United Kingdom

    The pound on Thursday pushed above $1.30 for the first time in nearly 8 months, and analysts say the door looks open to further gains for the British currency. It took a blowout British April retail sales report the best since January 2016 to propel the currency above that round number for the first time since late September. The pound (GBPUSD) leapt to an intraday high of $1.3048 after failing since late September to surpass $1.30. Should the pair hold above here today, it could signal significant further upside in the pair in the coming weeks and months, said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA, in a note. Of course, sterling is always going to be vulnerable to Brexit-related news, but should we see a calm few months on this front and the data continue to perform...

    Jeremy Corbyn is attacking the Tory manifesto proposals on social care, claiming Theresa May's nasty party has launched a shameful attack on older people. The shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, is also claiming the Conservative manifesto threatens the living standards of pensioners and working people. On Twitter, the Labour leader claimed: If you're a pensioner Theresa May is taking your vote for granted. She'll take away your winter fuel payment. Labour won't. And in a second tweet, he said: If you're a pensioner,Theresa May takes you for granted. She'll make you pay for visits from care workers if you own a home. Labour won't. But defending the social care proposals in her manifesto, the Prime Minister said her plans will ensure elderly people receive the dignified and h...

    It was never written down and never given a name, but France had a detailed plan to protect the Republic if far right leader Marine Le Pen was elected president, French media have reported. It was like a multi-stage rocket, an unnamed senior official told l’Obs magazine. The philosophy and the absolute imperative was to keep the peace, while also respecting our constitutional rules. News of the plan emerged as polls suggested support for the new centrist movement formed by Emmanuel Macron was growing ahead of parliamentary elections on 11 and 18 June. Macron defeated Le Pen in the presidential runoff. The survey showed his La République en Marche party on 32% of the vote, up six points since the 7 May election and pulling ahead of its centre-right Les Républicains rivals o...

    Middle-class pensioners are to lose benefits under Conservative plans to fund social care, Theresa May will announce on Thursday. The Conservative manifesto will set out plans to begin means-testing winter fuel payments and to charge more people who currently receive free care in their own home. The money saved from means-testing the annual heating handout, worth up to £300, will be used to help close the £2.8 billion social care funding gap. The Conservatives will also pass legislation to ensure nobody has to sell their home to pay for their care during their lifetime, and new rules will allow pensioners needing nursing home treatment to keep more of their assets. The flagship policy marks a gamble as it risks angering core older Tory supporters. David Cameron repeatedly ...

    Prince Harry And Meghan Markle can now marry at Westminster Abbey, thanks to change in law Following in the footsteps of the Queen and Prince Philip, Princess Diana and Prince Charles, and Prince William and Kate Middleton, it has now been confirmed Prince Harry is allowed to marry his divorcee girlfriend, Meghan Markle, if he decides to propose. According to the Express, a spokesman for Westminster Abbey has said: 'The Abbey follows the General Synod Ruling of 2002. Since then it has been possible for divorced people to be married in the Church of England.' The spokesman also confirmed that the Suits actress' Jewish background would not prevent her from having an interfaith' marriage to the 32-year-old royal. However, if the pair do decide to get married, they would repor...

    A royal butler claims to have shed light on the real reason why Prince Philip has decided to step down from public life. The Duke of Edinburgh 'reassessed his priorities' after two of his closet pals died, a long standing servant claimed in a candid interview with the Daily Star. And when a nasty cold in December saw the 95-year-old pull out of public events over Christmas, his mind was made up, according to the source. The butler told the paper: "That (the death of his friends) hurt him quite bad. He thought: I'm 95, I need to slow down. If you asked two years ago he would not have retired at all. But because of his friends death and what happened at Christmas, he feels this is the right choice. One of the friends is believed to be Sir Brian McGrath, known as Prince Phili...

    Theresa May unveils plan to build new council house. She has announced an overhaul in council homes by promising measures to encourage the building of new social housing to help thousands of families. The Prime Minister has said the Tories will "support the most ambitious councils" and housing associations to overturn the decline in social housing if she is re-elected next month. In the last twenty years, the decline in local authority housebuilding has left England with a dwindling social housing stock as demand for housing has risen. There are currently 300,000 fewer homes for social rent than 20 years ago and around 1.2 million families on local authority waiting lists for a social tenancy. Mrs May said: Whether you rent or buy, everyone needs the security of a place to...

    Brussels could be forced to pay the UK a Brexit divorce bill, rather than the other way round,  has said. The Foreign Secretary accused the EU of trying to bleed this country white with an expected bill of as much as €100bn (£84bn) to settle liabilities on withdrawal. He claimed the UK could definitely walk away without paying, and said Britain's share of EU assets is so valuable that Brussels may end up having to hand over money. Boris Johnson Asked whether he agreed with former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith that Britain might end up receiving a payment, Mr Johnson told the Daily Telegraph: I do, I think there are very good arguments. There are assets, I don't want to get too much into the detail of the negotiation but there are assets that we share, that we have ...

    A 22-year-old UK cyber security researcher accidentally managed to stop the spread of a ransomware attack that hit the NHS and organisations across the globe. The health service faces a weekend of chaos after the unprecedented attack forced hospitals to cancel and delay treatment for patients. The Royal London, St Bartholomew's, Whipps Cross and Newham are some of numerous hospitals to be hit by the attack, with messages flashing up saying that their files have been encrypted and they must pay cash or lose access to them. Using hacking tools believed to have been developed by the US National Security Agency, the ransomware infected tens of thousands of computers in nearly 100 countries. However, working alongside Darien Huss from security firm Proofpoint, a British cyber s...

    Luxury yachts. A divorce claim, settled in London, has involved divvying up the value of a yacht, plane, helicopter, properties and $112m art collection. The former wife of an oil and gas trader has been awarded £453m in one of the largest divorce settlements ever agreed by a UK court. It confirms London’s status as the favoured location to bring divorce claims against super-rich spouses. The couple in the case were not identified by the family court judge, Mr Justice Haddon-Cave, but the man, 61, is originally from the Caucasus, while the woman, 44, was born in eastern Europe. Both were raised in Russia and met in Moscow in 1989, when she was studying in the city. He had been married before. The couple moved to London in 1993 and have two children. They both have accused ...