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The UK government has set the stage for fresh legal battles over its plans to stem the arrival of undocumented migrants across the Channel, after it conceded on Tuesday that new legislation may breach human rights laws. Introducing the illegal migration bill to parliament, Suella Braverman defended the government’s strategy on stopping small boat crossings,

Scientific leaders have urged the UK government to rejoin the EU’s €95.5bn Horizon research programme as soon as possible, after prime minister Rishi Sunak questioned whether membership represented value for money. “The UK will find it extremely difficult to be an effective research power if it is . . . not part of the European research network,” Sir Paul

“The Law of Nations Shall be Founded on a Federation of Free States.” Thus did the great German philosopher Immanuel Kant lay down the foundations of his plan for a “perpetual peace”. No part of the world has embraced his idealism more completely than post-second world war Europe. Yet is this great dream now dead?

The writer is a science commentator Every emerging technology has its dreamers and schemers. That is certainly true of human genome editing, the focus of a high-profile global summit held this week at the Francis Crick Institute in London. Among the dreamers is Harvard University biochemist David Liu, whose talk on Monday featured news of

Jay Powell has warned that the Federal Reserve is prepared to switch back to bigger interest rate rises if the US economy continues to grow too quickly, in remarks prepared for a high-stakes congressional appearance on Tuesday. Powell’s testimony marks the Fed chair’s first public intervention since data releases showed the central bank is still

Mexico’s peso has touched its strongest level in more than five years as the country’s relatively high interest rates, tight fiscal policy and investment opportunities accruing from its proximity to the US make it a favourite for currency investors. The peso is the top performing major currency this year, according to Bloomberg, and has more

The number of American troops in Vietnam peaked in 1969. Twenty years later, Born On the Fourth of July, which dramatised the maiming and political awakening of one soldier, came out. Even after Platoon, The Deer Hunter, Full Metal Jacket and Apocalypse Now, even after the protest songs of Edwin Starr and Creedence Clearwater Revival,

Chinese equities fell on Tuesday after disappointing trade data added to investors’ concerns that the country’s post-zero Covid recovery might prove less explosive than previously expected. China’s CSI 300 fell 1.4 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 0.4 per cent after imports in January and February declined 10.2 per cent compared with

Good morning. Another change in the civil service? Simon Case is reported to be weighing up his future as the UK’s top civil servant. Some thoughts on our scoop in today’s note. Case, closed? The news that Sue Gray was set to join Keir Starmer’s team broke midway through the Conservative party’s away day. The

China’s foreign minister has warned of a clash with the US unless Washington ceases its attempts to contain Beijing, highlighting the Chinese Communist party’s concerns over escalating tension between the rival superpowers. “If the US doesn’t hit the brakes and continues to barrel down the wrong track, no amount of guardrails can prevent the carriage

Private credit groups including Apollo, Ares and Blackstone are poised to write the largest direct loan on record as they continue to muscle in on a lucrative business traditionally dominated by Wall Street banks. The lenders are increasingly confident they can edge out investment banks including JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs on a deal to fund

When Saudi Prince Khaled bin Sultan al-Saud went shopping for a private jet in 2016, his Swiss wealth advisers pulled together a list of assets to secure financing that included the crown jewel of his family fortune — a 40-room mansion they described as the “London Palace”.  That 205-year-old house in Regent’s Park, also known

Commercial seafarers might be the workforce that people rely on the most but think about the least. The vast majority of goods traded around the world are transported on ships. Capitalism wouldn’t work without the almost 2mn people who work on them. But it seems to take a lot for them to get noticed. When

It was the sickly sweet scent lingering outside the school toilets that first alerted headteacher Dan Cleary to an emerging trend when pupils returned after the summer holiday last year. Since then, rarely does a fortnight go by when he does not have to discipline a student for stashing a “vape”, or electronic cigarette, in

The writer is chief market strategist for Europe, Middle East and Africa at JPMorgan Asset Management A slew of economic data has recently surprised to the upside. According to the purchasing managers’ index for the eurozone, the bloc’s economy is growing again. The US had a bumper jobs and retail spending report for January. Investors

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s potential acquisition of Gunvor, the energy trading house, has reached an impasse due to disagreements over the deal’s size, people familiar with the negotiations said. While Adnoc had hoped to acquire all of Gunvor, or a majority stake, the commodity trader’s chief executive Torbjörn Törnqvist is unwilling to yield control

When the UK suggested making board directors responsible for signing off internal controls over financial reporting, the reaction was furious. This was business unfriendly, City grandees thundered, it would deter good people from joining boards and bog down directors in bureaucracy. The proposal was modelled on the US Sarbanes-Oxley rules, which function perfectly well in

Labour is to review the UK business tax regime as part of efforts to make Britain the fastest-growing economy in the G7, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves will announce on Tuesday. Reeves, giving a speech in London to the annual conference of Make UK, the trade body for Britain’s manufacturers, will say the review is intended

The UK’s most senior civil servant is considering an early departure from his role after leaked WhatsApp messages that have infuriated Conservative MPs. Simon Case, cabinet secretary, has told friends that he is “genuinely undecided” between trying to guide the civil service through a general election next year and resigning this year to give his

Chinese companies are flocking to Switzerland to raise capital after being discouraged from listing in the US by geopolitical tensions and in Britain by tougher audit standards. Nine Chinese companies floated in Zurich last year, raising $3.2bn in the European country, according to SIX, the operator of the Swiss stock market. That far outstrips the

Private equity firm General Atlantic is teaming up with an Abu Dhabi state fund and the emirate’s largest listed company to launch a new investment group, underlining the continuing pull the oil-rich Gulf state holds for Wall Street. The new investment firm will manage a series of assets drawn from ADQ, Abu Dhabi Growth Fund