Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news
In the energy sector, Russia’s revenues from exports of crude oil and refined products has fallen to its lowest level since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The InternationalEnergyAgency has reported this morning that Moscow’s sales of fossil fuels fell again in November due to lower export volumes and weaker prices.
These brighter prospects extend to our 2026 forecast, which we have upgraded by 90 kb/d, to 860 kb/d y-o-y.
“We need to ask who is setting the agenda for the UK’s future with AI.”
“In the absence of independent regulation or scrutiny, we’re at the mercy of technology companies’ commercial interests aligning with what the public want.”
Number of people in England being treated remains at record level for this time of year with daily average of 2,660
The number of people in hospital in England with flu remains at a record level for this time of year and has increased by 55% in a week, NHS figures show.
An average of 2,660 flu patients were in hospital each day last week, up from 1,717 the previous week. At this point last year the number stood at 1,861 patients, while in 2023 it was just 402.
The mashup Satisfaction Skank was unofficial for years but band allow Norman Cook to remake it using original stems of their 1965 hit
A classic bootleg recording by Fatboy Slim which samples the Rolling Stones’ (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction has finally been released, as the band give it their blessing after 25 years.
Satisfaction Skank was a familiar track on turn-of-the-century dancefloors, as Fatboy Slim mashed up his own 1999 hit The Rockafeller Skank with the Stones’ 1965 classic, hurling Keith Richards’ iconic guitar riff into the “big beat” sound of the late 90s.
Opposition politician María Corina Machado thanks people who ‘risked their lives’ to get her to Norwegian capital
Nato’s Rutte largely sticks to usual pleasantries, but says the clear political signal from Germany and other European partners is that “Europe is ready to take on more responsibility,” and “a signal that burden sharing is not just a slogan.”
In his opening remarks, Merz says that Nato plays “a key role in a time of great geopolitical upheaval,” as he recalls his numerous meetings with Rutte in recent months.
Avery Trufelman is the New York-based radio producer behind Articles of Interest, a fashion podcast that has non-fashion people gripped in their millions
Did you know that the zipper only came about because a Swedish-born engineer named Gideon Sundback fell in love with a factory owner’s daughter? Or that it took longer for it to be developed than it took for the Wright brothers to invent the aeroplane? You probably know that pockets have become a symbol of gender privilege – but were you aware that in the 18th century, women’s pockets were big enough to hold tools for writing, a small diary and a snack for later? Perhaps most surprising is that layering, which has made Uniqlo one of the biggest brands in the world, was in effect invented in the 1940s by a man named Georges Doriot, who was also famous for inventing venture capital.
All these nuggets and more are included in Articles of Interest, a podcast by 34-year-old Avery Trufelman. Listeners tune in for the smarts but also her disarming sense of fun. Not to mention her low, husky voice, which seems made for podcasting. “I don’t take care of it, if that’s what you’re asking,” she says over video call from her apartment in New York.
What started as Guillaume Broche’s personal project has been nominated for 12 Game awards, sold more than 2m copies and been praised by Emmanuel Macron as a ‘shining example of French audacity’
The record-breaking 12 nominations at the Game awards this year was beyond the wildest dreams of Guillaume Broche when he first began inking out Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as a personal project while working at Ubisoft.
Before selling more than 2m copies, the narrative-driven roleplaying game with “a unique world, challenging combat and great writing” was a technical demo called We Lost. It was Broche’s appetite for risk and a few hopeful Reddit posts that would create the game’s world of Lumiere and its struggle against the Paintress.
More than 50 organisations report sites being restricted or removed, with abortion hotlines blocked and posts showing non-explicit nudity triggering warnings
Meta has removed or restricted dozens of accounts belonging to abortion access providers, queer groups and reproductive health organisations in the past weeks in what campaigners call one of the “biggest waves of censorship” on its platforms in years.
The takedowns and restrictions began in October and targeted the Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp accounts of more than 50 organisations worldwide, some serving tens of thousands of people – in what appears to be a growing push by Meta to limit reproductive health and queer content across its platforms. Many of these were from Europe and the UK, however the bans also affected groups serving women in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
A California social media influencer is facing backlash for having a "decolonized Christmas" as she bucks traditional foods and presents for native and indigenous recipes and gifts.
Oracle’s disappointing results have knocked more than $70bn off the value of software and data company co-founded by Trump ally Larry Ellison, adding to fears of a bubble in AI-related stocks.
Shares in the company fell by 11.5% overnight after it reported a lower-than-expected 14% rise in revenues to $16bn (£12bn) in the latest quarter while revealing it was boosting its AI spending by about $15bn.
OTTAWA— While U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra says Prime Minister Mark Carney's government is free to do as it wants with its review of purchasing the F-35, he says the debate is nevertheless irritating. Read More
The Free Birth Society (FBS) is a multimillion-dollar business that promotes an extreme version of free birth, meaning women giving birth without medical assistance. The Guardian can now reveal that the organisation has been linked to dozens of cases of maternal harm and baby deaths around the world. After a year-long investigation, Sirin Kale and Lucy Osborne explain why some women they interviewed found FBS’s views so appealing, and why medical professionals say their claims about birth are dangerous
The Democratic National Committee launches ad campaign targeting four vulnerable Republican senators ahead of crucial Senate votes on ACA tax credits affecting 20 million Americans.
Getting energy out of the ground, or flowing from a small, modular nuclear reactor, requires an astonishing number of permits from a dizzying array of federal, state and local agencies.
The University of Michigan fired Sherrone Moore earlier in the day, an abrupt end to his career there, one of the highest profile jobs in college football.
An appeals court upheld New Jersey's residency requirement for physician-assisted suicide, ruling that terminally ill patients from other states are not afforded the option.
At the scene of one of his Europa League final triumphs, the manager is setting targets to achieve success with Villa
For Unai Emery, there was a welcome air of familiarity upon arrival at Basel’s St Jakob-Park on Wednesday. It was a return to Switzerland and the scene of his third Europa League triumph with Sevilla in 2016, when his side overcame Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool, 3-1.
“This competition is so, so special for me,” the Aston Villa manager said. “We won here, it was a fantastic day and is a fantastic memory. To remember it is very good.” And then came a big but. Two, in fact. “I want to build a new moment, a new era, a new way with Aston Villa. I can remind myself of the moment I had here.”
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