobs across the country. Britain, which plans to boost defence spending to 2.5% of economic output by 2027, said the deal with Leonardo would help bolster national security. “This investment demonstrates our unwavering commitment to maintaining cutting-edge defence capabilities that keep us safe, while utilising defence as an engine for economic growth,” Maria Eagle, the minister for defence procurement and industry, said in a statement.…
Donald Trump has signed and approved Sir Keir Starmers controversial deal to cede the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. The details of the agreement with the Mauritian government are now being finalised which includes a leaseback arrangement for the Diego Garcia airbase. Speaking about the progress of the deal on Tuesday, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said; “I think the finalisation of the deal is ongoing, but we’ll obviously provide an update as and when we’ve got one.” Asked whether the UK was still waiting for Mr Trump to approve the agreement, he said: “I mean, you will have seen from…
Britain’s top mobile network provider including Vodafone (VOD.L) and BT’s EE (BT.L) on Monday urged a London tribunal to throw out a mass lawsuit valued at over 3.2 billion pounds ($4.3 billion) for allegedly overcharging customers. The case which is also brought against Telefonica’s O2 (TEF.MC) and Hutchison’s (0001.HK) Three UK, whose $19 billion merger with Vodafone was approved last year – is being brought on behalf of over 28 million British consumers. The networks are alleged to have charged customers who remained with the network after their minimum contract expired a loyal penalty, by continuing to charge for mobile…
Britain’s King Charles is returning to public duties this week after he was briefly taken to hospital last Thursday when he experienced side effects from his cancer treatment. The 76-year-old monarch has been undergoing treatment since he was diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer in February last year following tests after a corrective procedure for an enlarged prostate. The monarch will be carrying out a mix of public engagements, state duties and private meetings over the coming days.However, he suffered what sources described as a minor bump in the road which meant he was taken to hospital for a…
The Bank of England has proposed raising the protection limit for savers in case a bank fails to 110,000 pounds ($142,300), it said on Monday. The scheme provides financial protection to depositors in case banks, building societies, and credit unions become insolvent. The deposit protection limit is the maximum amount of money that is typically protected for savers should their bank fail and under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has been capped at 85,000 pounds since 2017. The BoE began examining an overhaul of the guarantee scheme in 2023, after the rapid collapse of the UK arm of Silicon…
