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Oil prices top $110 as traders weigh Middle East supply risks

The price of Brent crude remained at a five-month high as uncertainty over when energy supplies will return to normal amid the war with Iran keeps oil inflated.

Oil prices top $110 as traders weigh Middle East risks

The price of Brent crude remained at a five-month high as uncertainty over when energy supplies will return to normal amid the war with Iran keeps oil inflated.

With 29 designated Cittaslow cities, Türkiye is leading the way in slow travel

The Cittaslow’ initiative has been highlighting the lesser-known burgs around the world which celebrate local food, culture and history. Türkiye is the proud owner of 29 such towns, all offering unfettered access to myriad aspects of Turkish culture.

Pop culture iconography as protest: Why has the One Piece skull been adopted by French protesters?

Pop culture as expression of revolt: Gen Z have adopted a symbol from a popular manga for their protest movements. Here’s why the One Piece flag has become a recognised symbol of revolt during French protests - and beyond.

Chinese carmakers gear up European production to sidestep tariffs, import quota

Chinese carmakers, facing a European Union import quota targeting their hybrid electric vehicles (EVs), are gearing up for more local production to reinforce their go-global drive. They plan to either splash out billions of yuan to set up their own factories or tap international marques’ idle plants to build their vehicles, looking to sustain a sales boom in one of the world’s major automotive mar...

Badenoch says Healey’s budget will be worse than Reeves’s if he doesn’t slash spending – UK politics live

Conservative leader to give a speech later, while Treasury sources say Healey has ruled out a rise in capital gains taxGood morning. John Healey, the chancellor, is delivering his first budget a week tomorrow, and this morning there are two news developments that will help to frame the way it is received.The most important is on the front page of the Times, where Steven Swinford has a story firmin...

South Korea to withdraw some Kyiv embassy staff as row over POW transfer deepens

South Korea says it will withdraw some staff from its embassy in Kyiv, deepening a diplomatic row over Ukraine’s announcement last month of a transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war that Seoul says was meant to be secret

Ryanair CEO calls EU chief Ursula von der Leyen 'useless' and demands tax on US and Chinese airlines

Ryanair is cutting a million seats from Belgium this winter as Michael O’Leary warns of steep fare rises in 2027 and demands foreign airlines pay their share.

French cities ‘calm overnight’ after targeted curfews, prime minister says – Europe live

Sébastien Lecornu suggests more curfews could be introduced to quell unrest after weekend protestsFrench prime minister Sébastien Lecornu said that targeted curfews introduced in parts of Paris and other major cities “have contributed to calm overnight,” as he suggested more curfews could be introduced if needed today.In a particular symbol of stepped up security measures, a helicopter flew over t...

Spain versus Morocco: this is how the military forces of both countries stand in 2026

Spain spends three times more on defence than Morocco and leads in air and naval power, but Rabat has more troops and rockets. US-backed rearmament boosts its strength and narrows the gap.

Getting Ziggy with it: David Bowie’s alter egos inspire dance show that will transform his songs

Subject to Change: A Dance for David Bowie will explore how the musician ‘practised a form of artistic reincarnation’, says choreographer Marcos Morau‘Let’s dance,” sang David Bowie in 1983, commanding: “Put on your red shoes and dance the blues.” That call is to be answered – with footwear TBC – by an international dance production featuring new choral arrangements of songs from throughout his ca...

Calls to sue Indonesia over haze; Pinduoduo craze sweeps Malaysia: 7 Asia highlights

We have selected seven stories from the SCMP’s coverage of Asia over the past week that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. ‘Forgive us’: Indonesians urge Singapore, Malaysia to sue Jakarta over haze Many Indonesians are urging foreign governments on social media, including those of neighbourin...

Anger at rising fuel prices bolsters Europe's far right as unrest sweeps France

Rising fuel costs are piling pressure on households, businesses and governments across Europe, fuelling cost-of-living protests and bolstering the far right ahead of elections next year in countries including France, Italy and Poland. Some far-right parties are calling for a return to Russian energy.

Amy Winehouse’s first Camden flat returns to market for £650,000 after 23 years

Healey to reject calls to raise capital gains tax in budget

Cabinet colleagues have previously called for an increase but chancellor feels it might ultimately cost the TreasuryJohn Healey will not raise capital gains tax in next week’s budget, despite previous calls to do so from cabinet colleagues including Louise Haigh and Wes Streeting.The chancellor has decided that any increase might ultimately cost the Treasury if wealthy individuals defer the sale o...

France presses resale platforms to remove 'stolen' goods after unrest

France's digital minister on Monday urged online resale platforms to remove listings for "stolen items" following Saturday's looting and summoned representatives of companies including Vinted and eBay for talks.

Abby Choi did not have enough cash in year before death, murder trial told

Slain Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi Tin-fung did not have enough cash to cover her expenses in the year before her death, her former driver has told her murder trial. Choi’s former chauffeur, Chin Kei-shun, said on Tuesday that the influencer appeared to have run into cash-flow difficulties after she and her partner incurred a HK$5 million (US$637,090) debt during a leisure trip to Macau in August...

Abby Choi did not have enough cash in year before death, murder trial told

Slain Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi Tin-fung did not have enough cash to cover her expenses in the year before her death, her former driver has told her murder trial. Choi’s former chauffeur, Chin Kei-shun, said on Tuesday that the influencer appeared to have run into cash-flow difficulties after she and her partner incurred a HK$5 million (US$637,090) debt during a leisure trip to Macau in August...

Abby Choi ‘did not have enough cash’ in year before death, murder trial told

Slain Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi Tin-fung did not have enough cash to cover her expenses in the year before her death, her former driver has told her murder trial. Choi’s former chauffeur, Chin Kei-shun, said on Tuesday that the influencer appeared to have run into cash-flow difficulties after she and her partner incurred a HK$5 million (US$637,090) debt during a leisure trip to Macau in August...

France to impose new curfews where 'situation requires it', PM Lecornu says

Under pressure, the government scheduled another series of emergency meetings on Tuesday, including talks involving representatives of major social media platforms.

Protests in France: Russian interference "quite certain" says French politician

French poltician Patrick Molinoz, vice-president of the French Mayoral Association claims that recent violence in France was "planned", citing a "certain" Russian intereference.

Police patrol Paris streets under overnight curfew

Paris police imposed an overnight curfew on Monday around Place de la Republique and Les Halles after France’s worst rioting in years. Streets were calm.

Student sent back to China over Japanese rising sun flag incident in Russia

A Chinese student who draped himself in the Japanese rising sun flag in a Russian university classroom has been expelled and asked to leave the country, according to state-run newspaper Global Times. The flag was used by the Japanese military during its imperial expansion and is still used by Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Force. It remains a symbol of Japanese militarism and aggression in China an...

Student sent back to China over Japanese rising sun flag incident in Russia

A Chinese student who draped himself in the Japanese rising sun flag in a Russian university classroom has been expelled and asked to leave the country, according to state-run newspaper Global Times. The flag was used by the Japanese military during its imperial expansion and is still used by Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Force. It remains a symbol of Japanese militarism and aggression in China an...

How a Malaysian coffee shop menu became latest political battleground

Calls to boycott a Malaysian Chinese-owned coffee-shop chain over its omission of Malay text from its menu have reignited arguments over race and national identity, as political parties jostle to court the country’s majority ethnic group ahead of the next general election. The Oriental Kopi boycott marks the latest saga fuelling ethnic grievances that politicians have been seen to capitalise on by...