• Business News

    Lloyds warns car finance scandal could cost it £2bn

    Lloyds Banking Group is setting aside an additional £800m for car finance compensation claims, bringing the total amount allocated by the bank for redress to nearly £2bn. The company said that the number of eligible claims is expected to be higher than previously thought. Millions of drivers who bought cars on finance with hidden commission payments between 2007 and 2024 may be eligible for redress. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published details of its proposed compensation scheme last week. The FCA said payouts could be due on around 14 million unfair deals, averaging at about £700 each. This could result…

  • Business News

    Click Energy announces first electricity rise in more than three years

    Click Energy has announced it will implement a 3.5% increase in household electricity rates, “due to a rise in wholesale and market costs”. It said this would result in the typical annual domestic electricity bill rising by about £39.60. The rates are effective from 1 November. Click Energy said it recognised that “any increase in energy prices is disappointing and not something customers ever want to hear”. However, it added that it had “not increased its domestic prices in over three years”. “Unfortunately, the sustained rise in wholesale and market costs means it has become necessary for us to adjust…

  • Business News

    Five carmakers go on trial over emissions cheat claims

    Emer MoreauBusiness reporter and Theo LeggettBusiness correspondent Getty Images There was a small protest by the group Mums for Lungs and outside the High Court as the trial opened A major lawsuit against five leading carmakers accused of cheating on emissions tests has opened at the High Court in London. The trial is the latest chapter of what has become known as the “dieselgate” scandal, with the companies facing allegations they used illegal software to allow their cars to reduce emissions of harmful gases under test conditions. The court heard on Monday that car manufacturers decided they would “rather cheat…

  • Business News

    Thousands of UK customers report broadband issues

    Thousands of Vodafone customers across the UK have reported its services are down. Downdetector, which monitors web outages, showed more than 130,000 people had flagged problems affecting their Vodafone broadband or mobile network on Monday afternoon. According to its website, the firm has more than 18 million customers in the UK, including nearly 700,000 home broadband customers. Vodafone said in a statement it was aware of a “major issue on our network affecting broadband, 4G and 5G services”. “We appreciate our customers’ patience while we work to resolve this as soon as possible,” the company said. It comes as people…

  • Breaking News

    Trump says Ukraine may get Tomahawk missiles to use against Russia

    US President Donald Trump is considering sending long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine. Asked by reporters on Air Force One on Sunday whether he would provide Kyiv with Tomahawks, Trump replied: “We’ll see… I may”. The missiles would be “a new step of aggression” in Ukraine’s war with Russia, he said. The comments follow a phone call at the weekend between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who pushed for stronger military capabilities to launch counter-attacks against Russia. Moscow has previously warned Washington against providing long-range missiles to Kyiv, saying it would cause a major escalation in the conflict and…

  • Breaking News

    Taliban minister meets Indian female journalists after outrage

    It’s often said that a picture can speak a thousand words. The one in Indian newspapers on Monday morning showing female journalists occupying front-row seats at the Afghan Taliban foreign minister’s press conference in Delhi is certainly one of those. The conference – the second press event by Amir Khan Muttaqi at the Afghan embassy in about 48 hours – was called after a huge uproar over the exclusion of women from his first meeting on Friday. Muttaqi said at Sunday’s conference that the exclusion was unintentional and not “deliberate”. “With regard to the [Friday’s] press conference, it was on…

  • Breaking News

    Emotional reunions as freed hostages return to Israel

    Freed hostages have been reunited with their families in Israel following their release from Hamas captivity in Gaza on Monday. Videos released by the Israeli military show Eitan Mor, Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Matan Zangauker embracing relatives in a reception area. The last 20 living hostages held by Hamas in Gaza are now back in Israel after more than two years in captivity. Hamas has yet to hand over the remains of up to 28 deceased hostages. Meanwhile, Israel has begun releasing some of the 1,950 prisoners and detainees it has said it will free as part of a ceasefire deal…

  • Breaking News

    Palestinian prisoners released in West Bank to rapturous crowds

    Israel is releasing 250 Palestinian prisoners as part of the ceasefire deal with Hamas, many of whom have been serving life sentences in Israeli jails. Around 100 of them arrived in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank to rapturous applause. Many of them looked gaunt and some had visible injuries. About 1,700 detainees from Gaza are also being released by Israel, including 15 minors. The remaining 20 living hostages held by Hamas in Gaza have been freed after more than two years. The BBC’s Barbara Plett Usher was in Ramallah as the prisoners arrived.

  • Breaking News

    China accuses US of ‘double standards’ over tariff threat

    Donald Trump’s latest threat to impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods is “a typical example of US double standards”, China’s government has said. A commerce ministry spokesperson also said China could introduce its own unspecified “countermeasures” if the US president carries out his threat, adding it was “not afraid” of a possible trade war. On Friday, Trump hit back at Beijing’s move to tighten its rules for rare earths exports, accusing it of “becoming very hostile” and trying to hold the world “captive”. He also threatened to pull out of a meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping later…

  • Breaking News

    Rescuers search for missing in towns across five states

    Rescue workers in Mexico are searching for at least 65 people who are missing after torrential rains triggered flooding in 150 locations across five states. At least 64 residents are confirmed dead, according to official figures updated by the government on Monday. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has promised help for the affected areas. The heavy rains, caused by two tropical storms, triggered landslides and caused rivers to overflow, sweeping away entire homes as well as roads and cars. María Salas, 49, lost five members of her family when their home collapsed in Huauchinango, a town in the mountains in the…