Business
Ministers should ‘start doing stuff’ to help farmers and cut fuel costs, says Asda boss
Posted on Friday March 27, 2026
Allan Leighton predicts food prices will inevitably rise, as group’s full-year profits dive by a third to £764mAsda’s executive chair has called on the government to “stand up and start doing stuff” to support farmers and ease the price of fuel as he warned that food prices would inevitably rise as a result of the conflict in the Middle East.Allan Leighton said farmers were under pressure but the supermarket chain had so far received “a trickle of requests not an avalanche” of cost price increases from its suppliers, as they were under pressure from higher fertiliser, energy and fuel costs. Continue reading...
UK government borrowing costs hit 5% as Iran war fuels bond market sell-off
Posted on Friday March 27, 2026
Yields on 10-year debt reach highest since the 2008 financial crisis, raising concerns of faster interest rate risesUK government borrowing costs have risen above 5% amid an intensifying global bond market sell-off fuelled by the Iran war.The yield – or interest rate – on 10-year debt hit its highest level since the 2008 financial crisis, rising 13 basis points to 5.081%, as investors acted on concerns about the economic fallout from the conflict. Continue reading...
Italy investigates beauty brands over concerns about young girls’ mental health
Posted on Friday March 27, 2026
Regulator fears use of ‘covert marketing strategies’ by Sephora and Benefit might fuel compulsive habits Italian regulators are investigating Sephora and Benefit Cosmetics over the apparent use of “covert marketing strategies” to sell beauty products to young girls that might be fuelling an unhealthy skincare obsession known as “cosmeticorexia”.The Italian Competition Authority said it was looking into promotions for skincare products such as face masks, serums and anti-ageing creams that in some cases appeared to target girls under 10. Continue reading...
Opinion
Sport
England v Uruguay: men’s international football friendly – live
Posted on Friday March 27, 2026
⚽ Updates from the Wembley game; kick-off 7.45pm GMT⚽ Live scores | Follow us on Bluesky | And email ScottEngland’s World Cup prep starts here. They’re in good nick, having won 12 of their last 13 matches to the cumulative tune of 37-4. They’ve kept a clean sheet in 11 of their last 12 games, including all of the last six. Meanwhile Uruguay lost their last game 5-1 to the USA. Hopes are high.But some expectation management. There are only two teams against whom England have a lower win ratio than the 27 percent (P11 W3) they’ve managed against Uruguay: Brazil and Romania. And the last time England faced La Celeste, this happened … Continue reading...
Mary Rand, first British woman to win Olympic athletics gold, dies aged 86
Posted on Friday March 27, 2026
Rand won gold, silver and bronze medals at Tokyo 1964Mary Peters pays tribute to ‘most gifted athlete ever’Mary Rand, the British track and field athlete who blazed a trail for women by winning three Olympic medals at the Tokyo Games in 1964, has died at the age of 86.Rand was one of the giants of her sport: the epitome of speed, power and grace. Her long jump victory in Tokyo made her Britain’s first female Olympic gold medallist in athletics, and she followed it up with a silver in the pentathlon and a bronze in the 4x100m relay. Continue reading...