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President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for ‘Wings for Freedom’ as he stepped up his appeal for western allies to supply Ukraine with fighter jets, in an emotional speech in Britain’s parliament. On the first stage of a European trip that will also include Paris and Brussels, the Ukrainian president thanked the UK for its role in

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared a state of emergency in areas ravaged by the region’s worst earthquake in decades, as his government and aid agencies mounted a desperate rescue effort to locate survivors. The three-month emergency rule, which will run up to just before Turkey’s hotly contested general election in May, gives Erdoğan’s government

A second powerful earthquake has struck Turkey just hours after the worst quake in 80 years wrought destruction across the country and neighbouring Syria, killing more than 2,000 people and wounding many more.  The second quake, which hit south-east Turkey on Monday afternoon local time, registered a magnitude of 7.5, according to the US Geological

Beijing has lashed out at the US decision to shoot down a Chinese balloon that flew across North America this week, accusing the Biden administration of “seriously violating international conventions”. The Chinese foreign ministry said it “repeatedly” told the US the balloon was for “civilian use” and had entered American airspace by accident due to

Hedge funds wrongfooted by a sharp surge in stocks this week rushed to exit losing bets on falling markets at the fastest pace in years. Equity markets have risen sharply so far this year, led by many of the speculative stocks that were clobbered hardest during 2022’s global sell-off. Many of the funds that profited

US jobs growth unexpectedly rebounded in January, as the economy continued to perform strongly despite the Federal Reserve’s efforts to damp down demand. Employers in the world’s largest economy added 517,000 jobs in the first month of the year, nearly double December’s figure, which was revised up to 260,000. Economists had expected 185,000 positions to

The Bank of England has increased interest rates by half a percentage point to a 15-year high of 4 per cent, but suggested that rates may have peaked. The BoE, which is now anticipating a milder recession this year than previously thought, said further rises would only be needed if there were new signs that

Rishi Sunak is facing a big test of his authority as he agonises over whether he can sell an outline deal on the Northern Ireland protocol to pro-UK unionist politicians in the region and Eurosceptic Tory MPs. After months of talks, negotiators have briefed the UK prime minister that a deal is taking shape to

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has completed a $2.4bn equity sale despite a short-seller report alleging fraud and stock manipulation at his industrial empire. The fundraising at Adani Enterprises became a test of investor faith after short-seller Hindenburg Research last week released its report alleging financial misconduct at the conglomerate’s parent company. On Tuesday, investors subscribed

The EU is planning to hit back at the US’s $369bn Inflation Reduction Act with looser state aid rules on tax credits for green investment. Under a draft plan seen by the Financial Times, the European Commission will further loosen the rules to support investment into new production facilities in green sectors, including via the

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak has sacked Nadhim Zahawi as chair of the Conservative party after his ethics adviser concluded there had been “serious breaches” of the ministerial code. Sunak finally jettisoned Zahawi after weeks of stories about his tax affairs, which have been politically damaging for the ruling party during a historic cost of

The UK tax authority has admitted that it gave misleading information last summer when it said no government minister was being investigated, even though Nadhim Zahawi was the subject of a probe. HM Revenue & Customs has now apologised for wrongly stating last June that no ministers were under investigation — mistakes it blames on

Shares in the Adani Group’s flagship company fell 17 per cent on Friday in a sell-off fuelled by short seller allegations of fraud involving the business empire of one of the world’s richest men. Other companies tied to Gautam Adani’s conglomerate also dropped sharply as the Indian tycoon pushes ahead with a Rs200bn ($2.4bn) share

US economic growth slowed marginally in the final quarter of 2022, as the Federal Reserve’s aggressive campaign to raise borrowing costs began to weigh more heavily on business activity. The world’s largest economy expanded 2.9 per cent on an annualised basis between September and December, according to data published by the Commerce department on Thursday,

Germany is to supply 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv, a significant ramping up of western military aid that was condemned by Russia and prompted cheers throughout Ukraine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced the move at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, describing it as the result of “intensive consultations that have taken place between Germany and

UK public sector borrowing more than doubled last month to hit the highest December figure on record, driven up by higher debt interest payments and the government’s measures to help households and businesses with soaring energy prices. Public sector net borrowing hit £27.4bn last month, up from a revised £10.7bn in the same month in

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak has asked his ethics adviser to investigate the tax affairs of Nadhim Zahawi in a move that raises questions about the future of the Conservative party chair. The government is confronting an ethics crisis on two fronts with BBC chair Richard Sharp facing allegations he helped Boris Johnson secure a

Brazil and Argentina will this week announce that they are starting preparatory work on a common currency, in a move which could eventually create the world’s second-largest currency bloc. South America’s two biggest economies will discuss the plan at a summit in Buenos Aires this week and will invite other Latin American nations to join.

Germany dashed its allies’ hopes that it would approve the dispatch of battle tanks to Ukraine on Friday when a high-profile defence ministers’ meeting failed to reach an agreement. Many western countries argue that the German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks would greatly help Kyiv mount a counteroffensive against Russia, but Berlin has yet to agree,

Google has announced it will axe 12,000 staff, joining its peers in the technology world that have responded to economic pressures with a wave of job cuts. The cuts will affect around 6 per cent of the total workforce of its owner Alphabet and forms part of an industry-wide cull that has affected more than

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer will on Thursday tell the world’s financial elite in Davos that he wants to improve Britain’s relations with the EU, declaring the post-Brexit trade deal is damaging the UK economy “as every day passes”. Starmer and Rachel Reeves, shadow finance minister, told the Financial Times they would rebuild the UK economy