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Austrian chancellor Karl Nehammer will on Monday become the first European leader to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine began six weeks ago. Nehammer’s trip to Moscow is part of efforts to promote a “dialogue” between Russia and Ukraine, according to chancellery officials, who said he would specifically raise the issue

EU member states are at loggerheads over demands for an immediate blockade on Russian oil imports as the soaring cost of living weighs heavily on politicians considering how to punish Moscow over its war in Ukraine. Momentum is growing in the EU for fresh curbs on Russian fossil fuels as evidence mounts of atrocities against

The British meat industry has called on the government to fast track the export of perishable goods after congestion at the port of Dover left lorries carrying fresh produce waiting up to two days to cross the English Channel. The delays had been caused by the cancellation of voyages by P&O Ferries, bad weather, increased

Hello and welcome to the working week, Easter is almost upon us — although as Week Ahead readers are well aware it will take a little longer for the orthodox church. This will mean a shorter working week for the next fortnight and we will be taking a break next week. Tragically, one thing that

The UK housing secretary is set to claim an important victory in his battle to resolve England’s building safety crisis this week, having pressed developers into setting aside more than £2bn to fund critical repairs. Michael Gove’s hardball approach towards builders has paid off, with all publicly listed developers committed to a government pledge to

French voters began casting their ballots on Sunday in the first round of a presidential election in which far-right leader Marine Le Pen is mounting a strong challenge to the incumbent Emmanuel Macron. A victory for Le Pen, who is sceptical about the EU and Nato and has in the past boasted of her ties

The writer is professor of energy and climate change at University College London and was former senior adviser to energy regulator Ofgem The defining feature of the UK energy strategy is its incoherence. It doesn’t know what problem is it is trying to solve — and thus it doesn’t solve any. By failing to boost

Russia has boosted the fund that cushions its sanctions-hit economy with $3.4bn in additional oil and gas revenues thanks to rising energy prices since the start of its war with Ukraine, as it edges closer to its first debt default since 1998. Moscow said on Sunday that it would direct an additional Rbs273.4bn ($3.4bn) to

Britain’s public broadcaster wants its workforce to reflect the population it serves. By 2028 at the latest, the BBC hopes a quarter of its workforce — currently numbering 20,300 — will be from “a lower socio-economic background”. What does that mean? Brits spot class signifiers as keenly as police sniffer dogs locate loosely-bagged marijuana. Accents,

Covid cases in Shanghai hit their highest level yet as authorities in the locked-down city stepped up their battle to suppress China’s worst outbreak in two years. Shanghai, which is sealed off from the rest of the country as part of the most severe citywide measures since the virus emerged in Wuhan, reported 24,952 new

Stand on the railway embankment near Hostomel and look north-east and the story of Russia’s rout in the Battle of Kyiv comes together. Three kilometres away you can see the village of Moschun, the site of a big battle and just south of it are the woods where Oleksandr Konoko, a battalion commander, described how,

Lars Wingefors’ 13-year-old self would approve of his recent purchase: Dark Horse Media, one of the biggest independent comic studios in the world and home to iconic titles including Hellboy and Sin City. Thirty years ago, while studying at a secondary school in Sweden, Wingefors started selling second-hand comics and by 18 he had dropped

When Katie Lazell-Fairman returned to work after recovering from a Covid-19 infection, she quickly discovered that the virus had taken a much heavier toll on her body than she initially realised. “I woke up suddenly feeling incredibly exhausted, dizzy. My heart rate was 135 beats per minute standing, 140-150 walking,” says the 35-year-old, a data

Just over a week ago, the United Nations made an announcement that prompted a biting put-down from a climate journalist named Megan Darby. “Ban the UN from naming things. I’m serious,” wrote Darby, after the UN launched an anti-greenwashing unit that it called the “High Level Expert Group on the Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State

Your browser does not support playing this file but you can still download the MP3 file to play locally. In the second episode of this season of Tech Tonic, James Kynge, the FT’s Global China Editor, asks how significant Chinese intellectual property theft has been to the country’s rise as a global tech superpower. We

Adaptation Making changes to deal with the effects of climate change — both now and in the future. This includes building infrastructure such as flood and fire defences, developing crops that can cope with new climatic conditions, and exploring new ways of cooling buildings. Air/Atmosphere While oxygen is critical to life on earth, it is

Oleg Chaban, a Ukrainian psychiatrist, has witnessed at close quarters the emotional devastation caused by Russia’s war against his country. The head of psychology and psychotherapy services at Bogomolets National Medical University in Kyiv recalled a recent patient who just two days earlier saw her only child, a toddler daughter, die when the bus on which

When Buta Atwal took the helm of Wrightbus in 2019, coffee cups still littered the office desks and buses were standing half assembled on the factory floor. One of Northern Ireland’s most emblematic businesses had fallen into receivership six weeks previously. Atwal, 53, hadn’t planned to be a bus company chief executive, despite a quarter

Golden spade by Niwaki, £34 This lightweight spade is perfect for digging soil, planting trees or exuding bling. conranshop.co.uk Bees secateurs set by Sophie Allport, £25 Features an ash handle and a canvas pouch. sophieallport.com Harvesting bag by Rural Kind for Toast, £160 Collect cut flowers or vegetables in this waxed cotton canvas bag. toa.st

Around the turn of the century, currency traders, hedge funds and heavy-hitting economists obsessed over central banks’ foreign exchange reserves. The euro was a baby, and backers faced a daunting task raising it as a currency with global impact, enmeshed in international trade and investment. Any data suggesting it was eating into the dollar’s dominance

Before Steve McQueen speaks, he pulls his clear-hued spectacles apart at the centre, letting them fall in two halves to rest on his navy sweater just below his clavicle. “You know what’s interesting about growing up as black child in the UK? From an early age you’re asking ‘who, how, why, where and what?’ because