Andy Burnham has become prime minister as Britain grapples with a series of global economic shocks and years of weak growth in living standards, fueled by underinvestment and deep regional divisions. Before arriving in Downing Street, the Labour leader pledged to deliver “good growth in every postcode” by transferring power from Westminster to local communities. However, with public finances under pressure and time running out before the next general election, the task is not straightforward.
European gas prices hit four-month high
European gas prices have reached a four-month high as the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East raises fears of supply shortages this winter. The Dutch natural gas benchmark briefly rose above €60 per megawatt hour (MWh) on Monday, near peaks seen at the start of the US-Iran conflict, after the US expanded its aerial offensive and Iran retaliated with strikes on Bahrain and Kuwait.
Analysts at Independent Commodity Intelligence Services (ICIS) said Europe’s gas supplies were facing pressure this winter, with the conflict delaying the expected recovery of Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports in the critical summer storage season.
AliExpress fined €550m by EU
The Chinese online retail platform AliExpress has been fined a record €550m (£470m) by the EU over its failure to stop illegal goods, including harmful clothing, cosmetics, and kitchen gadgets, being sold through its site. The European Commission fine is the biggest imposed by the bloc under the Digital Services Act (DSA), legislation that came into force in 2024 to protect consumers from illegal goods and deceptive or addictive marketing techniques.
Henna Virkkunen, the commission’s executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy, said: “The spread of counterfeit clothing, unsafe toys, dangerous cosmetics and other illegal and harmful products is not an unavoidable cost of shopping online – it is a failure by AliExpress to comply with its obligations under the Digital Services Act.”
